Spencer County Research Articles

The St. Meinrad Coal Member (Pennsylvanian)—Reference Sections from Spencer County, Indiana

The purpose of this study is to (a) specify locations in Indiana that can serve as reference sections for the St. Meinrad Coal Member (Pennsylvanian) and (b) acquire more data to better correlate this coal with its equivalents in the Illinois Basin. The work focused on 1) a core from Indiana Geological and Water Survey drill hole (SDH) 537, latitude 38.180721 N, longitude 86.83895 W); and 2) an outcrop of the St. Meinrad Coal Member (latitude 38.147652 N, longitude 86.808903 W), both in Spencer County, Indiana. The borehole was drilled in November 2023 and the core is archived at the Indiana Geological and Water Survey Core Research and Teaching Repository, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. The St. Meinrad Coal Member was encountered at a depth of 44.25 to 48.45 ft (13.49 to 14.77 m), with a total coal thickness of 4.20 ft (1.28 m). On a whole-seam basis, the coal has an ash yield of 1.27 wt % and is 3.92 wt % in total sulfur. Petrographically, the coal consists of moderate amounts of vitrinite (77.12 vol %), liptinite (15.84 vol %) and inertinite (7.04 vol %). Palynologically, the coal is dominated by lycopsid tree spores (74.12 vol %), with reduced amounts of small lycopsid (13.4 vol %) and tree fern (6.14 vol %) spores. Small fern (0.9 vol %) and calamite (4.17 vol %) spores are uncommon to rare, as is cordaite pollen (0.96 vol %). The outcrop location has a coal thickness of 3.15 ft (96 cm). In outcrop, the coal is relatively clean in the middle part and is enriched in mineral matter at the top and bottom parts of the seam. The coal is underlain by claystone. Palynologically, the coal has similar spore assemblage to that documented from the core. The common occurrence of Endosporites globiformis and other stratigraphically diagnostic taxa in both locations warrant assignment of the St. Meinrad Coal Member to the early Atokan NG (Microreticulatisporites nobilis - Endosporites globiformis) miospore zone of the Illinois Basin, which correlates with the early Duckmantian strata of western Europe and Middle-Late Bashkirian strata worldwide. The palynologic data also indicate that, within the Illinois Basin, the St. Meinrad Coal Member is coeval with the Hawesville and Bell coal beds in western Kentucky.

First report of Calonectria ilicicola causing red crown rot of soybean in Indiana.

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) samples from commercial fields in Decatur and Spencer counties, Indiana were submitted to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab in August to October 2022. Plants exhibited whole-leaf to interveinal chlorosis of the foliage, red to dark brown external lesions on the crown spreading from the soil-line upward, and severe root rot. In the fields, patches of diseased plants were observed, with greater than 50% of the plants affected and yield loss up to 50%. Orange to red perithecia were present on the exterior of symptomatic stem tissue and ranged in size from 329 to 433 × 232 to 306 µm (n = 10). Stems were surface sterilized in 10% Clorox (0.825% NaOCl) for 1 min, then rinsed with sterile distilled water and dried. In a laminar flow hood, sections of symptomatic stem tissue were plated on using quarter-strength potato dextrose agar (QPDA) and incubated under fluorescent lights on a 12-hr light/dark cycle at 20°C. After 6 days, fungal colonies with fluffy aerial hyphae, which were white near the colony margins and orange to burnt-red near their center, grew uniformly from the stem tissue plated. Elongate, cylindrical hyaline conidia with zero to three septations measuring 45.5 to 73.8 × 4.4 to 6.7 µm (n = 22) grew in clusters from symptomatic stem tissue within the plate. Perithecia developed after 14 days. Falcate, hyaline ascospores with one to two septa measuring 29.4 to 54.7 × 4.6 to 6.8 (n = 23) µm developed within the perithecia. Calonectria ilicicola Boedijn & Reitsma was confirmed based on morphological characteristics (Padgett et al. 2015). Isolate PPDL 22-01457B was used for DNA extraction using the ZR Fungal/Bacterial DNA Miniprep kit (Zymo Research, Irvine, CA). The internal transcriber region (ITS), actin (ACT) and β-tubulin (TUB2) genes were amplified (Carbone and Kohn 1999; Glass and Donaldson 1995; O'Donnell and Cigelnik 1997; White et al. 1990). Amplicons were sent for Sanger sequencing (Genewiz, Inc., South Plainfield, NJ), submitted to Genbank, and assigned accession numbers ITS: OQ932995, Actin: OR484986, and β-tubulin: OR546281. Sequences were analyzed using the NCBI BLASTn tool with results showing 99.5 to 100% identical to C. ilicicola (GenBank accessions LC500063, OQ303403, CP085825, respectively). To perform Koch's Postulates, 90 soybean seeds (CP3620E) were planted in potting media (Berger, Saint-Modeste, Quebec, Canada) in a seed flat with 45 of the plants used as controls and grown under grow lights for 16hr light/8hr dark at 20℃. Individual seedling crowns were inoculated 3 days post-emergence with a 5 to 10 ml spore and hyphal suspension that was scraped from the surface of a 14-day old QPDA culture after adding 300 mL deionized (DI) to each plate grown at 20 to 22°C. The control plants received sterile-DI water. Plants were covered in a plastic bag for 72 h. Plant stems were sprayed with sterile-DI water once a day for seven days. Symptoms were observed after four days, but significant crown rot and lesions developed after two weeks before wilting and dying. Calonectria iliciola was isolated uniformly from symptomatic plants and identified morphologically. Control plants showed no symptoms. Inoculations were repeated 3 times with similar results. As of fall 2023, red crown rot has been confirmed in Adams and Rush counties in Indiana. Red crown rot has been confirmed in several Midwest states (Kleczewski et al. 2019, Neves et al. 2023), but the extent of its distribution and disease management strategies are still limited.

