- Email: [email protected]
Extent of the Texas oil field
Sept., 19ol. ~1
N o f e s a m t Comme~zts.
239
t t e n r y has been e x p e r i m e n t i n g with a view to doing away with this disagreeable feature. Iiis results are communicated to La Phologrraphie b y M. L. P. Clerc, and are t h u s condensed in the ]t>ez~ueScientijqque : "M. Charles IIeury h a s endeavored to keep the magnesia that is formed as much as possible attached to a h e a v y substance t h a t will not easily fly about and falls soon by its own w e i g h t - - n a m e l y , the binoxid of barium. This substance, at a red heat, gives up h a l f of its oxygen, a n d its salts communicate to ff~mes a brilliancy of greenish fire, w h i c h partially corrects the undue proportion of violet and ultra-violet rays emitted b y incandescent magnesia. Finally, the binoxid swells when heated a n d becomes capable of retaining t h e light powder of magnesia formed in contact with it. The sole condition to be observed, t h a t t h e binoxid may be reduced with incandescence, is to remove it vigorously from all contact w i t h oxygen. To this end, and also to insure the inflammability of t h e mixture, the powder is done up in collodion, whose products of combustion constitute a reducing atmosphere, adapted to the dissociation of the binoxid of b a r i u m at the lowest possible temperature ; all t h e elements of such a powder thus play an active part at t h e highest point. These powders have, besides, a great advantage over those made of patassium chlorate ; they are absolutely iuexplodable by the stroke of a hammer, and are iaodorous a n d without d a n g e r from t h e physiological point of view." ~I. Henry, we are told, has prepared two types o[ powder t h a t differ in their proportions of the binoxid ; the first, which has only a little magnesium, gives only 45 to 5 o per cent. of smoke, whereas ordinary powders give 75 to 9° per cent. T h e other is richer in magnesium, b u r n s more slowly, and can be used advantageously only in a speciallamp, w h e n the proportion of smoke falls as low as IO per cent., and t h e brilliancy, owing to the high temperature to which the magnesia is raised, is very great. E X T E N T OF T H E T E X A S OIL, FIELD. Robert T. Hill, of t h e United States Geological Survey, who has just returned from a t h o r o u g h geological investigation of the Texas oil district, has embodied t h e results in a report in w h i c h he says : T h e importance of this oil field is far greater than at present can be described or estimated. It m e a n s not only a cheap fuel supply to the largest State in area in the Union, but, owing to its proximity to tidewater, it promises an export trade such as exists nowhere else i n the world, Preparations are being made to sink h u n d r e d s of wells, and very soon t h e present output of 5oo,ooo barrels a day m a y be quadrupled. It is entirely within t h e limit of probability t h a t oil will be found at many places t h r o u g h o u t the coastal prairie, especially in its southern extension toward the Rio Grande and in the N o r t h e a s t e r n ~ t a t e of Mexico at Tama. lipas. T h e outcrop of t h e territory formations i n Southwest Texas, in Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen, Duval and o t h e r counties is naturally rich in oil, and the practical oil m e n are risking t h e i r money in experimenting in that region. As the oil-bearing territory extends east of t h e Mississippi into Mississippi and Alabama, it is riot beyond possibility that oil may be found in these States. It is impossible now to state exactly the extent of the oil-yielding bed
240
Nofes alld Cbm~lteJtts.
[J. F. I.
