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By H. Foster Bain

In the preparation of this series of books it was considered particularly appropriate to include this work. Gunther was one of the younger men who was associated with Colonel Mudd in the finding and development of ore deposits. Supported by Mudd, Gunther undertook a systematic survey of the sources of copper of ancient Europe. This survey resulted in the rediscovery of the deposits now worked by the Cyprus Mines Corporation for which Gunther was, until shortly before his death, the resident manager. In finding and developing these mines, Gunther applied the methods and data embodied in this book and proved their usefulness. It is believed that other young engineers may profit similarly. In presenting a new edition, the form and substance of this work have been preserved and no changes have been made in any direct statement of the original author. Individual illustrations, paragraphs and mine descriptions appearing in the first edition have been omitted in order to permit introduction of new material. The latter has been chosen so as to present a somewhat more balanced picture of the mining industry as it now exists. The new material relates largely to the so-called porphyry coppers, to mines in Canada, Rhodesia, Alaska, and a number in the United States that have become important since the book was first written. The new material was prepared by Mr. Russell C. Fleming, using the best that had been published and items of which he had personal knowledge or had obtained by correspondence with men familiar with the deposit described. Whenever possible the description used has been submitted to the original author for correction. In a number of instances

Jan 1, 1932

By Robert Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field.

Jan 1, 1935

By R. C. Amero

FULLERS earth is a general name applied to claylike minerals that have high natural adsorptive powers. They are usually distinguished from ordinary clays by a higher content of combined moisture and a lower apparent density. The definition is based on the ancient use of the material for fulling, or cleansing woolen cloth of oil and grease; a more modern definition should mention the ability to decolorize oil and should differentiate between fullers earth, which is naturally active, and certain bentonites which only develop decolorizing power after being leached with strong mineral acids. The distinction between fullers earth and activable bentonite is not a sharp one, since all types of intermediate clays can be found that are more or less naturally active, yet more or less responsive to acid treatment. The differences seem to depend somewhat on the amount of leaching that has been effected by natural ground waters.

Jan 5, 1951

By Earl C. Willis

In selecting new or replacement mining machinery to be purchased, there are many considerations to be discussed and taken into account, the most important being the productivity of the machine and the maintenance cost and downtime to be expected with the new equipment. Productivity of a given mining machine is evaluated by the Industrial Engineering Department: analysis of potential upkeep and downtime calls for the Maintenance Department to enter into the task of evaluating new mining machines. This is a very important function of the maintenance department because a wrong decision or mistake in judgment, particularly in a commercial mining company, can be exceedingly expensive. Once the type and size of a machine is decided, an examination of units fitting the basic requirements will sometimes show one particular machine which has a distinct edge on the competitive machine. In this case, the decision is easy. However, in most cases, the performances of the machines being considered are so close that the decision becomes one that is very difficult to make on performance alone. Serious consideration must then be given to maintenance performances and features of the machine which would permit lower maintenance and less downtime.

Jan 7, 1963

By Per Larsson

The Chapin Mine, on the Menominee range, Lake Superior, was first opened in 1880 and has since then produced 1 1/2 million tons of soft blue hematite, containing about 63 per cent. of iron and 0.07 per cent. of phosphorus. Up to the present time, the ore has been mined from three separate lenticular deposits, which conform with the Huronian strata of the district, striking N. 75' W., dipping from 70' to 80' N., and pitching about 30' W. The largest of these ore-bodies has a horizontal length of 2500 feet, and a maximum width of 130 feet in the middle, from which it gradually narrows to the pointed ends. Its dimensions have not changed materially as greater depth has been attained. Figs. 1 and 2 show the geology and the mine-workings on the main deposit.. As this main deposit pitches away from the eastern part of the property, it is replaced by another lens, containing ore of the same quality. When first opened on the 1st level, this lens was 150 feet long and up to 50 feet wide, while now on the 6th level it shows a length of 550 feet, and a maximum width of 100 feet. It is separated from the extreme east end of the main deposit by about 30 feet of clay-slates It pinches out gradually between the slates to the west, and stops abruptly against the jasper to the east. Farther east in this belt of jasper occurs the third ore-lens which has a pretty regular length of 100 feet and averages, from the 1st to the 5th level, 20 feet in width. A cross-section of the ore-formation shows, on the north or hanging side of the ore, about 200 feet of clay-slates, and farther north a heavy belt of magnesian limestone. The slates and the dolomite are generally separated near the surface by a conglomerate of broken dolomite and soft slates. The foot-wall rock is also a clay-slate, containing a higher percentage of iron and less magnesia than the hanging-slate. Farther south occur alternate beds of slates and lean ore or jasper.

