bed before a sample could be gotten for analysis, but the water came from the same bed as does that in the Isle of Wight well, and an analysis of this latter water may be found on a subsequent page.

Non-Artesian Waters

SPRINGS. There are no large springs in Wicomico County, but small springs yielding a few gallons of water per minute are not uncommon, particularly at the base of the usually steep slope separating the higher or Wicomico terrace from the lower or Talbot terrace. At Mardela Springs in the northern part of the county a chalybeate spring has long had a local reputation for its medicinal water. The water issues from the base of the Wicomico formation and is heavily charged with iron. The yield is relatively small, nevertheless the Mardela Spring Water Company sold 50,000 gallons for medicinal purposes and utilized 100,000 gallons in the manufacture of soft drinks during 1916.

SHALLOW WELLS.-The shallow wells in Wicomico range in depth from a few feet to about 50 feet. Where they are deeper they are usually drilled instead of dug. Much of the eastern half of the county is covered by the sands and loams of the Wicomico formation. These are usually water bearing toward the base of this formation and hence water is struck from within a few feet to 30 feet of the surface, according to the height of the present surface. Similarly in the somewhat lower western part of the county wells dug in the Talbot formation usually strike water within 25 to 30 feet of the surface. These wells usually supply sufficient water for household or farm use, although locally the supply may be deficient or the quality poor and there is always danger of contamination from the seepage of outhouses, stables, etc., where care is not exercised in their location.

OIL AND GAS PROSPECTS IN WICOMICO COUNTY

In the last 20 years or so a belief has arisen among some of the residents of Wicomico County that large pools of oil or gas, or both, underlie their county and would be reached and opened up by drilling. This belief is

founded chiefly on the experience with shallow wells. "Surface indications," which have been invoked to prove the presence of oil and gas, are decidedly inconclusive evidence and would, if relied upon, lead to some very expensive and probably disappointing ventures.

The oil and gas agitation centers around Parsonsburg and Pittsville. Twenty-five years or more ago, the date is not definitely known, a well was sunk by Mr. White about 3 miles north of Parsonsburg to a depth of between 30 and 40 feet. At the time of sinking no notice was paid to the slight gurgling which was heard in the well, but about five years later when Mr. J. W. Wimbrow put down a 36-foot well at his place in Parsonsburg and struck a relatively large volume of gas, Mr. White remembered the gurgling he had heard in his well earlier. Mr. T. W. Parsons then recollected that he had heard the same gurgling when he first sunk a well at his mill about 1 mile south of Parsonsburg. These are the first records of gas in Wicomico County.

Mr. Wimbrow's well was the first well from which the gas was used. When the well reached a depth of 36 feet there was a strong rush of gas which, when lighted, flamed to a height of 12 feet. The gas from this well was piped into the house and used for two years when the flow ceased.

Since then numerous wells in this neighborhood have encountered gas which, in some wells, was under pressure enough to force out a jet that could be ignited, but in most cases the pressure was only enough to indicate the presence of the gas by the gurgling sound or the infrequent bubbles that arose to the surface. A significant feature in the Parsonsburg region is that when Mr. Wimbrow's well was sunk 25 years ago no water was found below the surface water at 12 feet. Water accompanied the gas in all of the wells sunk. The supply of water from the gas sand at 35 feet is such that Mr. R. J. Christie, who is drilling a well at Parsonsburg for the St. Martin's Oil and Gas Co., says that he uses it in his boilers with no trouble and "counts it a satisfactory water for all purposes." The gas pressure in all wells that could be observed is very low, and the flow discontinuous so that the gas, when ignited, would burn for a few minutes with a colorless flame and then die out.

An analysis of this gas has been made by the Bureau of Mines and is given here:

Heating value at 0° C. and 76 cm. of mercury (atmospheric pressure), 211 B. t. u. Specific gravity (air, 1), .9.

The constituent that burns is the CH,, or "marsh gas," which can be noticed around thick marshes or along shores near recently buried vegetable or animal matter. The large amount of nitrogen present clearly shows the organic origin of the gas. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are not usual components of pure natural gas, but are present here, probably, through contamination with air. The preponderance of nitrogen and the fact that the only hydrocarbon present is methane, a gas commonly arising from decaying vegetation, suggests that this gas comes from a buried swamp, local in distribution, since it has not been found outside of the region within a radius of 5 miles of Parsonsburg.

A comparison of this gas with the natural gas that comes from the Appalachian field and supplies Pittsburgh shows that the Parsonsburg gas is very poor in heat units, possessing a heat value at 0° C. and 76 cm. of mercury of only 211 B. t. u. as opposed to 1180 B. t. u. for Pittsburgh natural gas at the same conditions of temperature and pressure. The Pittsburgh gas contains in addition to 83 per cent of methane (the hydrocarbon of natural gas possessing the least heat value) 16 per cent of ethane, the next higher hydrocarbon in the heat value scale. It can be seen from these figures that good natural gas contains at least 99 per cent of hydrocarbons (the extra 1 per cent of Pittsburgh gas is nitrogen), while the gas from Wicomico County contains less than 20 per cent, and only the number of the series possessing the least heat value.

A feature which does not seem to have impressed promoters of the Wicomico County project is that the gas so far encountered was restricted to shallow depths, and that at no lower point down to the present bottom of the well, has there been more favorable indication of

Soft

Soft

1885

Hard, Iron 1908

Corrosive water.

Hard, Iron 1900

Corrosive water.

petroleum or gas. The low pressure, quick exhaustion, and restricted distribution indicate a pool of marsh gas and not a deep-seated, large pool of gas or oil.

Some wells in this area show a scum and this fact has been used as an argument in favor of the presence of a pool of oil or natural gas. One sample examined qualitatively by the U. S. Bureau of Mines was found to consist chiefly of organic matter, another was examined by the U. S. Geological Survey and described as consisting of iron oxide. The character of the scums are probably variable. Films of iron oxide are very commonly mistaken for indications of oil, and films of organic matter are frequently found unconnected with oil pools.

WORCESTER COUNTY

Worcester, the most southeasterly county of Maryland, extends along the ocean front from Sussex County, Delaware, to Accomac County, Virginia. The surface of the country is flat and most of it lies within 40 feet of sea level. Swamps are present along the principal streams and the border facing the Atlantic comprises sandy barrier islands behind which are broad, shallow inlets bordered by marshes. Small areas surrounding Berlin and near St. Martin, as well as a larger area extending for about 4 miles west of Bishop, and considerable areas comprising most of Colbourne's Election District (No. 6) and the northern half of Atkinson's Election District (No. 7), range in elevation from 40 to 50 feet.

Almost the entire surface of the county consists of the loams and sands of the Talbot formation, the youngest of the Pleistocene formations, or of