through the adjacent soil, so that a conflagration sets in round the well. To prevent this, the Chinese, before sinking a well, arrange reservoirs of water all around, so as to flood the region of the well when occasion arises, and thus extinguish the flames. The gas is utilised for heating the brine pans, and is conveyed from a reservoir erected round the mouth of the well, through prepared bamboo pipes into other underground reservoirs, and thence to the evaporating sheds. The owner of a natural gas well builds a shed which he fits up with evaporating pans, and then leases it out for a fixed rental, the lessee having to do all the repairs. Variations of weather affect the flow of gas from the wells. When it is fine and calm the jets are strong, but they become weak, and almost cease, in windy or foggy weather. The deeper wells are less affected by these changes. Japan. In Japan, there are several producing localities, as mentioned in the first section of this work. The oil occurs in highly contorted strata of the Tertiary series. Mr. Lyman1 has given a detailed description of the principal wells, lying mainly in the Provinces of Ugo, Echigo, Shinano, and Tootomi.

In the first of these reports, he says:-"In the Miyôhôji and Kosôdzu (Echigo) oil region, there are (beside a larger number of old abandoned wells) about 178 productive wells, which altogether yield about 4 barrels a day, making an average of about 1 gallon a day for each well. The best well is at Machikata, and yields about half a barrel a day. The best of the former wells was at Kitakata, and for fourteen days (in 1871) it yielded a daily average of 19 barrels, but after that only about 8 barrels a day. Reviewing all the Echigo oil fields, we find that there are in all 522 productive wells, of which the deepest is 122 fathoms (732 feet) deep, the greatest yield is about 1-2 barrel a day, and the total yield about 22 barrels a day, giving an average of about 2 gallons a day for each well. Such a yield, if kept up through the whole year, summer and winter, would amount, for all the wells together, to 9,500 barrels a year, worth, at 12 gallons to the dollar, $31,650. At Shinano, on the other hand, the yield is far smaller. There are in that Province, in spite of the numerous traces of oil and gas, only twenty-two productive wells, of which the deepest is 57 fathoms (342 feet) deep, and the best has a yield of 2 barrels a day; and the total yield is a little over 5 barrels a day, or an average of 94 gallons a day to each well; or in a year, 1,900 barrels altogether, worth about $6,250. The whole yield of the two Provinces, then, is about equal to that of two average Pennsylvania oil wells. Yet two or three cases have occurred in Echigo of a yield of 15 to 19 barrels a day for a few days when the wells were new. At Miyôhôji they talk of having had a profit of $70,000 to $80,000 from a single well, and the general estimate of the yield of that field has been high."

In 1879, the deepest well was 780 feet, the average depth being 178 feet. The oil is usually greenish-black and heavy. That of Oguni, in the district of Uni in Ugo, has a density of 38° B. In 1888, Professor Fesca observed a water which had a strong odour

1 Geological Survey of Japan. Reports of Progress for 1877, 1878, and 1879.

of petroleum, in Mabana, in the Province of Kazusa, but although he was able to ignite the film of oil on the surface, he states that he could not collect enough for testing in the laboratory.

The American system of drilling has been tried in Japan, three wells having been drilled in 1890, to depths ranging from 800 to 1,000 feet, but it has not hitherto replaced the primitive method of collecting the oil in shafts excavated by hand. The oil is refined in the districts where it is found, and is conveyed on camels to Tokio and other towns, in large skins. It is stated that certain Chinese seaport towns are almost exclusively supplied with Japanese oil.

Petroleum occurs in Japan in soft sandstone of light brown colour, the beds having a dip of 20°. The oil has a density of from 38° to 40° Baumé, and is stated to yield 85 per cent. of kerosene.

Petroleum is also reported to occur in the Island of Saghalien, north of Japan and east of Siberia. Mr. Batsévitch states that the oil resembles that of the Caucasus, and that it is found both in the northern and southern parts of the island. Several borings, at depths of from 21 to 30 feet, are said to have yielded from 20 to 30 gallons of oil daily.

Africa. In South Africa, surface indications are said to be frequently met with. Mr. Campbell Johnston has reported the existence of petroleum in the Orange Free State, and oil shale is said to occur in the high veldt almost on the track of the Delagoa Bay and Pretoria Railway. Petroleum is stated to have been recently found in the Karroo district.

In the English territory of Appolonia, about 40 miles from Axim, on the Gold Coast, large quantities of solid bitumen, and deep holes filled with liquid petroleum, are said to exist within a mile or two of the sea. The coarse sand is in places saturated with oil, which is easily collected by making a shallow excavation A specimen of this oil examined in the author's laboratory was of dark brown colour, and was almost free from smell. It had a specific gravity of 0.979, and a flashing point of 370° F. (close test).