Jan 1, 1888

By W. R. Ingalls

THE bases of the work by the committee whereof I am chairman were (1) the abolition of extra-lateral rights and (2) the preservation of the maximum of the existing laws. The matter of extra-lateral rights had been under prolonged discussion among mining men and up to the time when our com-mittee began its work (in 1917) the expression of opinion in every way whereby it could be made known -and those ways were extensive-was only a little short of being unanimous that extralateral rights ought to be abolished. I have not observed important evidence indicating a change of opinion on the subject since 1917. ABOLITION OF DISCOVERY LOGICAL Now, when it be decided that extralateral rights ought to be abolished, there can not be merely a simple change to that effect, but it is found that consequential changes are necessary all the way through the existing laws. Abolition of extralateral rights implies abolition of discovery as a prerequisite to location, for otherwise there would be no legal means for locating claims on the dip of a vein. Quite apart from this consideration, abolition of discovery as a prerequisite to location is supported by other good reasons. Among these are the occurrence of orebodies with no exposure on the surface and which often are hidden at great depth. A prospector who has reason to suspect the occurrence of such an orebody must have legal means for the location of a claim within which to explore, and obviously he may. not be able to make any discovery on the surface sufficient to locate and hold legally such a claim under the terms of the law as it stands at present. As a matter of fact, discovery as a prerequisite to location was abolished by common consent many years ago, not only for the reasons that I have given here-inbefore but also for others. It is highly desirable to revise the mining law in this respect, so that it will conform to the conditions of practice and not require people to perjure themselves in making locations, even if it be for praiseworthy purposes.

Jan 6, 1922

By A. B. Parsons

This YEAR BOOK, which is sent to every member, contains the roster of officers and the principal standing committees, brief summaries of the proceedings of the Annual Meeting and of the regional and divisional meetings, abstracts of papers published during the year, and a classified list of TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and CONTRIBUTIONS, as well as an index of all material published by the Institute in 1936 in these separate forms, in TRANSACTIONS and in MINING AND METALLURGY, the monthly magazine

Jan 1, 1937

By Kung-Ping Wang

The mineral potential of the Far East, important to the United States for tin and tungsten as well as other minerals, is set forth in this first installment of a two part article by a specialist in the Far Eastern field. In this installment the mineral and resource picture of China, Japan, Korea, and Formosa are discussed. The second installment, in December, will cover Hong Kong, Indo-China, Thailand, Burma, Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, and British Borneo.

Jan 11, 1951

By R. F. Shurtz

This note calls attention to a contradiction in current eatistical theory and to corresponding difficulties in practice. These are significant concern in evaluating almost all ore deposits. The theoretical contradiction is that the commonly used spherical model for the semivariogram is not consistent with the usual definition of a "regionalized variable" as a mathematical function, the direct study of which "is excluded because its spatial variability is usually extremely erratic, with all kinds of discontinuities. . ." (Journel and Huijbregts, 1978). Specifically, this means a grade function that is too "rough" for interpolation to be useful. The practical difficulty is that the spherical semivariogram interprets the data upon which it is based in a manner that is, more often than not, demonstrably inconsistent with reality. This is attributable to the widely disregarded interaction between the sample pattern and the grade function. Each sample pattern "blurs" the grade function in its own particular way. It is as though the grade structure of the deposit were seen through a lens of poor resolution or reflected in a warped mirror, such as those found in amusement parks. The fitted spherical model embeds this sometimes dangerously blurred and distorted image in the Krige regression. A full analysis of these inconsistencies is to be presented later but, in the meantime, it seems urgent to communicate their effects so that those engaged in estimating ore reserves may be on guard. The spherical semivariogram has a sill and can be replaced by the corresponding covariogram. The equation of the spherical covariogram in normalized form, that is, variance and range both equal to one, is represented as: [ ]

