460  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO   ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1904.        [bull.  260. 
As  this  field  has  an  area  of  but  225  acres,  the  oil  withdrawn  would 
cover  it  to  a  depth  approximating  22  feet.  Inasmuch  as  less  than 
3,000,000  barrels  were  produced  in  1904,  and  the  production  near  the 
close  of  the  year  was  less  than  4,500  barrels  a  day,  it  may  be  ex- 
pected that  the  history  of  the  field  is  drawing  to  a  close.  Near  the 
end  of  1904  some  wells  were  being  pumped  which  yielded  less  than 
10  barrels  a  day.  This  means  approximately  $4  worth  of  oil.  No 
new  territory  is  being  added,  though  a  little  drilling  continues  to 
be  carried  on  in  the  already  proven  field. 
Sour  Lake. — Sour  Lake  ranks  second  among  the  Texas  fields,  both 
in  point  of  time  and  in  the  total  amount  of  oil  produced.  It  has 
yielded,  to  the  close  of  1904,  more  than  13,000,000  barrels  of  oil. 
The  daily  yield  in  November,  1904,  was  still  16,000  barrels,  and  some 
large  wells  have  been  brought  in  since  that  time.  While  no  entirely 
new  territory  is  being  added  to  the  field,  considerable  development 
is  still  in  progress,  and  the  immediate  prospects  therefore  do  not 
indicate  an  early  or  rapid  decline, 
Batson  Prairie. — The  sudden  and  enormous  development  of  this 
field  was  a  sensational  feature  of  the  oil  business  in  1904.  In  one 
year  it  produced  more  than  10,000,000  barrels,  but  at  the  close  of  the 
year  its  daily  yield  was  only  about  one-third  of  the  average  daily 
yield  for  the  entire  year.  The  decline  is  occasionally  interrupted 
by  the  bringing  in  of  new  wells,  but  on  the  whole  it  has  been  rapid. 
New  territory  is  not  being  added,  although  drilling  in  the  old  terri- 
tory has  by  no  means  stopped. 
Saratoga. — The  Saratoga  field  has  been  a  small  producer  since 
the  summer  of  1903  and  is  at  present  producing  between  2,000  and 
3,000  barrels  per  day,  an  amount  greater  than  at  any  former  time 
and  the  production  is  apparently  on  the  increase,  Not  only  have 
recently  drilled  wells  been  its  largest  producers,  but  their  location  has 
extended  the  area  of  the  field.  Large  areas  in  the  vicinity  remain 
untested. 
Matagorda. — The  one  other  field  in  the  Coastal  Plain  of  Texas  is 
that  on  Big  Hill,  3  miles  from  the  town  of  Matagorda.  The  prin- 
cipal development  in  this  field  has  taken  place  since  the  spring  of 
1904.  It  has  a  few  good  wells  whose  somewhat  unsteady  production 
has  at  times  aggregated  several  thousand  barrels  daily.  At  the 
time  of  the  field  work  the  boundaries  of  this  field  were  not  yet 
determined.  Salt  water  was  present  in  abundance,  but  this  has  not] 
prevented  some  wells  from  yielding  considerable  amounts  of  oil. 
Jennings. — The  Jennings,  La.,  field  began  regularly  to  market 
the  product  of  its  wells  in  1902,  and  continued  for  several  years  to; 
be  a  small  producer.  Beginning,  however,  in  August,  1904,  there 
has  been  brought  in  a  series  of  gushers  which  have  rapidly  brought 
its    production    to    approximately    00,000    barrels    a    day.     While 
