fenneman.]  OIL    FIELDS    OF    TEXAS-LOUISIANA    COAST.  461 
the  field  is  roughly,  though  not  accurately,  outlined  on  nearly  all 
sides  by  dry  wells,  there  remains  room  for  further  development 
in  that  part  of  the  field  which  affords  the  strongest  wells,  and  its 
remarkable  production  may  continue  for  a  time  or,  perhaps,  even 
increase. 
Welsh. — In  Louisiana  the  Welsh  field  ranks  second  in  production, 
although  in  size  it  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  Jennings.  It  pro- 
duces oil  at  the  rate  of  a  very  few  hundred  barrels  a  day.  The 
character  of  this  oil  is  such  as  to  offer  some  difficulties  in  its  disposal, 
either  for  refining  purposes  or  as  fuel  oil.  There  seems  to  be  no  rea- 
son to  fear  that  these  difficulties  will  prevent  its  use,  but  treatment 
involving  more  or  less  time  is  necessary. 
Arise  la  Butte. — At  this  point,  about  6  miles  north  of  Lafayette, 
La.,  some  promising  development  work  has  been  carried  on  and 
several  wells  have  been  pumping  small  quantities  for  the  market. 
It  is  too  early  to  forecast  the  future  of  this  field. 
PROSPECTING  IN  VARIOUS  PLACES. 
Heavy  oil  at  small  depths. — Of  the  move  or  less  hypothetical  or 
prospective  fields  visited,  a  considerable  number  agree  in  this  point, 
namely,  that  they  yield  at  small  depths  a  heavy  oil  which  is  gener- 
ally suitable  for  lubricating  purposes.  Of  all  the  large  fields,  in  none 
of  which  the  oil  has  come  from  a  depth  of  less  than  TOO  or  800  feet, 
only  3  have  yielded  also  this  shallow  and  heavy  oil.  The  first  of 
these  is  Jennings,  where  the  main  oil  comes  from  a  depth  of  1,700  to 
2,000  feet.  In  the  southern  part  of  this  field,  however,  a  lubricating 
oil  is  pumped  from  a  considerable  number  of  Avells  approximating 
100  feet  in  depth.  The  other  fields  referred  to  are  Sour  Lake  and 
Saratoga,  where  the  conditions  are  similar,  though  the  shallow  oil 
has  been  but  little  explioted. 
The  oldest  and  far  the  best-known  area  characterized  by  such  heavy 
oils  is  the  Nacogdoches  field  of  eastern  Texas.  A  large  number  of 
wells  were  drilled  from  ten  to  fifteen  }^ears  ago  about  10  miles  south- 
east of  the  town  of  Nacogdoches.  These  wells  were  bailed  and  the 
best  of  them  yielded  perhaps  5  or  0  barrels  of  oil  a  day.  The  enter- 
prise stopped,  but  probably  not  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  oil. 
During  the  latter  part  of  1904  deep  drilling  has  been  in  progress  near 
this  field,  but  a  producing  oil  well  is  not  yet  reported.  At  Kiser  Hill, 
on  Brazos  River,  near  Columbia,  Tex.,  a  considerable  supply  of  excel- 
lent lubricating  oil  was  obtained.  The  pumping  of  this  oil  has  been 
stopped  for  want  of  a -market.  At  various  points  near  San  Antonio 
similar  oil  in  small  quantities  is  taken  from  shallow  depths  and  finds 
a  local  market  for  lubricating  purposes.  At  Vinton,  La.,  a  few 
wells,  none  of  which  exceed  30  feet  in  depth,  are  supplying  lubricat- 