Jan 1, 1984

By J. S. Kirkaldy, W. V. Youdelis

THE occurrence of concentration distributions in rapidly cooled castings with gradients of opposite sign to those expected on the basis of the constitution diagram and diffusion controlled kinetics, has long interested metallurgists. The work on inverse segregation to 1937 has been adequately reviewed by Vaughan, and to 1949 by ell-walpole. The general conclusion for unidirectional solidification, that the enrichment of the initially solidifying regions with lower melting point compositions is due to the flow-back along interdendritic channels of normally segregated residual liquid, has a very sound experimental basis. Perhaps the best experimental work and the most complete qualitative description of the process has been given by Adams.3 The authors accordingly assume the reader's understanding of the content of this paper. It appears that one of the principal deterrents to the complete understanding of the process has been the lack of an analytical description. Although a number of workers including Masing,4-6 Sauerwald,7 and Adams3 have attempted quantitative predictions,

Jan 1, 1959

Discussion of the paper of HOWLAND BANCROFT, presented at the Salt Lake meeting, August, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 91, July, 1914, pp. 1767 to 1769. THEODORE SIMONS, Butte, Mont. (communication to the Secretary*). -While preparing maps and models for use in mining litigations the writer was frequently confronted with the problem referred to in Mr. Bancroft's paper. His chart gives the apparent angle of dip with which a vein should be plotted on a vertical section not at right angles to the strike of the vein. For a quick determination of this apparent angle the writer has used an exceedingly simple graphical method, which he believes may prove helpful to engineers engaged in practical work. It is submitted, not as a criticism of Mr. Bancroft's paper, but as a means of solving the same problem when no chart is available and when calculations would consume too much time. The writer's method requires merely a few lines marked off on a piece of tracing cloth, as shown in Fig. 1: Draw line be on any convenient scale. At b erect a perpendicular, ba. By means of a protractor cut off on ba a number of angles within the probable range of variation of dip, so that a line connecting a and c, for instance, forms an angle of 60° with be, etc. With b as a center and be as a radius, draw a circle through c. This completes the tool for solving the problem. Fig. 2 represents the line of strike of the vein and db the trace of the vertical plane on which the vein is to be plotted with the apparent angle of dip. A° is the angle which this plane makes with the strike. Fig. 3 shows the application of the method: Place line cb of tracing over line db of Fig. 2 and move fore and back until line of strike becomes tangent to the circle. Connect d with the point (a) that marks the true angle of dip as found by measurement in the mine (60° in the case illustrated). The angle adb is the apparent angle of dip (C°) to be used in the vertical section. Proof.-As stated in Mr. Bancroft's paper, the apparent angle of dip is: tan C° = sin A° tan B° (1)

Jan 12, 1914

By Ferris E. Sainsbury

As most mining companies utilize contractors rather than in-house drilling departments, it is difficult for most mining engineers to become familiar with drilling techniques This chapter will explain the various drilling options available to the mining industry through the services of a drilling contractor. It will also suggest improvements in program planning and specification writing by the mining company representatives to enable them to derive maximum benefit from the contractor.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. David Leyshon

