HAWoRTH.| Commercial Conditions of Oil and Gas. 201 
are that there is much more gas developed and shut in in Okla- 
homa than in Kansas. 
In determining the value of gas a number of difficulties are 
encountered, the chief of which is that it is so nearly impos- 
sible to arrive at a satisfactory valuation per unit to put upon 
the gas. For example, in every town reached by pipe-lines be- 
longing to the Kansas Natural Gas Company the consumer 
pays a minimum of twenty-five cents per thousand cubic feet 
of gas consumed for domestic use, and about ten cents for 
factories, measured at a pressure of about four ounces above 
normal atmospheric pressure. At least a portion of this same 
gas is bought by the Kansas Natural Gas Company at some- 
thing under three cents per thousand cubic feet. What, now, 
should be the price per thousand for such a consumption? It 
is evident that the consumer would not do without it even 
though he had to pay more than twenty-five cents a thousand; 
and likewise it is true that the Kansas Natural Gas Company 
has no gas for sale at three cents a thousand. 
If we compare the fuel value of gas with coal we have an- 
other difficulty in the way, which is hard to overcome, in that 
we do not know how much gas is equal in value to a ton of coal 
for consumption. The matter of luxury comes in and makes 
the use of coal prohibitive for those who can use gas. In the 
large factories gas is so much more convenient and is so readily 
used that here again its value is greater than its mere heat-pro- 
ducing capacity, because the labor put upon it in process of 
consumption is much less than that put upon coal or other fuel. 
In their chapter on “Chemical Composition of Gas,” Profes- 
sors Cady and McFarland give a table showing that much of 
our gas has an actual heat-producing value of 930 British 
thermal units per cubic foot of gas measured at standard at- 
mospheric pressure and temperature. By comparing this with 
good coal having 13,000 British thermal units per pound, we 
find that it takes about 28,000 cubic feet of gas to equal one 
ton of such coal. If the coal used in the comparison is of less 
value, the number of cubic feet to form such an equivalent 
would be greatly decreased. Here, also, we have another con- 
sideration of great importance, namely, the degree of combus- 
tion. It is well known that none of our furnaces for burning 
coal produce perfect combustion. Where gas is burned, like- 
wise sometimes the combustion is imperfect; but, in general, 
it is very much more nearly perfect than the combustion of 