which supplies the I~eaumont well, and this can only be determined by drilling experiments. The area of profitable exploitation of the Beaumont oil fields is confined between the San Jacinto and the Sabine rivers, east of the Houston & West Texas Railroad and south of Oil City, Nacogdoches County. This area may be e x t e n d e d or restricted by future exploitation. It is very probable that other oil fiehls may be discovered in the coastal plain between Beaumont and Tampieo fields. IIere lies a vast territory, underlaid by the oil-bearing eocene formations which has not been exploited. W. Till,; I)I'~TI~RIORATION OF P A P E R . A committee of the London Society of Arts which has h a d under investigation the causes of the deterioration of paper, announces the following conclusions : The report makes special reference to the revolutionary changes in the paper industry that have taken place during the past century. They relate not only to t h e enormous growth of tim industry, but specially to the introduction of new fabrics and materials w h i c h have t a k e n their place as indispensable staples. Pulp made from wood is the most important of these new materials, and while it is admitted that it constitutes in many respects an efficient substitute, the conclusion is reached that many of these wood pulps are distinctly inferior in respect of the durability of t h e paper made from them than that made from the celluloses obtained from t h e old-fashioned materials, cotton, flax and h e m p which were the e x c l u s i v e s t a p l e materials for paper-making prior to the introduction of wood for tim purpose. The committee examined many specimens of deteriorated paper in books submitted to its members by librarians and others, some of which were in a state of complete disintegration, and made m a n y i n d e p e n d e n t examinations. The report finds t h a t papers exhibit a tendency to deteriorate in two days (t) by disintegration, and (2) by discoloration. These e r e c t s may occur independently or concurrently. Disintegration is notably exhibited in papers containing mechanical wood-pulp, although it was shown to occur in papers of all grades, from the best rag papers to the cheapest wood papers, though b y no means to so great a degree in the former. The disintegration was shown to be caused by the chemical changes t a k i n g place in the films themselves. In the case of rag papers t h e disintegration seemed to be due to acid bodies, while in the case of the wood pulp papers it was found to be due to oxidation, the effect being accomplished by a basic or alkaline reaction of the paper. Papers of all grades were found to be susceptible to the second defect of discoloration, and without entering minutely into the chemistry of t h e changes, it suffices to state t h a t this effect is traceable to the sizing operation to which all paper is subjected. It was the e o m m i t t e e ' s purpose to give to its labors a practical value by the suggestion of standards of quality. W i t h t h i s object, the report presents the following specific suggestions for a n o r m a l standard of quality for book papers required for publications of p e r m a n e n t value, viz : Fibres : not less than 7° per cent. of fibres of t h e cotton flax or h e m p class. Sizing : Not more than 2 per cent. rosin and finished with t h e normalaeidity of pure alum. Loading : Not more t h a n io p e r cent. m i n e r a l matter (ash). ~V.
N o f e s a m t Comme~zts.
239
t t e n r y has been e x p e r i m e n t i n g with a view to doing away with this disagreeable feature. Iiis results are communicated to La Phologrraphie b y M. L. P. Clerc, and are t h u s condensed in the ]t>ez~ueScientijqque : "M. Charles IIeury h a s endeavored to keep the magnesia that is formed as much as possible attached to a h e a v y substance t h a t will not easily fly about and falls soon by its own w e i g h t - - n a m e l y , the binoxid of barium. This substance, at a red heat, gives up h a l f of its oxygen, a n d its salts communicate to ff~mes a brilliancy of greenish fire, w h i c h partially corrects the undue proportion of violet and ultra-violet rays emitted b y incandescent magnesia. Finally, the binoxid swells when heated a n d becomes capable of retaining t h e light powder of magnesia formed in contact with it. The sole condition to be observed, t h a t t h e binoxid may be reduced with incandescence, is to remove it vigorously from all contact w i t h oxygen. To this end, and also to insure the inflammability of t h e mixture, the powder is done up in collodion, whose products of combustion constitute a reducing atmosphere, adapted to the dissociation of the binoxid of b a r i u m at the lowest possible temperature ; all t h e elements of such a powder thus play an active part at t h e highest point. These powders have, besides, a great advantage over those made of patassium chlorate ; they are absolutely iuexplodable by the stroke of a hammer, and are iaodorous a n d without d a n g e r from t h e physiological point of view." ~I. Henry, we are told, has prepared two types o[ powder t h a t differ in their proportions of the binoxid ; the first, which has only a little magnesium, gives only 45 to 5 o per cent. of