This paper compares the general characteristics of Florida phosphate rock for the manufacture of fertilizers and phosphoric acid. The subjects covered are relative reactivity for superphosphate manufacture and various properties of the rock for use in phosphoric acid production, including gypsum filterability, sulfuric acid consumption, foaming, relative cor-rosiveness, chemical composition, and others. Comprison will include rocks of North Africa, the western U.S., and other locations. This paper reviews some of the important properties of phosphate rock, giving particular attention to a comparison of Florida phosphate with some of the major phosphates produced in the world. It also discusses some of the techniques available for evaluatine Phosphate. rock for phosphoric. acid and fertilizer use. The use of Florida rock outside the U.S. has been increasing steadily, evidence in itself of certain desirable properties of this rock. Table I is a list of the major producers and exporters of phosphate rock as of 1965. Florida, meaning in this case Central Florida, was the largest producer of phosphate rock and the largest exporter of rock. Of a total world production estimated at 60 million tons, about 50 million tons were produced during 1965 by the areas listed in Table I. One major producing area omitted from Table I and from subsequent evaluations in this paper comprises Nauru, Ocean, and Christmas Islands, whose output totaled about three million tons in 1965. This phosphate is marketed entirely by the British Phosphate Commissioners, primarily in Australia and New Zealand, and does not get into the world market elsewhere to a significant degree at the present time. South Africa, Egypt, Israel, and North Vietnam also produce lesser quantities of rock for the international market, and these materials are also excluded from this review. The phosphate industry is now seeing the introduction of several new areas that will be significant factors in the rock market in the future. The North Carolina and North Florida areas each have capacity at present or in the near future for producing about three million tons per year. The Djebel Onk mine in Algeria has a potential of about 800,000 tons per year. In addition, announcements have been made of significant development of deposits in Peru and in the Spanish Sahara, and sizable expansions are planned in several of the existing areas that are now of minor importance. Competition for the rock market appears to be increasing so that more attention will probably be paid to evaluating phosphates available from different areas. It is not possible here to go into all the properties of even a few of the materials listed in Table I. However, it is practical to discuss some comparative properties important for making phosphoric acid and fertilizers, and to touch on the techniques used for the evaluation of various phosphate rocks. Table II gives typical analyses of the major phosphate rocks available in the world as of 1965. There is, of course, an inherent danger in labeling any analysis as typical, but it appears that variations between two samples of rock within one given area are generally less than between two samples from different areas. The analyses listed were compiled from several years of data so they may not be representative of the present output of any particular area. The range of grades represented by these analyses goes from 66 BPL for Gafsa rock to 85 BPL for Kola

Jan 1, 1968

At its meeting on February 21, 1933, the Board of Directors passed the following resolution defining and expressing the policy of the Institute with respect to official participation or action in controversial matters: WHEREAS, the Board of Directors at its last meeting passed the following resolution: "The Board of Directors, having been appealed to by several Local Sections for advice concerning the attitude and policy of the Institute relating to the endorsement of candidates for public office, the following statement of policy is formulated: "Whereas, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers is organized for purely professional and scientific purposes, and whereas diversity of opinion among its members on partisan or political questions is inevitable, it is the expressed policy of the Institute to refrain from official participation or action in political and semi-political matters." AND WHEREAS, appeals for additional advice have been received: NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED: (1) That the policy of the Institute is to refrain from official participation or action in controversial non-technical economic subjects; further (2) That if any Local Section is in doubt as to the application of this policy to any particular subject, it should communicate with the Secretary of the Institute for advice.

Jan 1, 1940

At its meeting on February 21, 1933, the Board of Directors passed the following resolution defining and expressing the policy of the Institute with respect to official participation or action in controversial matters: WHEREAS, the Board of Directors at its last meeting passed the following resolution: "The Board of Directors, having been appealed to by several Local Sections for advice concerning the attitude and policy of the Institute relating to the endorsement of candidates for public office, the following statement of policy is formulated: "Whereas, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers is organized for purely professional and scientific purposes, and whereas diversity of opinion among its members on partisan or political questions is inevitable, it is the expressed policy of the Institute to refrain from official participation or action, in political and semi-political matters." AND WHEREAS, appeals for additional advice have been received: NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RE¬SOLVED: (1) That the policy of the Institute is to refrain from official participation or action in controversial non-technical economic subjects; further (2) That if any Local Section is in doubt as to the application of this policy to any particular subject, it should communicate with the Secretary of the Institute for advice.

