HISTORY. The use of natural gas in China and Persia is said to date back to a very remote period. In the United States General Washing ton is said to have visited a burning spring on the Great Kanawha River, near the present site of Charleston, W. Va.; but the first recorded use of natural gas in this country was in 1824 at Fredonia, where it was piped from a well for illuminating purposes. In 1841 it was used in the Great Kanawha Valley for heating salt-fur naces, but its extensive use did not begin until 1872, at Fairview, Pa. In 1875 it was first used for iron-smelting at Etna Borough, near Pitts burg, and in 1886 was brought to Pittsburg from the Haymaker well near Murraysville, 19 miles distant. Since then its use has steadily in creased.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. For statistics of production, Bibliography. For statistics of production, see volumes of Mineral Resources issued by the United States Geological Survey (Washington, annually), ; Orton, "The Trenton Limestone as a Source of Petroleum and Inflammable Gas in Ohio and Indiana," Eighth Annual Report United States Geological Surrey (Washington, 1888) ; Orton, "Geological Structure of the Iola Gas Field, Kansas," Bulletin Geological Society of America, vol. x. (Rochester, 1899) ; Orton,
"Origin of the Rock Pressure of Natural Gas in the Trenton Limestones of Ohio and Indiana," Annual Report Smithsonian. Institution (Wash ington, 1891) ; Ashburner, "Geological Distribu tion of Natural Gas in the United States," Transactions American Institute Mining Engi neers, vol. xv. (New York, 1887) ; Watts, "The Gas and Petroleum Yielding Formations of the Central Valley of California,' California Mining Bureau, Bulletin No. 3 (San Francisco) ; Bishop, "Oil and Gas in Southwestern New York," New York State Museum 53d Annual Report (Albany, 1901) ; Haworth, "Oil and Gas in Kansas." Min eral Resources of Kansas, Kansas Geological Sur vey (Lawrence, 1898) ; Adams, "Oil and Gas Fields of the Western Interior and Northern Texas Coal Measures, and of the Upper Creta ceous and Tertiary of the Western Gulf Coast," United Stales Geological Surrey, Bulletin 184 (Washington, 1901) ; Orton, "Oil and Gas in New York." New York State Museum, Bulletin No. 30 (Albany).