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By R. W. Drier

THE conductivity of copper wire is of prime importance to the electrical industry and consequently to the copper refiner and wire manufacturer. Annealed copper wire has a higher conductivity than hard-drawn wire, but, on the other hand, its tensile strength is lower. In an attempt to explain the reasons for these changes in property or at least to study the conditions existing in these two types of copper wire, the experiments described here were carried on in the Department of Metallurgy of the Michigan College of Mining and Technology. This is only a partial and preliminary report on some of the work done to date on a research program of which the object is an intensive study of copper. It is offered with the hope that, though it is not an exposition of the most rigorous of conclusions, the general trend of inferences which may be drawn will be of value and interest.

Jan 1, 1929

By Jerry B. Newby

In the central Ohio area well completions and new production each increased 60 per cent. in 1928 over the previous year. Gas wells increased only 27 per cent. The ratio of dry holes to total completions was unchanged. Ashland County led with 113 completions; a new pool in the shallow Berea sand near Jeromesville stimulated activity. Licking County in the Clinton deep sand territory, however, lead in new production with 972 bbl. Two other deep sand counties followed closely, Coshocton with 831 bbl., and Muskingum with 718 barrels. The Trenton rock or Lima field of northwestern Ohio declined sharply in oil well completions to 130 for 1928 from 210 for the previous year. New production increased from 3000 to 6100 bbl., the increase coming from the Murphy pool in Liberty township, Seneca County. The total of gas wells was unchanged as compared with 1927. The ratio of dry holes to total completions rose from 13 per cent. in 1927 to 27 per cent, in 1928. The largest producer in the Murphy pool made 1200 bbl, in the first 24 hr. The total depth of the wells in this pool averages 1475 ft.; average initial production, 125 barrels.

Jan 1, 1929

SINCE 1900, five underground fires of consequence have beenrecorded in the Broken Hill mines. These occurred at the Junction(1906), Proprietary (1906 and 1916), Block 14 (1906), and Centralmines (1923). All have been extinguished, but at an enormouscost; e.g., in the eleven months following on the 1923 Central mine fire the sum of £187,123 was expended in fire-fighting operations.To this series may be added others, as the South (1925) and British mine (1918) fires, which were extinguished before serious damage had resulted. All, however, have occurred within a period of 28 years, and in a district where spontaneous combustion, a prolific source of fire in the U.S.A., has been practically nonexistent. Therefore, definite fire risks exist in the underground workings of the Broken Hill mines, and, as a consequence, an active fire prevention policy is a necessity...

Jan 1, 1929

By Sherwin F. Kelly

Drilling in the Oligocene potash basin of Alsace prior to 1927 had shown important differences of level in the salt beds thus encountered. TO explain this a somewhat unsatisfactory hypothesis of faulting had been advanced. During the latter part of 1926 and the beginning of 1927 our firm was engaged by two organizations1 for the purpose of trying to supplement, by an electrical survey, the geological data this far collected. As a result of this exploration it was possible to affirm that salt dome structures were present in the Oligocene basin of the Upper Rhine, something heretofore absolutely unknown in that region. Two salt domes were actually outlined: one, near Meyenheim, was made the subject of a communication to the Academy of Sciences, by G. Friedel;2 the other, near Hetten-schlag, was briefly discussed by C. and M. Schlumberger3 before the same academy. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the stratigraphic and structural conditions of the area where these salt domes were found; to discuss the results of the electrical survey which led to the location of the domes; and to indicate the new geological outlookwhich such a discovery suggests. Stratigraphy In the southern part of the Rhine graben the Oligocene rests almost directly on the Middle Jurassic and consists, in ascending order, of: 1. Green marls, not salt-bearing, composed of fresh and brackish water deposits. 2. Middle stage, salt-bearing, consisting of lower-schistose marls and upper, variegated marls. 3. Blue marls, not salt-bearing, but including gypsum deposits; hence sediments laid down in a bay more or less connected with the sea.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. R. Hanley

