kindle.]        SALT    OF    WATKINS    GLEN    DISTRICT,    NEW    YORK.  571 
Catlin  well,  -J4  miles  northwest  of  Horseheads,  a  small  flow  of  gas 
appeared  at  a  depth  of  about  1,265  feet  near  the  base  of  the  Munda. 
Near  West  Candor,  in  the  Owego  quadrangle,  a  well  was  drilled  to 
a  depth  of  L,350  feet  about  fifteen  years  ago.  Only  a  trace  of  gas  was 
found,  and  no  oil,  which  was  the  object  sought.  A  deep  well  was 
drilled  in  Owego  a  few  years  ago  with  similar  results. 
The  only  wells  which  have  produced  gas  of  commercial  value  are 
located  at  Watkins.  One  of  these  has  supplied  most  of  the  heat  for 
a  large  hotel  for  a  number  of  years.  The  other  is  the  Hill  well 
which  struck  gas  at  1,550  feet  in  a  sandstone  probably  of  Oriskany 
age.  Before  shooting,  the  gas  produced  a  flame  2  feet  high.  After 
shooting,  the  gas  pressure  is  reported  to  have  risen  to  100  pounds  per 
square  inch.  The  gas  is  used  for  both  heating  and  lighting  purposes. 
Nearly  all  the  business  places  in  the  village  are  supplied  from  it. 
Another  well  was  begun  during  the  summer  of  1904  at  Watkins  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  a  larger  supply  of  gas. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Watkins  wells,  which  are  the  only 
•ones  in  the  entire  region  producing  gas  of  commercial  value,  are 
located  just  at  the  axis  of  one  of  the  broad,  low  folds  which  was  dis- 
covered during  the  areal  survey  of  this  region.  It  happens  that  this 
fold  is  the  lowest  of  those  recognized  in  the  region.  The  chances  of 
success  of  future  explorations  for  gas  in  this  region  would  be  greatly 
increased  if  they  were  made  along  the  axes  of  some  of  the  other  larger 
folds.  Structure  is  only  one  of  the  elements  controlling  the  occur- 
rence of  gas.  The  presence  or  absence  of  other  elements  is  not  ascer- 
tainable from  surface  indications;  consequently  the  success  of  a  well 
favorably  located  with  reference  to  structural  features  can  not  be 
positively  predicted,  since  the  texture  of  the  rock  at  horizons  else- 
where gas  producing  may  or  may  not  be  favorable  to  its  accumulation. 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  chances  of  success  are  greater  if 
the  well  is  located  where  one  of  the  elements  controlling  gas  accumu- 
lation is  known  to  be  present  than  if  it  were  located  without  regard 
to  structural  features. 
QUARRIES. 
Quarries  in  the  vicinity  of  each  of  the  larger  towns  and  cities 
supply  the  local  demand  for  foundation  work  and  the  rougher  kinds 
of  building  stones.  The  beds  quarried  are  the  thin-bedded  sand- 
stones of  the  Nunda  and  Chemung  formations.  Small  quantities  of 
paving  flags  are  produced  at  some  of  the  quarries  in  the  Sherburne 
flagstone  beds.  The  sandstones,  however,  are  not  generally  satis- 
factory for  this  purpose.  Considerable  quantities  of  crushed  stone 
are  used  for  street  paving  in  Elmira  and  Ithaca. 
