28 RECORD OF DEEP WELL DRILLING FOR 1904. [bull. 264. 
GENERAL PLAN AND DETAILS OF WORK. 
(Formulated by A. C. Veatch.) 
The plan followed in the collection of well records and samples was 
developed by Mr. A. 0. Veatch, assistant geologist, who also drew up 
the various forms used in correspondence, field, and office. The work 
may be summarized as follows: 
First step is to obtain the names and addresses of drillers and well 
owners, who are informed of the advantages of saving samples and 
records and invited to cooperate. When a driller signifies his willing- 
ness to assist, he is supplied with notebooks for keeping the records, 
and small bags for shipping the samples through the mails free of 
cost. The receipt of all records or samples is acknowledged. If the 
original invitation to cooperate is not answered within a reasonable 
time, a second request is sent, which may be followed by others if 
necessary. An account is kept, by means of a card file, of letters and 
bags sent, and the records and samples are likewise systematically filed 
as received. At the end of each year, or oftener if the conditions 
demand, a report is to be prepared giving the names of persons coop- 
erating, a summary of the wells reported, and complete records of the 
more important wells represented by samples or by detailed records. 
SOURCES OF ADDRESSES OF DRILLERS AND WELL OWNERS. 
One of the first steps in the work was to secure the names of drillers 
or owners of wells in process of drilling. These were obtained from 
the following sources: (1) City directories, gazetteers, etc., (2) parties 
voluntarily offering to cooperate, (3) trade and engineering publica- 
tions, (4) geologists and others in the field, (5) newspaper clippings. 
The cit} r directories and gazetteers of drillers furnished the largest 
number of addresses, but as all classes of drillers, including many local 
operators, are there included the percentage volunteering to assist was 
small. Perhaps the most effective aid was secured through voluntary 
offers of assistance from drillers in response to a press notice describ- 
ing the work which the Survey is undertaking in the collection of 
samples and records and asking for cooperation. This was widely 
published, often with favorable editorial comment, in engineering, oil, 
and water journals and in newspapers. A large number of addresses 
of drillers and owners were also secured from advertisements for bids, 
news notes on water supplies, etc., in the engineering and trade jour- 
nals. The journals now consulted are as follows: Engineering News, 
Fire and Water Engineering, American Magazine of Mining and 
Investment, Pacific Oil Reporter, Petroleum Gazette, Oil Investors 
Journal, and the semiweekty Oil City Derrick. A single issue of a 
weekly magazine may furnish as high as ten or more addresses, and the 