IT is a well-known fact that the solubility of zinc compounds decreases when these compounds are roasted in contact with iron compounds, but descriptions of tests to quantitatively express the fact have not appeared in the literature. Possibly such an expression cannot be uniformly and exactly duplicated by different operators because of the variation in the personal equation. In a general way, however, the reactions between zinc compounds and iron compounds under roasting conditions will show a certain trend with changing conditions and the approximate quantitative expression of this trend appears reasonably well established by experimental work conducted for this purpose. Ferrites and Marmatites The name "ferrite" has been given to the compound of zinc and iron which has the formula Zn0.Fe203. Among the questions pertinent to this subject are those involving inherent or natural ferrite, and also the synthetic or artificial variety. The inherent or natural product is formed when the mineral containing iron and zinc sulfides isomorphously crystallized is subjected to oxidation at roasting temperature. These isomorphously crystallized minerals are known, mineralogically, as marmatites, and contain ZnS and FeS in ratios of 2 to 1 up to 5 to 1 respectively. The zinc and iron sulfides form a definite mineral. They are firmly attached to each other and form common contact planes through which diffusion of the entities occurs during the roasting process. This diffusion of the molecularly intimate entities produces, during roasting, the compound referred to as ferrite, in proportion to the amount of iron originally present in the marmatite. For example, a marmatite from British Columbia containing 9.739 per cent. Fe and 56.87 per cent. Zn corresponds with the mineral having the formula 5ZnS.FeS. The ferrite produced in roasting, which has the formula ZnO.Fe203, contains 27.07 per cent. Zn and 46.40