Bedrock Geologic Database of the Indiana Portions of the Princeton, Evansville, Mount Vernon, and West Frankfort 30- x 60-minute Quadrangles

Located in the eastern Illinois Basin, the Princeton 1:100,000-scale quadrangle comprises portions of Knox, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, and Spencer Counties in Indiana as well as small portions of Edwards, Gallatin, Wabash, and White Counties in Illinois. The mapped area is situated in the rolling topography of the Wabash Lowland and dominated by Pennsylvanian-age coal-bearing strata. Pennsylvanian siliciclastics in the Princeton quadrangle host economically important coal seams. The most widespread coal beds occur in the Carbondale Group, but the Raccoon Creek Group hosts coal of superior quality (low sulfur, low ash) in Indiana. Surface and underground mining of these coals have been extensive, with expansive impacts on the landscape and subsequent reclamation. Bedrock outcrops are obscured mainly by glacial sediments and extensive fluvial deposits from the Wabash River that formed deep channels (paleo and active) filled with outwash and alluvium. The geologic map of Gray and others (1970), the Compendium of Paleozoic Rock-Unit Stratigraphy in Indiana (1986), and Indiana Geologic Names Information System (IGNIS, https://legacy.igws.indiana.edu/ignis/) are the fundamental compilation of previous geological knowledge from this area. Additional data come from previous 1:24,000-scale mapping through the National Cooperative Mapping Program STATEMAP component. However, most information for the Bedrock Geologic Database of the Indiana Portions of the Princeton, Evansville, Mount Vernon, and West Frankfort 30- x 60-minute Quadrangles and, more broadly, the western corridor, is derived from Indiana-scale coal seam mapping conducted between 2011 and 2017 based on the National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS), Indiana Coal Quality Database (ICQD), and geophysical logs from oil and gas wells archived in the Petroleum Database Management System (PDMS). The majority of these data were previously presented in Esri-based Indiana Coal Atlas StoryMaps for the entire western corridor. This geologic mapping project was funded in part through the STATEMAP Program supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Cooperative Agreement No. G22AC00424. The Bedrock Geologic Database of the Indiana Portions of the Princeton, Evansville, Mount Vernon, and West Frankfort 30- x 60-minute Quadrangles is a composite geodata set that conforms to "GeMS (Geologic Map Schema)--a standard format for the digital publication of geologic maps," available at http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/standards/GeMS/. Metadata records associated with each element within the geodata set contain more detailed descriptions of their purposes, constituent entities, and attributes. An OPEN shapefile version of the data set is also available. It consists of shapefiles, DBF files, and delimited text files and retains all information in the native geodatabase, but some programming will likely be necessary to assemble these components into usable formats.

Characterization of Vittatidera zeaphila (Nematoda: Heteroderidae) from Indiana with molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus.