smoke, whereas ordinary powders give 75 to 9° per cent. T h e other is richer in magnesium, b u r n s more slowly, and can be used advantageously only in a speciallamp, w h e n the proportion of smoke falls as low as IO per cent., and t h e brilliancy, owing to the high temperature to which the magnesia is raised, is very great. E X T E N T OF T H E T E X A S OIL, FIELD. Robert T. Hill, of t h e United States Geological Survey, who has just returned from a t h o r o u g h geological investigation of the Texas oil district, has embodied t h e results in a report in w h i c h he says : T h e importance of this oil field is far greater than at present can be described or estimated. It m e a n s not only a cheap fuel supply to the largest State in area in the Union, but, owing to its proximity to tidewater, it promises an export trade such as exists nowhere else i n the world, Preparations are being made to sink h u n d r e d s of wells, and very soon t h e present output of 5oo,ooo barrels a day m a y be quadrupled. It is entirely within t h e limit of probability t h a t oil will be found at many places t h r o u g h o u t the coastal prairie, especially in its southern extension toward the Rio Grande and in the N o r t h e a s t e r n ~ t a t e of Mexico at Tama. lipas. T h e outcrop of t h e territory formations i n Southwest Texas, in Wilson, Atascosa, McMullen, Duval and o t h e r counties is naturally rich in oil, and the practical oil m e n are risking t h e i r money in experimenting in that region. As the oil-bearing territory extends east of t h e Mississippi into Mississippi and Alabama, it is riot beyond possibility that oil may be found in these States. It is impossible now to state exactly the extent of the oil-yielding bed
240
Nofes alld Cbm~lteJtts.
[J. F. I.
which supplies the I~eaumont well, and this can only be determined by drilling experiments. The area of profitable exploitation of the Beaumont oil fields is confined between the San Jacinto and the Sabine rivers, east of the Houston & West Texas Railroad and south of Oil City, Nacogdoches County. This area may be e x t e n d e d or restricted by future exploitation. It is very probable that other oil fiehls may be discovered in the coastal plain between Beaumont and Tampieo fields. IIere lies a vast territory, underlaid by the oil-bearing eocene formations which has not been exploited. W. Till,; I)I'~TI~RIORATION OF P A P E R . A committee of the London Society of Arts which has h a d under investigation the causes of the deterioration of paper, announces the following conclusions : The report makes special reference to the revolutionary changes in the paper industry that have taken place during the past century. They relate not only to t h e enormous growth of tim industry, but specially to the introduction of new fabrics and materials w h i c h have t a k e n their place as indispensable staples. Pulp made from wood is the most important of these new materials, and while it is admitted that it constitutes in many respects an efficient substitute, the conclusion is reached that many of these wood pulps are distinctly inferior in respect of the durability of t h e paper made from them than that made from the celluloses obtained from t h e old-fashioned materials, cotton, flax and h e m p which were the e x c l u s i v e s t a p l e materials for paper-making prior to the introduction of wood for tim purpose. The committee examined many specimens of deteriorated paper in books submitted to its members by librarians and others, some of which were in a state of complete disintegration, and made m a n y i n d e p e n d e n t examinations. The report finds t h a t papers exhibit a tendency to deteriorate in two days (t) by disintegration, and (2) by discoloration. These e r e c t s may occur independently or concurrently. Disintegration is notably exhibited in papers containing mechanical wood-pulp, although it was shown to occur in papers of all grades, from the best rag papers to the cheapest wood papers, though b y no means to so great a degree in the former. The disintegration was shown to be caused by the chemical changes t a k i n g place in the films themselves. In the case of rag papers t h e disintegration seemed to be due to acid bodies, while in the case of the wood pulp papers it was found to be due to oxidation, the effect being accomplished by a basic or alkaline reaction of the paper. Papers of all grades were found to be susceptible to the second defect of discoloration, and without entering minutely into the chemistry of t h e changes, it suffices to state t h a t this effect is traceable to the sizing operation to which all paper is subjected. It was the e o m m i t t e e ' s purpose to give to its labors a practical value by the suggestion of standards of quality. W i t h t h i s object, the report presents the following specific suggestions for a n o r m a l standard of quality for book papers required for publications of p e r m a n e n t value, viz : Fibres : not less than 7° per cent. of fibres of t h e cotton flax or h e m p class. Sizing : Not more than 2 per cent. rosin and finished with t h e normalaeidity of pure alum. Loading : Not more t h a n io p e r cent. m i n e r a l matter (ash). ~V.