Jan 1, 1929

MEMBERS, JUNIOR MEMBERS, ASSOCIATES AND JUNIOR ASSOCIATES LIST OF MEMBERS ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS ** Junior Member. t Associate. || Junior Associate. Members are not marked. Capital letters signify Honorary membership. Student Associate and Rocky Mountain members on pages 165-167. Abadilla. Quirico A Catanawan. Tayabas, P. I. Abbey. Robert Graham. District Mgr The W. W. Sly Mfn. Co., 60 Church St New York. N. Y. Abbott. A. N Mines Supt Mazapil Copper Co Ltd . .Conception del Oro. Zac., Mexico. Abbott. Ckrence E Mgr Mines & Quarries, Tenn. Coal. Iron & R. R. Co 1242 Brown Marx Bldg Birminrham. Ala. Abbott. Louie Benjamin. Chief Enar Consolidation Coal Co Elkhorn Div .Jenkins, KY. Abeel. Gsorge H Jr., Cons. Min. Enar .Box 427. Santa Monica. Cal. Abel. Albert E Asst. to Pres Valley Mould & Iron Corp Hubbard. Ohio. Abel. Raymond L. Asst. Prof., Dept. of Pet. Refin Univ. of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh. Pa. Abernathy. George Elmer. Prof. of Geol. & Min Kansas State Teachers College. Pittsburg. Kans. IlAbernethy. D. Carl, Jr. Min. Engr Hudson Coal Co .Scranton. Pa. Abey, Hiroshi. Min. & Met. Engr., Min. & Met. Dept., The Higher Technical School, Osaka. Japan. tAbarn, Robert H Instructor in Met Harvard University Cambridge, Mass tAbozeid,Mahmood. Pet. Production E r . . Marland Oil Co. Ponca City, Okla. Abraham. Arthur W Geol., Richfield Oil Co Box 788. Bakersfield, Cal. Abraham, W. E. V Member, Staff of Burmah Oil Co Ltd. Nyaunghla. Upper Burmz, India. Abrahams. Alexander I Gen'l Mgr., Racon Electrical Co Slough, Bucks England. tAbrahammn. C. W Min. Engr The Mond Nickel Co Ltd . Coniston, Ont Canada. IlAbmn. Guy W., Asst. Metallographist, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., Research Dept., Youngstown. Ohio. Abstein. Henry T., Engr. & Mgr Profile-Tamarack Mines Co . .Yellow Pine, Idaho. tAcker. E. O'C Met I28 East Washington Lane. Germantown, Philadelphia. Pa. Ackerman. D. E Met. Research Lab International Nickel Co Inc Bayonne. N. J. tAbckerman. Ernest R Pres., Lawrence Portland Cement Co . .Plainfield. Union Co N. J. ||Ackerman. George F Jr. Min. Engr El Potosi Min. Co. .Apt. 13. Chihuahua, Chih Mexico. Acres, T. H Geol. Dept Valuation & Pet. Engr., Richfield Oil Co. 655 S. Flower St Los Angeles. Cal. Adachi. Jinzoo Address Wanted. Adair. Arthur C Valuation Enar., Internal Revenue. Treasury Dept., Washington, D. C. Adam. John. Min. Ennr., The Zinc Corp. Ltd., Box 4 C. Broken Hill, N. S. W Australia. Adami. Arthur E V. P Montana State School of Mines.Butte, Mont. Adami. Charles J Min. Ensr St. Joseph Lead Co 4540 Lindel Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. Adams. C. W.729 South Normandie St LaGranada Apt Los Angeles, Cal. Adams. Cmyler Geerwwd. Minn. Adams. F. J Gen'l Anent. Gulf Production & Pipa Line Cos .Fort Worth. Tex. ADAMS. FRANK DAWSON. Logan Prof. of Geology and Dean, Faculty of Applied Science, McGill Univ Montreal. Que Canada. Adama, Gale L Research Enar., General Pet. Corp. of California, Higgins Bldg Los Angeles. Cal. Adams. George I, Prof. of Geol. & Mineralogy Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Adams. H. H Cons. Geol Room 416, W. T. Waagoner Bldg Fort Worth. Tex. Adams, Henry. Cons. Min. Ennr 1050 Edgewood Ave., Plainfield, N. J. Adams, Henry H.285 Madison Ave., New York. N. Y. Adams, Henry Farnum. Engr., Charge. Experimental Work. Inspiration Concentrator, Inspiration Cons. Copper Co Box 354. Inspiration. Ariz. Adams. Huntington. Min. Enar I41 Broadway, New York. N. Y. Mama, Leland D., V. P., Leslie-California Salt Co 166 Montgomery St., San Francisco, Cal. Adams, Louis W., Illinois Steel Co .Gary. Ind.

Jan 1, 1929

By Henry Ferguson

THIS paper is a preliminary statement, intended to present the more important results of the recent studies of the ore deposits of the Alleghany district in advance of the publication of the complete report, now in preparation. The Alleghany district (Fig. 1) has been a producer of gold since the early days of California gold mining. As in other California gold camps, placers yielded the bulk of the earlier production, but during the last 30 years lode deposits have been the only important source of output. The district differs from other California gold-quartz districts in that nearly all the production is from small shoots of high-grade ore. The mining camps of Alleghany and Forest are on the western flank of the Sierra Nevada range about 20 miles west of the crest. The gently sloping lava-covered plateau which controls the upland topography has been trenched by deep canyons of the westward flowing streams, which are cut to depths of as much as 2000 ft. below the crests of the ridges. The district is about 18 miles from Nevada City but the automobile road which connects the two places is 31 miles long. The senior writer first visited the district in 1913 and published a short description of the lode deposits.1 The increasing importance of the district made further study desirable. A detailed topographic map was therefore made by W. B. Upton, Jr., of the U. S. Geological Survey, in the spring of 1924, and the senior writer spent parts of the field seasons of 1924 and 1925 in the district. For the second field season the Geological Survey was fortunate in securing the services of R. W. Gannett, who had already done geologic work in the district for several of the mining companies. Owing to the death of Mr. Gannett in October, 1925, just before the close of his field work, the work of preparation of the entire report fell to Mr. Ferguson. He takes this opportunity of acknowledging how deeply he is indebted to Mr. Gannett for his excellent work in the field, and his realization of how greatly the completion of the report on the district has suffered from lack of Mr. Gannett's assistance in the office. In October, 1.928, after the completion of the first draft of the manuscript, Mr. Ferguson made a short visit to the district.