Jan 1, 1946

By C. G. Dunn, F. Lionetti

The energy associated with grain boundaries in polycrystalline aggregates is believed to play a major role in grain growth processes and, when growth ceases, to determine the final equilibrium grain boundary angles. Further, the energy of grain boundaries of recrystallization nuclei is a factor in nucleation processes. It is important to know, therefore, how the energy per unit area of a grain boundary, that is, the grain boundary surface tension y, depends on the difference in orientation of the two lattices of the grains producing the boundary. Although the problem is important, surprisingly little has been done toward a quantitative evaluation of the effect of orientation difference on grain boundary energies. C. S. Smith1 recently has discussed this problem and in addition to showing effects of orientation difference on equilibrium angles has shown a variety of interesting effects of surface tension on the appearance of microstructures. Fig 1 and the following relations expressed in Eq 1, which connect equilibrium grain boundary angles and surface tensions, illustrate equilibrium conditions which are believed to hold true in metals. ?l2 _ ?23 _ ?l3 [1] sin ?3 sin ?1 sin ?2 Clearly any two of these surface tensions can be expressed in terms of the third when the equilibrium angles ?1, ?2, and ?3 are known. Applied to the present problem for solid state equilibrium of three grains, the angles ?1,?2 and ?3 must be measured in a plane perpendicular to the line of junction of the three grains. Normally a direct determination of these angles from random microsections is impossible. Consequently Harker and Parker2 and Smith1 (except for some measurements on flat specimens) resorted to a statistical method to determine equilibrium grain boundary angles. Smith reported that grain boundaries meet the surface of a piece of metal nearly perpendicularly. He reported also, in connection with direct angle measurements on flat specimens with grains extending through the thickness, that angles varied appreciably from 120" and concluded that there was a measurable effect of orientation difference on surface tension. Another direct way of determining equilibrium angles and a method adaptable to studying particular configurations, recently suggested by Dunn,³ is to use a three-grain flat specimen with orientations of grains so chosen that the junction line of the three grains will be straight throughout the thickness and perpendicular to the surface of the specimen. Choice of orientations is possible when individual grains of each group can be grown to predetermined orientations through the reorienting and growth of " seed crystals " as described.³ Not only is it possible, for example, to have grains with the same crystallographic plane in the plane of the specimen, but a given orientation difference between two grains can be made a common factor to an unlimited number of three-grain groups while a series of orientation differences is investigated. Any effect of anisotropy of gas-solid surface tension due to grain orientation should be minimized by having all gains oriented the same with regard to crystallographic plane in the plane of the specimen. Another feature of the three-grain group is the notched grain boundaries as shown in Fig 2 for one specimen (S4). The notches serve to anchor the end positions of the grain boundaries (especially at high temperatures) while the central and junction point of the grains moves toward an equilibrium position. Final equilibrium should produce straight grain boundaries if the notches are very narrow and if changes in orientation* of the grain boundary do not alter the surface tension.† If one assumes the straight line condition and no change of surface tension with small changes in grain boundary orientation and finds the equilibrium configuration by a minimization of the grain boundary energy, one obtains the relations given in Eq 1. The approach to straight line boundaries or to minimum energy configurations in specimens containing large grains, such as those used in the present investigation, may be very slow compared with the approach to equilibrium conditions for the grain boundary angles. It may be desirable, as proved to be the case in the present investiga-

Jan 1, 1950

By W. C. Dickerman, J. F. Thornton

TOTAL global war is making extraordinary demands on the oil industry. Huge quantities of 100-octane gasoline, extreme service lubes, toluene and other miscellaneous products are required. 100-octane gasoline is blended from isopentane, base stock, and alkylate. Isopentane is fractionated from natural or refinery gasoline; but since only limited quantities of base stock can be made in this way, catalytic cracking is rapidly becoming the major source of base stock. Alkylate, the most important component, is synthesized from isobutane and an olefin. Extraordinary demands are forcing the full utilization of all present sources and the development of new supplies of feed stocks. Fortunately, the United States finds itself with well-developed processes already available, and this is true of the manufacture of lubricating oil as well. Toluene is now being produced by new methods from special cuts fractionated from selected crudes or from catalytically processed naphthas. Designers of refinery equipment are modifying past practices to conserve every bit of material possible.

