STATE GEOLOGIST. 159 
ofa “stray” lying 4o feet higher. One of the wells on this place, having 
its surface two feet below the Meigs Creek coal, struck the 140-foot sand 
at 380 feet, making the interval between the two, 382 feet. Another 
well, about 200 yards from this, started two feet above the coal and 
found the 500-foot sand at a depth of 724 feet. Occasionally these 
wells flow when first drilled, but as a rule they have to be pumped from 
the start. Oijl taken from a tank connected with the 140-foot wells had 
a gravity of 40 degrees B. The Shimmel farm, comprising 300 acres, 
is another important one. The best well, drilled in 1888, started at 
180 barrels, but the greater number had an initial production ranging 
from 4 to 60 barrels daily. The number of holes drilled on this tract is 
large, and according to the proprietor not less than 30 have been failures. 
Other farms in this part of the field merely duplicate what has been said, 
and so will not be mentioned. 
Other Sands.— Besides the three sands discussed there are others which 
furnish a little oil. Just west of Macksburg, on the east bank of Duck creek, 
are three wells in a shallow sand. These were drilled in the spring of 1808, 
and have depths of 68, 70 and 72 feet. They began producing from I to 
3 barrels daily, but have decreased so that they are no longer pumped 
regularly (1901). The oil is said to have a gravity of 28 degrees B., and 
is sold in the vicinity at 20 cents per gallon for lubricating purposes. This 
sand is of interest because it is the same as that in which oil was discovered 
in 1860. Along Buell’s run, one mile southwest of Elba, is a sand which is 
reported to lie from 15 to 35 feet below the 140-foot. It is said to have been 
first struck in 1888 on the land of Thomas Marshall, in the southwest cor- - 
ner of section 21. This well started at 100 barrels Some experienced drill- 
ers, however, regard this sand as the 140-foot. West of Warner a number of 
small wells have been secured in the Schramm sand, which lies about 140 
feet below the Macksburg 500. This sand, which was discovered about 12 
years ago, has never been an important producer. | 
The Third Stage in the Development of the Field. —The method 
of drilling, casing and tubing the early Berea wells has already 
been stated, and it has been shown how these failed to secure all 
the oil in the sand. Unfortunately this necessitated re-drilling the Berea 
territory at a great expense, and this is here considered the third stage in 
the development of the field. The first of these “second crop” wells as they 
are called, is reported by C. G. Dutton, of Elba, to have been drilled about 
1895 by George T. McDonald on the old Phelps farm, two miles east from 
Macksburg. This well started at 75 barrels and in 1900 was producing 
five. It seems probable, however, that the start of the re-drilling was 
earlier, and O. C. Williams, of Macksburg, reports that the first well was 
drilled on the Atkinson farm about 1890, and in view of the large number 
of wells now drilled this date seems the more probable. 