In the summer of 2016, a field of corn (Zea mays) in Spencer County, Indiana was observed with heavily stunted plants, and from the affected roots a large number of cysts were recovered. Soil samples were submitted to one of us (JF), who extracted the nematode cysts and sent them to the USDA-ARS, Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory (MNGDBL), Beltsville, MD for morphological and molecular identification. Cysts and the recovered second-stage juveniles (J2) that were examined morphologically conformed to the measurements of Vittatidera zeaphila, the goose cyst nematode originally described from Tennessee, USA in 2010. The molecular analysis of J2 showed the sample from Spencer County matched exactly with V. zeaphila according to ribosomal DNA markers ITS, 28S, and 18S, and with mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI). The nuclear marker heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) was also analyzed for the first time from the Indiana population of V. zeaphila. Similarities to existing cyst nematode sequences are reported herein. Geographically, although the county is across the Ohio River from Kentucky, the previously reported Hickman County, Kentucky location and Indiana detection are approximately 200 miles apart. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of V. zeaphila in Indiana.

“He was a Friend of us Poor Men”: Ida M. Tarbell and Abraham Lincoln's View of Democracy

Ida Tarbell (1857–1944), best known for her investigative journalism during the Progressive Era, was also a diligent Lincoln biographer. The author dives into the recently digitized Ida M. Tarbell papers housed at the Allegheny College library to revisit Tarbell's take on Abraham Lincoln's years in the Indiana frontier. Tarbell was adamant that Lincoln's formative years in Spencer County shaped his understanding of what democracy meant to America. She spoke on the subject often and, while not everyone agreed with her interpretation, she acknowledged how her study of Lincoln shaped her own views on democracy in the 1930s.

Application of palynology and petrography in the correlation of the Pennsylvanian Brazil and Staunton Formation coals in the eastern part of the Illinois Basin

The coals of the Brazil and the lower part of the Staunton Formations (Atokan and early Desmoinesian, Pennsylvanian) in Indiana (Illinois Basin) are typically thin and discontinuous. As a result, both researchers and the industry have experienced problems with coal bed identification and correlation. The discrepancies in coal nomenclature and frequent miscorrelations affect coal exploration, mine planning, and communication between mines and customers. Our previous study, based on exploration boreholes, mine-scale observations, and coal quality and petrographic data from Daviess, Greene, and Clay Counties, Indiana, suggested that the coal mapped as the Upper Block Coal Member of Clay County might be the same seam as the Lower Block Coal Member of Daviess County. This study is an extension of the previous research conducted farther south to Pike, Warrick, and Spencer Counties, Indiana. In the southern part of Indiana, correlation of these late Atokan and early Desmoinesian coal beds is even more difficult because of the absence of well-defined marker horizons and limited mining and subsurface well data. Although palynological and coal petrography data generally correspond, these data alone cannot resolve the correlation of the coal beds in this southern region with the coals of Clay or Greene Counties, and they must be supplemented with the analysis of associated limestones. The ability to accurately identify the Perth Limestone Member, which occurs close to the Buffaloville Coal Member of the Brazil Formation, and the Holland Limestone Member, which occurs higher up in the Staunton Formation, will help to distinguish between Brazil and Staunton Formation coals.

Preservation of Intragranular Porosity Within the Harrodsburg Limestone (Middle Mississippian), Newtonville Consolidated Field, Spencer County, Indiana: ABSTRACT

Preservation of Intragranular Porosity Within the Harrodsburg Limestone (Middle Mississippian), Newtonville Consolidated Field, Spencer County, Indiana: ABSTRACT