Jan 1, 1942

By A. W. Schlechten

The proposition is advanced that edutcation specifically for exlractive metallurgy is desirable not because the course content is cmique but rather as a means of indoctrinating the student with a backgrocmd that will give him an interest and pride in the profession. Factors that have caused the decline in enrollment in metallurgical engineering courses emphasizing extractive processes are being overcome. There is a need to distinguish between the sciences of metallurgy and the engineering applications to avoid confusion both in and out of the profession. AS a first step in preparing the 1967 EMD Lecture I searched the literature to determine what my predecessors had done hoping thereby to gain some clues for my own performance. The Transactions of the Metallurgical Society show that the first EMD Lec- turer in 1959 was Dr. W. J. Kroll, known chiefly today for his pioneering work on the production of titanium and zirconium, but equally respected by an earlier generation for his contributions to lead refining. He has been followed by a series of well-known and competent metallurgists all possessing specialized knowledge that has served as a basis for their lectures. The EMD Lectures have in general been a review of the development of a certain aspect of the extractive metallurgical industry or a preview of a particular area of science or technology that has applications in extractive metallurgy. The usual format is to describe developments of the past, summarize the present state of knowledge, and make predictions for the future. There has been great variation in the relative amount of time devoted to these three subdivisions, the past, the present, and the future. For example, Professor Gaudin, the 1961 EMD Lecturer, in speaking of Separation Engineering on the Moon, did not have too many examples of past practice and so had to emphasize the future. It is cheering to observe that all of these authorities were optimistic in their predictions. Despite the fact that four of the previous EMD Lecturers have been educators, Professors Gaudin, Pidgeon, Schuhmann, and Kellogg, none of them discussed the subject of education for extractive metallurgists. I might say parenthetically that lecturers in other divisions, such as B. M. Larsen, J. B. Austin, F. D. Richardson, John Chipman, and R. F. Mehl, have commented with concern on the present state of training for extractive metallurgy. What can you say that is new about extractive metallurgy education? Certainly nothing new can be said about the educational process itself. Professional educators do have new approaches to teaching and learn-

Jan 1, 1968

By Colin C. Rae

The absence of paraffin and other oil hydrocarbons in the soil although they are concentrated in extensive deposits in some localities, the common distribution of plant remains through many formations that are not productive for oil, and many other factors, seem to indicate the existence of an intermediate organic compound between the complex plant compounds and the petroleum hydrocarbons; and much evidence points to the humus acids or associated organic compounds, which are probably collected by surface waters and concentrated in certain areas by means of precipitation by electrolytes, which would be contained in sea water or possibly in various inland seas or lakes. Present-day Evidence There are many present-day evidences of the association of petroleum with humus acids. Binney, in 1912, made observations without explanations on the peat mosses of Down Holland, England, where he found petroleum being formed by decomposition in the presence of an infiltration of sea water. The analysis of a typical peat will show its relationship to the humus acids under consideration. Sample No. 1, SamplE No. 2. PXr Cent. PER CENt. Water......................... 20.0 29.6 Ash.......................... 3.0 3.05 Fiber.......................... 47.0 54.95 Humus acids................ 30.0 12.50 J. D. Haseman and others have noted the association of asphalt and hydrocarbons with the swampy, boggy areas, particularly adjacent to the sea. Many of the rivers carry much humus acid in solution, and some tropical rivers carry in the aggregate millions of tons of humus each year. The amount of humus is a variable factor, depending on climatic conditions, and on the salts and alkalies present in the water, also on the density and temperature.

Jan 1, 1923

By Colin C. Rae

The absence of paraffin and other oil hydrocarbons in the soil although they are concentrated in extensive deposits in some localities, the common distribution of plant remains through many formations that are not productive for oil, and many other factors, seem to indicate the existence of an intermediate organic compound between the complex plant compounds and the petroleum hydrocarbons; and much evidence points to the humus acids or associated organic compounds, which are probably collected by surface waters and concentrated in certain areas by means of precipitation by electrolytes, which would be contained in sea water or possibly in various inland seas or lakes. Present-day Evidence There are many present-day evidences of the association of petroleum with humus acids. Binney, in 1912, made observations without explanations on the peat mosses of Down Holland, England, where he found petroleum being formed by decomposition in the presence of an infiltration of sea water. The analysis of a typical peat will show its relationship to the humus acids under consideration. Sample No. 1, SamplE No. 2. PXr Cent. PER CENt. Water......................... 20.0 29.6 Ash.......................... 3.0 3.05 Fiber.......................... 47.0 54.95 Humus acids................ 30.0 12.50 J. D. Haseman and others have noted the association of asphalt and hydrocarbons with the swampy, boggy areas, particularly adjacent to the sea. Many of the rivers carry much humus acid in solution, and some tropical rivers carry in the aggregate millions of tons of humus each year. The amount of humus is a variable factor, depending on climatic conditions, and on the salts and alkalies present in the water, also on the density and temperature.

Jan 1, 1923