Production of gold and silver in the United States to June 30, 1883. Periods. Gold. Silver. Total. Output of the Southern States up to the discovery of gold July 1, 1880, to December 31, 1880 (estimated on the basis Total product of the United States to close of 1882. Total product of the United States to June 30, 1883 Up to June 30, 1883, the aggregate production of gold in the United States may be stated at $1,632,364,670, and of silver $598,083,217, making a grand total of $2,230,447,887. Reduced to the equivalent weights, the total gold output has been 78,965,572 troy ounces, or 2,707.4 avoirdupois net tons. The total for silver represents 462,590,469 troy ounces, or 15,860 tons. It will perhaps convey little meaning to say that the grand total is in excess of the national debt; but a better conception of the vastness of the amount may be had by considering that all the gold produced in the country to the present time, if brought together, would suffice to load 271 ordinary freight cars; the silver, supposed in the same way to be collected together as fine bullion, would require 1,586 cars for its transportation. The gold would tax the carrying capacity of a large ocean steamship; while the silver would suffice to form cargoes for a small fleet. Present status of the industry.-From the foregoing figures the general deduction may be drawn that the annual precious-metal output of the United States during recent years may be stated at between $70,000,000 and $80,000,000, coining value, and that the fluctuations in the proportional amounts of gold and silver are greater than those of the total product. It is also safe to assume that this rate of production will be maintained for some time to come, and that the probability of a slight increase is greater than that of a decline. Experience has shown that as old districts become exhausted, or fall off in their rate of production, new localities are developed which fully take their place, and that the general result is therefore nearly uniform as compared year by year. By the time the country has been thoroughly explored for gold and silver deposits, a time which may be considered as indefinitely remote, the facilities for mining and working the ores will undoubtedly be such as to enable systematic and permanent development to be maintained in places and with ores which at present could not be profitable. The production of the precious metals appears to be the sole industry which is at all independent of changes in the relation between supply and demand, unless, indeed, the influence exerted by fluctuations in the market value of silver may be held to affect the production of that metal. With all other natural products the amount produced is necessarily limited by the amount consumed, whether in this or in foreign countries; notable examples of which effect may be seen in the case of quicksilver, which, at a certain demand and consequent market value, may be mined profitably, while if the price declines only a few cents per pound a number of mines are at once thrown out of operation, and the production falls off until an equilibrium is reached at which resumption of work is profitable. In the case of the great iron industry, in which, as is so often seen, overproduction brings its own remedy, and as is found to be true in other almost innumerable instances which might be cited, it would require very violent changes in the purchasing power of the precious metals to materially affect the rate of their production. It might even be said that the latter is apt to increase in cumulative ratio, for unusual success in any locality at once attracts attention and stimulates prospecting for new deposits and their exploitation, the ultimate result being a sympathetic increase throughout the mining region. But while natural causes are thus seen to influence the rate of production only slightly, artificial restraints, such as the crusade against hydraulic mining in California or the adoption of unwise laws, certainly make their influence felt, though for the country at large the effect is relatively small. In like manner the reaction from undue speculation has a slight depressing result, which shows itself in apparently returning cycles. Sudden changes in the normal supply of either of the precious metals bring about from time to time corresponding changes in the coinage laws of nations; the reflex action upon production, however, is hardly more than perceptible. The production of gold and silver, like that of other commodities, is of course not one of clear profit. Indeed, a saying that it costs one dollar in coin to produce one dollar in bullion has gained more or less credit; and though this opinion has been abundantly shown to be unfounded, and while also any attempt to estimate the profit gained to the country by the mining of the precious metals is mere guesswork, it is still quite probable that $500,000,000 of the gross total has been net profit. One third of all the gold and one-half of all the silver annually produced in the world are supplied by the mines of the United States. PETROLEUM. BY S. H. STOWELL. Definition of petroleum.-Petroleum is an inflammable, oily liquid, of a bituminous character, which exudes from the earth in certain parts of the world. Its varieties, of which there are many, form a series of hydrocarbons, beginning with asphaltum and ending with naphtha, the variety chiefly referred to in this article being of a dark greenish-brown color and of a somewhat offensive odor. History of petroleum.-Petroleum has been known and used in Europe and Asia for centuries, being chiefly obtained from the surface of the water in springs and also from pits dug to collect it. The Chinese are also reported as having for hundreds of years drilled deep wells in search of it. It did not attract much attention, however, and its use was not extensive. Its existence in America.-There is reason to believe that the prehistoric inhabitants of America were aware of the presence of petroleum in this country, and also followed the plan of digging pits to collect it, many of which, lined with roughly hewn wood, are yet to be found in the Pennsylvania oil regions. The many oil springs in western Pennsylvania and New York were also no doubt known to them, as were they to the Indians, who made use of the oil for various purposes. The French commander of Fort Duquesne, writing in 1750, regarding an expedition north of that post, speaks of the setting on fire of the oil on the surface of a small creek by the Indians as a part of a religious ceremony. At a considerably later period than this, the country becoming more settled, petroleum was collected from the surface of Oil creek, the Allegheny river, and other streams, and was sold somewhat extensively through the country under the name of "Seneca oil," and used for medicinal purposes. The oil thus became very well known, and in 1833 Prof. B. Silliman, sr., was led to make an investigation of a large oil spring in Allegany county, New York, a report of which was published at the time. In this he discusses the distribution, character, and probable origin of petroleum, in regard to the latter point advancing the theory that there was a connection between the petroleum and the bituminous Coal Measures of Pennsylvania. About the same time attention was attracted to the discovery of petroleum in the Muskingum and Kanawha valleys by parties sinking wells to obtain brine for making salt. Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of Marietta, Ohio, writing in 1833, describes several of these wells and the manner and character of their production very minutely, from which description it appears that the wells were bored to about the customary depth of oil wells at present, and produced oil in much the same manner. Further, the oil was conceded to be valuable and what was obtained was utilized; yet no effort was made to bore wells especially to obtain oil, nor was any endeavor made to increase the production. The oil seems to have been viewed chiefly as an unfortunate accident which spoiled good salt wells. Shortly previous to this a flowing well was struck in Kentucky, but the oil was suffered to run to waste. However, the introduction of oil made from coal and shale paved the way to a recognition of the great value of the petroleum deposits. For many years experiments in making coal and shale oil had been tried, and about 1840 considerable quantities were made in France; but the manufacture did not take rank as an industry until 1850. In this year oil was largely made in Glasgow, Scotland, from coal, and the industry extended rapidly in Scotland and also on the continent. Attention was attracted to the process in the United States; our Coal Measures and oil-bearing shales were found to offer great facilities for the manufacture of oil, and the industry soon spread throughout this country, the factories in 1859 numbering some fifty or sixty. In 1853 a large firm, engaged in the lumber business on Oil creek, Pennsylvania, took some steps to utilize the oil from an oil spring on their property near Titusville. Some of the oil collected was sent East, and the attention of a number of parties being attracted to its similarity to coal oil, the result was the formation, in New Haven, Connecticut, of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, to which company Prof. B. Silliman, jr., made his famous report on petroleum. The first intention of this company was to collect oil from the springs on their property, but through a fortunate accident the idea of drilling an artesian well for oil occurred to one of the company, and after many delays was put into effect. Col. E. L. Drake was sent out to Titusville as superintendent of the company's operations, and about the middle of August, 1859, the drill was started. The drillers averaged about 3 feet a day, making slight indications all the way down. On Saturday, August 28, at the depth of 69 feet, work was stopped for the week and the tools were withdrawn. The next day, Sunday, the well was discovered to be full of petroleum. The pump was adjusted on Monday, and the well commenced producing at the rate of 25 barrels per day. - Great excitement ensued. Farms were bought or leased on all sides, and preparations were made for drilling wells in many places, though but little was accomplished until 1860. In 1861 the first flowing well was struck-the "Fountain" well-which produced 300 barrels per day. This upset all calculations; people were willing to believe anything regarding the industry, and great numbers rushed to the oil regions. Other flowing wells were struck, and prices fell to 20 cents a barrel, then to 15, and then to 10. One great difficulty was the scarcity of bar rels; much oil went to waste, and in many cases small producers were forced to cease operations. During the years 1860 and 1861 several hundred wells were drilled along Oil creek, from its mouth to Titusville. Probably not over one-half of these were producers, and but a small proportion were flowing wells, the remainder being small pumpers. However, during the latter part of 1861 and in 1862 the number of flowing wells was greatly increased, and the daily yield rose in the fall of the latter year to 13,000 barrels, and the total production for the year amounted to a little over 3,000,000 barrels. In 1863 the operations were greatly increased in number, and wells were drilling all along the Allegheny river for 80 miles on either side of the month of Oil creek, and also along the latter stream and its tributaries. During 1864 operations were still further extended, and wells were drilling and rigs building in nearly every locality in which oil is now produced. The price of oil rose throughout the year, the average rate per barrel being $9.87, and enormous sums of money were invested in oil property. During the year no very important developments were made, but the total production amounted to 22,000,000 barrels, with the price in January, 1865, at $11. In 1865 the famous United States well was struck on Pithole creek, and was soon followed by the Grant well, the two producing 2,500 barrels per day. A rush to the vicinity immediately began. Land was sold at fabulous prices, wells were begun in every direction, and Pithole City sprang up. In May, 1865, there were two houses on the ground. In August a city with a population of 14,000 was in existence. The excitement was at its height in this month, and the daily yield of the section was over 5,000 barrels. With the giving out of the United States well in November, however, the decline commenced; the population of the city rapidly decreased; buildings were deserted; and in 1866 what was left of it was swept away by an oil fire. No further important developments were made for some years. In 1869, the Oil creek field having been pretty well drilled over, the attention of some capitalists was attracted to the indications of oil near Parker's Landing, 80 miles down the Allegheny from Oil City. Wells had been drilled there before without great success, but in the year named promising developments were made, and the "lower oil field" came prominently into view. From Parker City operations extended to Saint Petersburg and Edenburg on the north and Petrolia and Millerstown on the south, and the limits of the field were pretty well defined. From 1869 until 1875 there were no important developments in the oil trade. In the latter year wells were drilled in McKean county, Pennsylvania, and a production of 150 barrels per day was attained by the close of the year. This district continued to enlarge its output gradually, but with no very sudden advances, and in time took its position at the head of the producing regions, having, on December 31, 1872, a daily production of 34,000 barrels. In 1876 producing began in |