Jan 1, 1929

By Max Mason

In 1923 a Western mining company was experimenting with the device of an inventor designed to locate buried ores by radio. Because the progress was slow and the results were confusing, the company began to doubt the usefulness of the method and invited me to review the whole question of the application of physics to ore detection. I was fortunate in securing the cooperation of several physicists who had worked with me during the war on the problem of submarine detection. This group has been increased and has been studying the problem of physical exploration for ores since that time. It was evident that the problem is a big one, with many angles of approach. Its general features may be set down, in rough outline, as follows: The soils, rocks and ores hidden beneath the surface differ one from another in many respects. These differences may be made to furnish a clew for the physicists working from the surface. To bring these differences into action the physicist creates some kind of an effect which penetrates into the ground and is distorted and reflected when it meets boundaries between different sorts of underground structure. In other words, he sends a message down, and the rocks and ore send back signals in reply. In picturing this process, we should not regard the ground as dense and impenetrable. The kind of messages used pass through the earth about as readily as a sound wave travels the air. If, then, the fundamental procedure is to shout down questions in the hope that an orebody will hear and answer back to us, it is clear that a large part of the expert's study must relate to the kind of questions best suited to the temperament and intelligence of orebodies. It will be easier for the ore to reply to some of our questions than to others, and it is for us to find the right questions. In certain cases, we are spared the necessity of using a messenger, because nature has already provided one. For example, we already have a terrestrial magnetic field which automatically and continually conveys messages from underneath. We also have available the earth's gravitational field which furnishes us

Jan 1, 1929

Jan 1, 1929

By D. M. Collingwood

The year 1928 has been marked by scattered but considerable wildcat drilling considering the overproduction prevalent in the oil industry. This wildcatting has resulted in the discovery of oil in one interior salt dome, several small fields producing from serpentine, Taylor marl, and Austin chalk, and two new fields producing from the Edwards limestone, one of which in the Bruner or Salt Flat area of Caldwell County promises to be of major importance if not quite as large as the Luling field. Fig. 1 shows production by fields for 1928, compared in the case of the older fields, with that for 1927. New Production From Salt Domes Boggy Creek Dome This salt dome was discovered in 1927 by core drilling and deep tests recommended on the evidence of surface geology. A large block of acreage controlled by the Humble Oil & Refining Co. covers the dome. Since the discovery of the deep-lying salt plug and oil on the flank of this dome in 1927, development has proceeded slowly. Since most of the acreage is controlled in a large block by one company there has been no intensive competitive drilling. Approximately 8 producers and 16 dry holes have been drilled. Production is from the eastern equivalent of the Woodbine and Eagleford horizons of the Mexia district, and has been found extending in a northeast-southnlest direction across the River Neches on the southeast flank of the dome. One of the best wells, the T. H. Jones No. 2, had an initial production of 90 bbl. per hr., and others have made from 100 bbl. per day to 50 bbl. per hr., but production of the better wells has either been shut in or choked down to less than 2000 bbl. per day. At the end of the year the daily average, production was about 2500 bbl. from 8 wells. Considerable gas pressure is present and one well, the Elliot Clark No. 2, drilled in 1927, was shut in with an estimated wet gas production of over 5,000,000 cubic feet.

Jan 1, 1929

By Finlay, J. S.

