Production producing countries. The production of petroleum in Galicia in 1898 was as follows: in Galicia. Production in Roumania. or 330,451 metric tons of 2,204 62 lbs., equal to 2,376,108 American "barrels " of 42 gallons. The production of crude petroleum in Roumania in 1898 and 1899 was, according to the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Ploiesti, as follows: Germany. Other reports give a much larger production, trustworthy statistics being difficult to obtain. The production of crude petroleum in Germany in 1899 amounted to 192,232 barrels. Of this, the fields of Elsass yielded 168,203 barrels, and those of Hanover 24,029 barrels. The production in Italy for 1898 was Italy. 14,489 barrels, and of this 13,734 barrels were obtained in the Province of Piacenza. In the United United Kingdom. Kingdom petroleum has been met with only in small quantities, but, as is well known, the production of mineral oil by the distillation of shale is an im- Shale oil. portant industry in Scotland, 2,137,993 tons of shale having been mined in Great Britain, chiefly for distillation, during the year 1898. In Java the production of crude petroleum has for Java. several years past exhibited steady progression. In Sumatra the output, which for 1899 showed a con- Sumatra. siderable falling-off from that of the previous year, has lately been largely augmented. In Borneo the recent Borneo. drilling operations at Kotei have already resulted in a large production of fuel-oil, for the distribution of which adequate arrangements are being made. The production of the Japanese oil-fields for 1899 Japan. was reported to be about 800,000 barrels, and it is estimated to have been increased to probably as much as 1 million barrels for the year 1900, the chief centres of activity being in Echigo. 66 In Upper Burma the primitive hand dug wells in Burma. the Yenangyaung oil-fields, which, in the days of King Theebaw, yielded the Rangoon oil" of commerce, have long been superseded by drilled wells, and an industry of great importance has been created by the Burmah Oil Company. According to the official returns, the production in India for 1898 was 18,972,368 imperial gallons (542,068 American "barrels"), and of this Burma contributed 92 per cent., the remainder being obtained in Assam, where Assam. the Assam Oil Company has already met with remarkable success in drilling operations. . Peru. Magnitude of industry as a whole. The production of crude petroleum in Peru for 1899 was about 900,000 barrels. It will thus be seen that the petroleum industry, as a whole, is in a condition of rapid extension, and to afford some idea of its present magnitude, it may be stated that a pipe 41 inches in diameter would be needed for the conveyance of the petroleum which the world is at present using, assuming a rate of flow of 3 feet a second; and that for the storage of a year's supply a rectangular cistern 929 feet in length, breadth, and height would be required. CHAPTER III. PRODUCTION, REFINING, ETC. leum well. The United States.-The petroleum well proper The petrois an artesian well, and the development of the petroleum industry in the United States dates from the sinking of the first oil-well of this description in 1859. derrick. The first operation connected with the drilling Construcof a petroleum well is the building of the derrick. tion of the This structure is pyramidal in form, and consists of four strong timber uprights which rest on stout wooden sills and are held together by ties and diagonal braces. The depth of the well, or, more correctly, the length of the string of drilling tools, determines the height of the derrick. In most of the principal oil-fields of the United States, where the oil-bearing rock lies at a depth of 2000 feet or more beneath the surface, it is necessary to employ long and heavy strings of tools, and consequently here the derrick is at least 70 feet in height, by about 20 feet square at the base, and 4 feet square at the summit. The upper ends of the four corner posts of the derrick are firmly held in position by a strong timber structure called the crown-block, which itself is surmounted by a pent roof. The floor of the derrick is slightly cambered, and the lower part of the structure is frequently boarded in. A ladder leads from base to summit of the derrick. Immediately outside the derrick, on the strong Walkingwooden foundation, stands the samson-post, a stout beam, &c. square pillar of wood, which carries the walking-beam. Steamengine and boiler. There is a smaller upright inside the derrick, termed the headache-post or life-preserver, to support the end of the walking-beam when disconnected. The end of this beam outside the derrick is connected by means of a rod called the pitman, with a crank attached to the axle of the band-wheel. This wheel runs in bearings on two uprights, and is caused to revolve through the medium of a belt or band driven by a steam-engine in an adjoining shed, thus imparting a rocking movement to the walking-beam. The steam engine is of the horizontal pattern, of 12 to 15 h.-p., and is fitted with reversing gear. The boiler is of the locomotive type, and is often fired with natural gas. To the side of the derrick opposite the Bull-wheel, samson-post are fixed the bearings of the bull-wheel, a wooden windlass of substantial construction, used for lowering and raising the drilling tools. The bullwheel is driven by the bull-rope, a two-inch plain-laid cable, joined by iron couplings, which runs, crossed, in grooves in the bull-wheel and in the drive-wheel on the band-wheel shaft. The bull-wheel is provided with a powerful band-brake. A second and smaller windlass, called the sand-reel, is also provided. This windlass is used for raising the detritus and water from the well. It is fixed close to the band-wheel, and one of its supports is pivoted to the foundation of the derrick. Attached to this support is a rod which passes into the derrick, where it is connected with a vertical lever. This lever actuates a frictionclutch on the sand-reel shaft, bringing it into contact Control by with the band-wheel and thus imparting motion. The Sand-reel. driller. driller can, from the mouth of the well, start or stop the revolution of the sand-reel. The telegraph is an endless cord passing round a pulley on the throttlevalve of the engine and a similar pulley in the derrick. The reversing-link is also operated by a cord, and the |