Oil and Gas Developments in East-Central States in 1984

In Tennessee, drilling activity declined in 1984. The number of permits issued was down from 822 in 1983 to 670 in 1984. Scott, Morgan, Overton, and Fentress Counties on the Cumberland Plateau accounted for almost 75% of the permits; Clay and Pickett Counties on the Eastern Highland rim had almost 100 between them; Campbell and Claiborne Counties on the Pine Mountain block accounted for 31. The oolitic zones of the Mississippian Monteagle in the plateau and the Pine Mountain areas, and the Ordovician Nashville (Trenton), Stones River, and Knox Groups in Clay and Pickett Counties were the principal targets. Because of a good response to regulations, the number of wells classified was up from 922 in 1983 to 1,045 in 1984. The 1984 classifications showed 408 development well (119 oil, 184 gas, 33 oil and gas, 72 dry), 529 wildcats (82 oil, 201 gas, 9 oil and gas, 237 dry), and 108 abandoned locations. Oil production in 1984 was about 937,500 bbl, compared to 1,052,000 in 1983. Gas production, which has increased steadily since 1981, was slightly more than 5 bcf in 1984. In Illinois, the Geological Survey processed reports on 2,762 oil and gas tests in 1984, 3.5% more than in 1983. These included 661 exploratory wells (up 3.2%) and 2,101 development wells (up 3.6%). Exploratory wells were 15% successful; development wells were 72.0% successful. Exploratory successes included 10 field discoveries (all small) and 18 deeper pay discoveries. The deepest pay discovery was a well in Mayberry field, Wayne County, that had an initial production of 85 BOPD from the Dutch Creek (Devonian) between 5,300 and 5,322 ft. Many excellent wells continued to be completed; 135 with initial productions of 100 BOPD or more were reported in 1984. The biggest was a 900-BOPD Ullin (Mississippian) well in White County. Forty of the tests reported in 1984 went to TD 4,500 ft or deeper. The deepest, all Ordovician, were a 6,000-ft Knox test in Effingham County, a 6,300-ft Platteville test in Franklin County, and, in Williamson County, a 7,250-ft Trenton test and a 7,400-ft Knox test. A projected 8,300-ft Knox test is drilling in Williamson County. Drilling activity is expected to decline slightly in 1985. Crude oil production in 1984 was 28.9 million bbl, down slightly from 1983. In Indiana, 980 holes (405 exploratory, 513 development, and 62 service) were drilled in 1984, 52 less than in 1983. Exploratory wells were 19.8% successful (72 oil, 8 gas). Development wells were 68.2% successful (337 oil, 13 gas). Total footage drilled for all wells was 1,790,217 ft. Most drilling was in traditional areas of activity, but some exploration shifted eastward to the marginal flank of the Illinois basin, where testing of the Harrodsburg Limestone (Mississippian) in Spencer County resulted in a number of successes. Interest in the Harrodsburg in this area was stimulated by the completion in 1982 of the first Harrodsburg producer in the area since 1953. Rumors of the discovery in December 1984 of the first production in Indiana from Lower Devonian carbonate rocks were conf rmed in February 1985. These rocks underlie almost all of the shallower reservoirs of southwestern Indiana and have had virtually no testing. The discovery well, in Spencer County, had an initial potential of 120 BOPD from the interval in the Lower Devonian between 2,488 and 2,507 ft. Exploration and development drilling in Indiana is expected to continue at a healthy rate in 1985. Oil production in 1984 was 5,394,147 bbl, virtually unchanged from 1983. In Kentucky, drilling activity declined significantly in 1984. Permits issued were down from 6,779 in 1983 to 6,258 in 1984, and 2,671 of those issued in 1983 were allowed to expire without drilling. Late reporting of 1983 completions and improved reporting of 1984 completions resulted in a statistical increase of 129% in exploratory tests and 151% in development wells reported. Of a total of 1,994 exploratory tests in 1984, 559 (28%) were successful. The intense drilling activity of the past few years in the Cumberland saddle has diminished. Increased drilling for gas in eastern Kentucky resulted in a number of gas producers in the Big Lime (Mississippian) in Whitley County and in the Big Lime and Devonian shale of Leslie County, and in the discovery of both oil and gas in Middle and Lower Ordovician beds in Clay County. In south-central Kentucky, the main emphasis has been on extensions of oil production from the Corniferous (Clear Creek) in Warren County. The most significant developments in western Kentucky occurred in Henderson County, where numerous wells have been completed producing from various zones in the middle Mississippian. Kentucky produced 7,787,513 bbl of oil in 1984, 1.3% less than in 1983.

Dietary Overlap of Sorex longirostris and S. cinereus in Hardwood Floodplain Habitats in Vigo County, Indiana