THE North Lily Mine started its career in an unusual way it was discovered by a geologist. The remarkable circumstance of driving a 2400-ft. drift into an unexplored country and "hitting her on the nose," indicates that geologists are sometimes numbered among those whom the Lord loves. Diamond- drilling from surface had previously shown the presence and position of the Ophir beds, and surface showings of pebble-dykes, faults, and bleached rhyolite indicated conditions similar to those at the Tintic Standard "Pot-hole." The discovery drift from the Tintic Stand- ard 700-level reached the North Lily orebody in January, 1926, and development and stoping were continued by Tintic Standard men and equipment until the North Lily shaft was sunk and put into service in May, 1928. The discovery drift was run on a cooperative basis by the Tintic Standard and North Lily mining com- panies. Finding the North Lily mine cost the North Lily company $26,000. The Tintic Standard Mining Co. furnished men and equipment to drive this discovery drift at a fraction of what it would have cost to find the orebody from surface. This was the beginning of the friendly cooperation that still exists. Through Tintic Standard ground the Tintic Standard paid two- thirds of the cost and the North Lily one-third; the cost of the drift through Eureka Lily, into North Lily ground, was paid by North Lily. Later, another drift from the Tintic Standard 900-level was run on the same plan, excepting that Eureka Lily paid its share of the cost; that is, the Eureka Lily paid one-third of the expense in Tintic Standard ground, and the Eureka Lily two-thirds and North Lily one-third in Eureka Lily ground. This 900-drift was driven by North Lily from the Eureka Lily line to near the North Lily west side-line. From this point the Chief Consolidated continued the drift well into Tintic Bullion ground.

Jan 1, 1929

Jan 1, 1929

By A. M. McQueen

Activity in the oil industry in Peru was somewhat above normal in 1928. Probably the most significant feature was the interest displayed in the oriental region in the northeast part of the country (Fig. 1). This region, though little known, has long been considered potentially rich in oil! gold, coal and other minerals, lacking only transportation to make it the country's most valuable source of income. The Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, through its recently formed subsidiary the Standard Oil Co. of Peru, has acquired various tracts along the Maranon and Ucayali rivers in the neighborhood of the Brazilian border. Standard Oil Co. interests have had geological and surveying parties in this part of Peru since 1921, and as a result of the work done, we understand they have under lease at the present time some 2,500,000 acres of prospective oil lands. Development in the coastal region continued along normal lines during the past year. Production figures for both the International Petroleum Co. and Lobitos Oilfields show a small increase over the last few years. Total production figures since 1924 for the International Petroleum, Lobitos Oilfields and Zorritos companies, only in a minor degree estimated, are as follows: 1924, 7,924,700 bbl.; 1925, 9,138,042 bbl.; 1926, 10,750,676 bbl.; 1927, 10,110,696 bbl., and 1928, 11,969,677 barrels. International Petroleum Co., Ltd. Operations on the La Brea-Parinas Estate during 1928 continued with satisfactory results; nearly all branches showing improvement over the previous year. The average daily production for 1928 was 25,966 bbl., compared with 21,282 bbl. for 1927, an increase of 22 per cent. During the last two or three years, production methods on the company's property have been improved in line with the advance in scientific technique throughout the oil fields of the United States. Extensive investments were made in compressor equipment for handling surplus gas with the result that the gas-lift and repressuring operations are in no small way responsible for the increase in the 1928 production. In addition, the company's three casinghead plants produced 24,847,708 gal. of gasoline compared with 17,240,865 gal. in the previous year.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. B. Hooker

Gassy mines require daily inspections with methane detectors to test for the presence of methane. Although in many manes it may be sufficient to know that there is no methane present or that its percentage is below a certain amount, it is desirable and often necessary to determine definitely the percentage of methane at the working faces and in the various air currents. The Bureau of Mines recognizes two general types of portable methane detectors, namely; 1. Methane detectors by which the presence of methane may be detected and its approximate percentage estimated.