North America.-In North America, petroleum is found in a few localities in addition to those already described.

In Newfoundland some boring for petroleum has been carried out by two companies at Port-au-Port, in Bay St. George, on the west coast, but no oil was found, and the enterprise was soon abandoned. In the Geological Survey of Canada Report, 1877-8, it is stated that petroleum occurs between Bonne Bay and St. John's Island, north of Cow Harbour, and in the report to the Newfoundland Government, by Mr. J. P. Howley, on the Humber Valley, 1893, p. 16, it is asserted that near Deer Lake, in the east of Newfoundland, a dark grey shale occurs which is highly bituminous in parts, “and on exposure to a sufficient heat, ignites and burns with a clear flame, giving off the odour of naphtha.'

In Mexico, immense quantities of asphalt are said to occur in the eastern States of Tamulipas, Vera Cruz, and Tabasco; in fact, along the whole Atlantic coast of Mexico, these deposits are met

with to a greater or less extent. According to Hechler, the great asphalt beds of Moloacan, in Vera Cruz, occur on and near an isolated conical mountain, about 1,200 feet high, the liquid asphalt known as 'chapopote" by the Indians, being obtained from pits on the slopes of this mountain.

Petroleum also is found in these States, as well as in the State of Oajaca, near Punta de los Angeles, on the Pacific Coast. Mr. G. Stockfleth, who has visited the country, has informed the author that in the Macuspana district of the State of Tabasco, he observed several large pools of water, the surface of which was covered with a stratum of oil an inch in thickness, and in one place he saw a stream of thick oil flowing into a ditch. Both light and heavy oils occur in this neighbourhood, and near Tampico a somewhat heavy oil, having a strong odour, is found. In Oajaca, where borings have been made by Mexicans to a depth of about 100 feet, Mr. Stockfleth obtained samples of light oil of good quality. In the district of Tautoyuca, State of Vera Cruz, there is a spring of petroleum flowing at the rate of from a quarter to half a barrel daily. This oil is said to have been collected by the inhabitants for the past fifty years for use in lamps, and for dressing the wounds of animals.

A sample of crude Mexican petroleum from a surface deposit, examined by the author, was a somewhat viscid liquid at ordinary temperatures, showing the usual fluorescence by reflected light, and having a chestnut-brown colour when viewed in thin layers by transmitted light. It was practically odourless when cold, but had a slightly balsamic smell when warmed. Its specific gravity at 60° F. was 0.970, its flashing point 300° F. (close test), and its viscosity by Redwood's viscometer 1987 at 140° F.

South America.--The deposits in South America appear to possess great potential importance, but only those of Peru, which have been already described, have been systematically worked. In Venezuela, both petroleum and asphalt occur, the most important district lying in the neighbourhood of Lake Maracaibo in the north. The United States Consul at Maracaibo states that part of the department of Colon, between the Rivers Santa Anna and Zulia, and the Sierra of the Columbian frontier, is very rich in asphalt and petroleum. He adds that a little more than 4 miles from the confluence of the Rivers Tara and Sardinate, there is a mound of sand 25 to 30 feet high, and about 8,000 square feet in area, having many cylindrical holes from which streams of petroleum and hot water are ejected. It is said that over 5,700 gallons of petroleum was ejected from one of these orifices in twenty-four hours.

In the State of Bermudez, there is reported to be a lake or deposit, having an area of more than 1,000 acres, of solid bitumen or asphalt, which contains only 2.14 per cent. of earthy and vegetable matters, and is, therefore, much less impure than the Trinidad Lake asphalt.

Large quantities of a rich, dark brown, laminated, bituminous deposit, locally known as "turfa," occur in the Camamu basin in the Province of Bahia, Brazil. No signs of plant or animal remains have

been found in it, but it has been suggested that it was produced by the aggregation and decomposition of vegetable matter in mangrove swamps, such as still exist in the locality. Small quantities of asphalt have been found in conjunction with the turfa. Mr. Wallace has obtained by distillation, 58.48 per cent. of volatile matter from turfa dried at 212° F., and estimates that 1 ton would yield 68 gallons of crude oil, of specific gravity 0.888, and 6 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia.

In Colombia, asphalt is reported to occur on the northern shores and along the Magdalena River, in large quantities. Petroleum is reported from Tubera, near the mouth of the Magdalena. Very favourable reports as to the richness in oil of Colombia have recently been made. Mr. C. F. Z. Caracristi states that, near the Rio Arboletes, he found no less than forty petroleum "springs," one of which had a crater about 12 inches in diameter, and yielded sufficient oil to fill a 6-inch pipe. A large pond of petroleum, 60 feet in diameter, and from 3 to 10 feet in depth, was found near the spring. The oil passes through a bed of coral, and is said to be very pure. The springs occur at from 1 to 3 miles from the Gulf of Uraha. At about 10 miles from the Rio Iquana, in the mountain range of Gigantones, a "geyser" was found, which alternately discharged petroleum and water, with small lumps of lime, together with sulphur and ozokerite. The oil and water issued at a temperature of 120° F.