Stomach contents were examined from 90 individuals of Sorex longirostris and 167 individuals of S. cinereus from hardwood floodplain habitats in Vigo Co., Indiana. The five most important foods of S. longirostris were spiders, Lepidoptera larvae, Gryllidae, Coleoptera adults and harvestmen. The five most important foods of S. cinereus were the same except that Coleoptera larvae replaced Gryllidae. Maintenance of a contiguously allopatric pattern of distribution within the relatively small geographic area of range overlap is probably important in minimizing competition between these two morphologically similar species. INTRODUCTION The southeastern shrew (Sorex longirostris) occurs throughout the southeastern U.S. ranging as far W as Louisiana and Arkansas, and N to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana (French, 1980a). The masked shrew (S. cinereus) is the most widespread North American Sorex, with a range extending across North America (Hall, 1981). Ranges of the two species overlap in portions of Illinois and Indiana, and in Indiana both species occur in Knox, Spencer, Tippecanoe and Vigo counties (Mumford and Rippy, 1962; French, 1980b; Rose, 1980). In Vigo County, these shrews are allopatric, however (French, 1980b). Sorex cinereus is found within the boundaries of the glacial floodplain of the Wabash River. Sorex longirostris is found in similar habitats and on some of the same soil series as S. cinereus but only outside the boundaries of the glacial floodplain of the Wabash River. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of similarity in diets of Sorex cinereus and S. longirostris that occupy the same type of habitat but do not overlap in distribution in Vigo Co., Indiana. It was hypothesized that morphological similarities between these two shrews reflect similar diets that contribute to allopatric distribution patterns in Vigo County. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sorex longirostris and S. cinereus were trapped with no. 10 cans set as pitfalls from 1976 to 1979 in Vigo Co., Indiana. Each can contained ca. 10 cm of water and shrews drowned quickly after entering the cans. Most specimens of both species were trapped in floodplain hardwoods along the Wabash River and its tributaries. Specimens of S. longirostris and S. cinereus were collected during all seasons as follows: January (1,0); February (1,0); March (9,2); April (11,72); May (9,12); June (13,3); July (6,23); August (14,3); September (3,1); October (18,21); November (3,21), and December (3,10). Stomach contents were preserved in 70 % isopropyl alcohol and examined in shallow petri dishes using a binocular dissecting microscope. The percent of total volume for each food item was estimated by visual inspection (Whitaker and Mumford, 1972). Items were identified by comparison with materials collected in the field. For aid in identification, microscope slides were made of all questionable food items; these were studied in detail at a later time. Shrews with empty stomachs were not included in the analysis. A similarity coefficient (Whittaker, 1970) was used to compare the results of this 1 Present address: Eastern Regional Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, 294 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 02108.

The Reproductive Biology of the Silverjaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, in Kentucky

The spawning period of the silverjaw minnow of Plum Creek in Shelby, Bullitt, and Spencer counties, Kentucky, extended from March through June, with the greatest spawning activity in April. Females of Age Group I had fewer primary ova with greater diameters than females of Age Groups II and III, which had successively more ova of smaller diameter. There was no correlation between diameter of ova and total length of female silverjaw minnows, but a high coefficient of correlation existed between number of ova and total length. The average number of mature ova was 748 and the average diameter was 0.75 mm. Spawning activity of fish in Pope Lick Creek, Jefferson County, Kentucky, in 1966, corresponded closely to that of fish in Plum Creek in 1968. Females of Age Group II formed the most important breeding class in Plum Creek, while females of Age Group I were most important in Pope Lick Creek. Numbers of males and females taken from Plum Creek were comparable.

Food Habits of the Silverjaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, in an Intermittent Stream in Kentucky

The feeding activity of the silverjaw minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, is closely associated with that of the bluntnose minnow, Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque), and the stoneroller minnow, Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque). Digestive tracts of 249 silverjaw minnows, taken from two stations on Plum Creek, Spencer and Bullitt counties, Kentucky, were examined and the contents identified. These data were analyzed according to the size of the fish, time of the year, and the availability of food. The food category occurring most often in digestive tracts of fish of all sizes was the order Diptera, chiefly chironomids, followed by detritus, Ephemeroptera, and Cladocera. Minnows 33 to 45 mm total length consumed more cladocerans and fewer mayflies while the reverse was observed in specimens 46 to 76 mm. A greater variety of organisms was eaten by all fish in the winter and spring. INTRODUCTION A complete understanding of community dynamics in the aquatic ecosystem depends upon a thorough knowledge of each species present. The family Cyprinidae contains more members than any freshwater group, most of which are considered to be forage species. An understanding of the biology of certain members of this family is of great value in fisheries management. The silverjaw minnow is a highly successful forage species occurring commonly in the eastern and southeastern United States (Forbes and Richardson, 1920; Moore, 1957; and Trautman, 1957). It occurs in large schools in gravelly or sandy-bottom streams of moderate gradients, feeds on benthos and detritus, and is preyed upon by various predators (Hoyt, 1969). The objectives of this study were to determine the kinds and numbers of food organisms consumed by minnows of different lengths and during different seasons. Observations were made on the availability of food organisms in the stream and were related to their utilization by the minnows. STUDY AREA Plum Creek is a small tributary of the Salt River in north-central Kentucky (Shelby, Bullitt, and Spencer counties). It flows over a belt of Ordovician limestone in the western section of the Outer Bluegrass Region, and as a result of this stratigraphy the area exhibits a relatively flat, mildly karstic topography with few forests and soils of fair 1 Contribution 128 (New Series) from the Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40208, from a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Louisville, June 1969. 2 Present address: Biology Department, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green 42101.