Jan 1, 1929

By Staff

One hundred thousand miles of flying over the North country without a single air casualty; much of it over virgin territory probably never before visited by white men; some of it over regions that abound with possibilities for minerals; all of it effective, for exploration and the establishment of bases and supply-stations, and for the carrying of men and their tools and provisions- this, briefly, is the record of Northern Aerial Minerals Exploration, Limited, a Canadian company organized Jess than nine months ago, which has been functioning, without interruption, during spring, summer, and now into winter. Our planes have ranged from the Alaskan boundary on the west to the Labrador coast on the east, and from the Transcontinental railway north to the Arctic circle. Our prospectors, carried on trips of hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of miles, have gone over large sections of country which were never before explored, and at the end of the prospecting season the Company finds itself in possession of several groups of important gold claims, which look most promising. In addition to this, we have been in contact with deposits of almost every known mineral.

Jan 1, 1929

This fund was established in 1929 for support of research and especially refers to non-ferrous mining and metallurgy. It is administered under the Board by a committee consisting of the President and Secretary and three members selected by the Board. HOWE MEMORIAL LECTURE The Howe Memorial Lecture, in memory of Henry Marion Howe, Past President of the Institute, was authorized in April, 1923, as an annual address to be delivered by invitation under the auspices of the Institute by an individual of recognized and outstanding attainment in the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography, chosen by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Iron and Steel Division. The following were the Howe lectarers for the years indicated: Albert Sauveur—1924 Bradley Stoughton—1927 John A. Mathews—1925 Henry D. Hibbard—1928 William Campbell—1926 John Howe Hall.—1929 JOINT ACTIVITIES The Institute conducts jointly with the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and American Institute of Electrical Engineers, certain activities as listed below, and is joint owner with them of certain properties. United Engineering Society This is a corporation organized by the American Institute of Mining Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American lnstitute of Electrical Engineers, to hold the title and administer the property at 29 West 39th St. In 1916, the American Society of Civil Engineers was admitted, and each society now has an equal one-fourth interest in the ownership, occupancy, and administration of the building. . The cost of this property has been over two million dollars. A. I. M. E. representatives are: Arthur S. Dwight, John V. N. Dorr and H. A. Guess. Alfred U. Flinn, Secretary, 29 West 39th St., New York City. Engineering Foundation This is a fund established by the United Engineering Society in 1915 with a gift of $200,000 from Ambrose Swasey. Subsequent gifts had increased the fund to about $620,000 on March 1, 1929. The income of the fund is used to further research in science and engineering and to advance the profession of engineering and the good of mankind. A research project in alloys of iron is being conducted in

Jan 1, 1929

By B. A. Rogers

The etching effect that is produced on a piece of polished iron or steel when it is heated in hydrogen or in a vacuum seems to have been observed first by Osmond,' who believed that he could distinguish four systems of grain boundaries on a piece of steel which had been heated in hydrogen. In a number of other investigations, samples of pure iron were found, after heating, to have complex networks in which two or three systems of grain boundaries could be detected. It was further noticed that samples that had been polished plane before being placed in the furnace were, after treatment, roughened and undulating over their entire surfaces. From a comparison of the temperature of heat treatment with that of the A3 transformation, it was concluded that the changed appearance of the samples was definitely related to the latter phenomenon. Certain other deductions were made but these are not of importance here and only observations on the appearance of the samples will be reviewed. Ewen2 heated a strip of polished iron in a vacuum in such a way that one end was maintained at a temperature of 1000" C. and the other at 580" C. On the cooler end there was outlined a simple polyhedral network, and at the hotter there appeared the complex systern of lines ant the undulating surface characteristic of iron which has passed through the A3 transformation. He found that in going from the cooler toward thc hotter end the sample maintained much the same character of surface up to the beginning of the transformed area, but that near this region doublc grain boundaries were of frequent occurrence. Rawdon and Scott concluded that the simple type of network brought out by heating a sample of pure iron in a vacuum was of the same type as that developec by ordinary etching methods. They also confirmed the observations of