Other springs are reported to occur on the plain of Medina, at the foot of the extinct crater of Guaycaraime, within that part of the SouthEastern Cordilleras which terminates in the plains of Medina, about 9 miles from the River Upia, a tributary of the Meta. The oil issues in thin streams from the crevices between the layers of a sandstone about 15 or 20 feet above the ground, and forms a pool at the foot. The oil is free from water, and the rate of flow was estimated, by noting the time taken to fill a ditch of 2 cubic metres capacity, at 2 barrels per minute. A specimen of this oil examined by the author, was dark brown in colour when viewed in a thin film by transmitted light, exhibited but little fluorescence, and had a slight odour of not unpleasant character. Its specific gravity was 0.926, its flashing point 310° F. (Abel test), and its viscosity at 70° about two and a-half times that of rape oil. It solidified at 5° F.

The petroleum fields of Santa Elena in Ecuador, lie about 125 miles south-east of the port of Guayaquil. The principal surface indications occur at St. Raymando, on the coast; at St. Paula, about 3 miles inland; at Achagian, 2 miles north-east of St. Paula; and at a place midway between the villages of St. Elena and St. Raymando. At the latter place, "gum" beds, or deposits of thickened petroleum, are numerous, and the beach is found to be saturated with oil when the tide is out. In places, oil oozes from the outcrop of sandstone. At St. Paula, where sufficient oil is obtained for local use, about forty wells, varying in depth from 3 to 8 metres, have been excavated. They vary in diameter from about 4 metres at the surface to 1 metre at the bottom, and pass through a surface stratum 1 metre thick, 2 metres of

dark shale, 1 metre of gravel, sand, and boulders, 2 metres of adhesive green shale, and 2 metres of dark sand or sandy loam. Most of the oil is derived from the last stratum, from which it trickles out. It is collected by skimming it off the water, and is carried in barrels, holding about 20 gallons, to the coast, on mules or donkeys. A number of old dug wells also exist at Achagian, about 2 miles north-east of St. Paula, but these are no longer worked.

Petroleum also occurs in Chili and in Argentina. Consul Baker reported in 1882, that the eastern slopes of the Sierras of the Andes and the upper parts of Argentina, are said to be rich in petroleum. One of the deposits in the province of Jujuy is stated to form a pool covered with asphalt. The oil is black, and has no disagreeable odour.

The Province of Salta has long been celebrated for its oil springs and bituminous slates. One bore-hole is said to have yielded 300 barrels daily at a depth of 115 metres. At the close of the year 1889 there were said to be five producing wells near Mendoza, and between that time and 1893, when the number of wells had been increased to twelve, the output of petroleum in this district was reported to have been 1,500 tons. The oil was used partly as fuel in the locomotives on the Argentine Great Western Railway, and partly as a source of light in Mendoza. A specimen of the crude petroleum was found by the author to have a specific gravity of 0.935, a flashing point of 178° F. (Abel test), and a congealing point of 32° F. According to Stelzner, the oil occurs in the Rhætic formation, which appears to be petroliferous only in this district and that of Sehnde in Hanover, though it yields asphalt in the Tyrol.

The chief petroleum districts of Bolivia are at Guarazuti, Plata, and Signiracada (between Oran and Pilcomayo), within an area of 93-6 kilometres. Hurrs1 states that three springs in the district have formed a superficial deposit.

Australia.-But little is known in respect to the occurrence of petroleum in Australia. Indications are, however, reported to have been met with at York Town, at the extreme end of the York Peninsula, between Gulfs Spenser and St. Vincent, and it is said that gas has been found at a depth of about 2,000 feet, after boring through sandstone and conglomerate, at Narrabeen near Sydney, New South Wales. The Australian shale deposits are referred to in the section dealing with the shale-oil industry.

New Zealand. The existence of petroleum and natural gas in New Zealand (North Island) has long been known, and has been the subject of many reports. The principal indications occur at New Plymouth and on the Sugar Loaves, and on the opposite side of the island along a belt of country extending from Horoera Point, near the East Cape, where a film of oil is said to be sometimes observed on the sea, to the Okahuatin Block, which is about 30 miles west of Gisborne (Poverty Bay). The Taranaki district (New Plymouth) is a promontory on the west coast of the North Island (Mount Egmont, 8,200 feet). In Hector's sketch-map of the geology of New Zealand, 1 Wagner's Jahresbericht, 1868, xiv. 728.