Stratigraphic Analysis of Key Beds in Cyclothems in the Staunton Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian) in the Clinton Area, West-Central Indiana

ABSTRACT During a coal resources study in the Clinton area, covering 260 square miles, the author found that six unnamed and little understood coal beds that lie within an average vertical interval of 62 ft in the Staunton Formation (middle Pennsylvanian) were difficult to identify and correlate. A study of these beds was made, using data from numerous outcrops and coal test holes. These six coals resemble one another in physical appearance and spore content, but each occurs in a separate cyclothem. The cyclothems are designated informally A through F in ascending order. The key beds, nearly identical lithologically in each cyclothem, vary in thickness and are discontinuous in geographic distribution. A table and six histograms summarize the results of the stratigraphic analysis of continuity and thickness of key beds (underclay-limestone, underclay, coal, carbonaceous black shale, and marine limestone) and of the intervals between the Seelyville Coal Member (III), which marks the top of the Staunton, and each of the six unnamed coals. Limestone is absent in cyclothems A and F; the two types of limestones gradually increase in distribution from cyclothem E through cyclothem B; the five key beds coexist with most frequency in cyclothem B; cyclothem D contains the most widespread underclay, coal, and black shale; coal is the most common key-bed lithology. Coal D is the most common key-bed unit and yet is found in only 70 percent of the stragitraphic sections. More than half of the key beds occur in 50 percent or fewer of the stratigraphic sections. These facts indicate the high degree of discontinuity of lithologic units that caused the difficulty in identification and correlation. Tentative correlation of the six unnamed coal beds in the Clinton area is made from generalized geologic columns in other areas, which are published, in large part. All six coals are correlated from Dubois County, and from Fountain, Warren, and northern Vermillion Counties; five are correlated from the Brazil Quadrangles, Clay County: four from Spencer County; and three from near Oakland City, Gibson County.

Developments in Indiana in 1960

Oil production in Indiana totaled 12,054,000 bbls. during 1960; this figure represents an increase of 4.1% over the 1959 production of 11,554,000 bbls. During 1960, there were 1,072 wells drilled, an increase of 18.0% over the 910 wells drilled in 1959. Of this total, 394 were wildcat wells and 678 were field-development wells. Thirty-four of the wildcat wells were successful: 15 were new pools, 17 extensions to pools, and 2 new pay zones in productive areas. Twenty-six of these wells were completed in rocks of the Mississippian system, 4 in the Pennsylvanian, 1 in the Devonian, and 3 in the Ordovician. Most of the wells drilled during the year were in the southwestern counties of the state and were drilled to test reservoirs in rocks of the Chester series. Approximately 44% of the exploratory effort of 1960 took place in Spencer County alone. Interest in the possibility of deeper production was evidenced by the drilling of several sub-Trenton tests in the state during the year.

Developments in Indiana in 1959

Oil production in Indiana during 1959 was 2.2% less than it was during 1958; oil production was 11,811,000 bbls. in 1958 and 11,554,000 bbls. in 1959. In addition, the number of wildcat wells drilled in Indiana decreased 8.2% during 1959, from 317 wildcats in 1958 to 291 in 1959. Successful wildcats discovered 11 new pools, 16 extensions, and 5 new pay zones in productive areas during 1959. The continued search for productive shallow Chester sands, spurred by the discovery of two promising pools in Spencer and Warrick counties and the progressive development of pools in Gibson County in Jackson and Hardinsburg sands, accounted for the largest share of drilling for oil in Indiana. Total drilling was 904 wells in 1958 and 910 wells in 1959, an increase of 0.66%.

Developments in Indiana in 1958

Oil production in Indiana during 1958 totaled 11,811,000 bbls. and was practically unchanged from production during 1957. During 1958, 902 wells were drilled for oil and gas, as compared with 727 wells in 1957, an increase of 24.1%. Twelve new pools, 16 extensions, and 11 new pays in productive areas were discovered in 1958. Exploration successes in eastern Gibson County and in Spencer County did much to increase the drilling rate in Indiana during the year. Successes in these two areas indicated a concerted exploratory effort toward locating accumulations of oil in stratigraphic traps in Chester sands.

Account of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis, as it occurred in parts of Dubois, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Southern Indiana

Account of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis, as it occurred in parts of Dubois, Spencer, and Perry Counties, Southern Indiana