Jan 1, 1929

By J. Th. Erb

Oil is found in commercial quantities in the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Tarakan and Ceram. The oil deposits of the Dutch East Indies and Sarawak are with one exception of Tertiary origin and as a rule are bound to anticlinal structures. The number of layers varies in most fields and in some of them asmuch as 14 oil-producing levels have been established. The crude oil varies rather much in composition. Some of it, particularly from North and South Sumatra, has a gasoline content up to 50 Per cent. Borneo produces mainly wax oil, while the Tarakan oil can be used directly as liquid fuel. In Java both wax and wax-free oil are produced. ' In all important fields installations have been erected to treat the wet gas. The lean gas is used for gas-lift purposes, Marietta process, and as fuel for boilers and motors, either in the fields or in the refineries. Formerly only percussion systems (Canadian, Californian and a drilling system devised especially for the purposes of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Concern) were applied in the Dutch East Indies, but in recent years the rotary system has been predominant and good results have been obtained with it. The deepest producer has recently been struck in South Sumatra at a depth of 1624 m. (5328 ft.), with a daily production of about 350 cu. m. crude oil. The crude is brought by an extensive system of trunk lines to the refineries, of which one is in North Sumatra (Pangkalan Brandan), two arc in South Sumatra near the town of Palembang, two in East ,Java (Tjepoe and Wonokromo), one in East Borneo (Balik Papan) and one in Sarawak (Miri). Production The principal producing concerns in the 'East Indies are: De Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij, the producing subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Concern; Sarawak Oilfields Ltd., one of the

Jan 1, 1929

By J. Ehner Thomas, M. D. Gould

Until four years ago the market price of oil securities moved directly and immediately with the general list. This point, was first developed by the senior author in 1924 while making a statistical study of the relative movement of oil securities and the general market. Plotting the monthly averages of 17 oils against 233 industrials disclosed the sur- prising relationship shown in Fig. 1. The traditional vagaries of the oil business, the wide fluctuations in current supply and resulting abrupt changes in crude prices nevertheless produced no movements in the market price of oil securities as a group, which departed notably from the movements of the general market. Obviously general business conditions did not always change when and as conditions in the oil industry changed; clearly the fluctuations of

Jan 1, 1929

By H. J. Wasson, E. B. Hopkins

Throughout 1928, production of oil from Venezuela steadily increased, and at the close of the year, the output was at the rate of nearly 400,000 bbl. a day. The total for the year was approximately 106,500,000 bbl., representing an increase of about 66 per cent. over the 63,000,000 bbl. produced in 1927. Venezuela now stands next to the United States as the second largest oil-producing country in the world; and there is abundant evidence to suggest that this relationship will endure for a number of years. Reserves were notably increased in the Lake shore fields, and the potential output of the Maracaibo Basin is much greater than the current production. In spite of this, the percentage of production increase was comparatively moderate, and the rate of this increase continued to fall off slightly, as has been the case for the last three years. This does not suggest that further annual increases in Venezuelan output will not materialize; only that the rate of these increases appears to be on the decline, and that with every succeeding year the future tendency will be in the direction of a stabilized level of output. The following table shows the production trend of the country since 1925: 1925 increase over 1924, 132 per cent. 1926 increase over 1925, 80 per cent. 1927 increase over 1926, 75 per cent. 1928 increase over 1927, 66 per cent. Many factors will work to prevent a reversal of this trend, but the principal ones are strong ownership in large-acreage units, and the probable indisposition of the world market to absorb a more rapidly increasing Venezuelan output at prices profitable to the producers. The distress oil element is not a factor in Venezuela; also, any unforeseen jump, such as results in the United States from the discovery of a Seminole or a deep sand at Long Beach, or Santa Fe Springs, is impossible in Venezuela, on account of lack of means for transporting a sudden surplus of oil, and the slowness with which additional transportation equipment in the form of shallow-draft tankers can be obtained.

Jan 1, 1929