interest. They were first exposed in the centre of the little branches that run into the Gallisteo Creek. The coal is in the natural condition. The following section of the strata was taken, ascending: (1) Laminated clay, with thin seams of sand, passing up into carbonaceous clay as a floor for the coal. (2) Coal, very compact. The cleavage lines are, in a few instances, filled with clay, 5 to 6 feet. (3) Drab clay, indurated, 15 to 20 feet. (4) Ferruginous sandstone, passing up into light grayish sandstone, 30 to 50 feet. At another locality there is a bed of coal which has been changed into anthracite by an enormous dyke. A cross-section shows (1) clay slate; (2) 2 to 3 feet of anthracite; (3) 14 to 18 inches of clay; (4) 14 inches to 2 feet of anthracite; (5) clay shale, passing up into alternate layers of sandstone and clay, 10 feet; (6) dark sandstone. The dip of all the beds is 14° east. They are overlaid by a thick bed of columnar basalt. The dyke that covers the coal-bed trends about north and south, or a little east of south. Three groups of Tertiary beds, of different ages, have been traced in the valley of the Rio Grande. They are --(1) The coal-strata, with abundant impressions of deciduous leaves, lying above well-marked Cretaceous beds. (2) The Gallisteo sand group, which plainly overlies the coal-strata, but inclines equally with and conforms to them. (3) The Santa Fé marls, which are of much later date than either of the other two, and rest conformably upon the Gallisteo group, and never incline more than 9° or 10°. In the Raton Mountains, in New Mexico, the coal approaches anthracite in quality, although somewhat impure and high in ash. Dr. Leconte reports the bed as having a thickness of 4 feet. At Vermejo Cañon there are two beds of poor coal, 10 and 15 feet, and two beds of 5 feet. In Raton Pass are found several beds from 3 to 8 feet thick. In Blackmore Cañon and Bremer Cañon the bed is seen, but the thickness varies. Twenty-eight miles south-west of Albuquerque lignite beds, 5 feet thick, are exposed. At Cimarron the bed is reported to be 14 feet thick. The coals in this region are used in the various railroads now traversing this section of the country. The following summary of the coal discoveries in New Mexico was made by John Robertson, M. E. to 36 inches. Twenty miles farther south there are the extensive coal-fields of Los Cerillos, many thousand acres in extent, and consisting of both bituminous and anthracite. The anthracite veins vary from 18 to 40 inches; the bituminous average about 3 feet. Still proceeding south to Albuquerque, and then taking the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, inexhaustible fields of the finest cannel and bituminous coals have been discovered. One vein is 5 feet 6 inches in thickness of cannel coal, of which there are over 1000 acres in one body only 2 miles from the road. Continuing down the main line, we reach San Antonio, in Socorro county, where at San Pedro, 7 miles east, there are several hundred acres of bituminous coal of good quality. This field is owned and operated by the railroad company. At various other points in the Territory similar beds have been discovered, which, from their distance from existing railroads, are not at present considered valuable. "All the points above mentioned are from one to seven miles from railroads, and are destined to prove of value. Coking establishments are building or projected at several of these points; and as we have extensive mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron, a bright future seems to be before this Territory. With few exceptions, the coal-fields are on Government land." ARIZONA.-The great lignitic fields of the West seem to continue into the south-eastern corner of Arizona, but the discoveries here are quite recent, and have not been proved to a very great extent. Coal has been found in the Saddle Mountains, 6 miles east of the San Pedro River and 4 miles south of the Gila, on the line of 33° north latitude. There is quite a number of beds, which lie almost flat, few appearing on the surface. At Casa Granda, 25 miles south of the Southern Pacific Railroad, outcroppings of coal are numerous. The Deer Creek coal-fields occupy the eastern half of an elliptical basin 30 miles long by 3 to 5 miles broad, lying nearly east and west, and divided centrally by the Gila River. The location is an abrupt synclinal valley, the rocks being eruptive and forming some characteristic dykes. The first discovery of coal was near the head of Deer Creek, where the valley is intersected by two dykes. The dip of the beds is 35° south. The main bed is 6 to 8 feet thick, and there are several smaller ones. The coal seems to be a semi"As you enter the Territory of New Mexico from the bituminous. The analysis is given below (No. I.). Eight north by way of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé miles below this is another outcrop; the dip is 35° north, Railroad, the first point where coal is found is at and and the coal a typical lignite (No. II.). The area of the in the neighborhood of Raton. Here large bodies of whole region is about 30 square miles, in which an uncoal of a bituminous character are opening out, and known portion of the coal-fields and beds has been the town of Raton has become the centre of the coal broken up by the action of eruptive rocks. Where interests of the northern part of the Territory. The least disturbed the coal is a true lignite, but portions railroad company is the principal owner, and it has are changed to bituminous coal, coking well, and even commenced a vigorous development of its property, to anthracite. both for its own use and for public consumption; and the existence of coal at this point has led it to establish large machine-shops, etc., for its business. south, we reach Las Vegas, where vigorous explorations are now carried on, which so far have developed the existence of bituminous coal-seams of from 12 to 24 inches, which underlie nearly the whole district Boring is still pushed forward, and hopes are entertained of striking a coal of sufficient thickness to pay for working. Seventy miles farther south coal is found in the mountains forming the Pecos range. These seams have never been explored beyond the point of proving their existence and their thickness, which runs from 30 Coming No. I. No. II. 47.6 44.0 8.4 Volatile combustible matter and water..... 145 24.5 100'0 100'0 UTAH.-The Green River coal-basin extends into Utah, west of the Wahsatch Mountains, to the Sierra Nevada range, including the plains of the Great Salt Lake. The coal-series is first seen in East Cañon Creek, a tributary of the Weber, and then continues along the Weber. The formations of the region are in three broad folds, having their rise at the base of the Wahsatch Mountains, and are parallel with a course of N. 26° E. The middle fold contains most of the coal. Coalville is in dip from 80° to 85°. Beds of good coal 14 to 15 feet this basin. Clarence King in his report (Geological thick, overlaid by shales, have been found in MendoExploration of the 40th Parallel) says: Our know- cino county. The rocks here are greatly disturbed, the ledge of the formation is now so well advanced that it locality being in the heart of the Coast Range, where can be said with perfect safety that the series contains mining would be very expensive. Shasta county has a practically inexhaustible supply of coal. Beds from a coal-bearing strata, while in Amador county there are 7 to 25 feet in thickness are discovered at intervals over coals from 6 to 15 feet in thickness, all lignitic in their 500 miles, and from their ordinarily gentle dips may be nature. In Placer and Solano counties the coals are mined with unusual ease. The principal mines are at small, poor, and irregular. Coalville. Chalk Creek, which enters the Weber River OREGON.-The Coos Bay coal-field in Oregon, lying at this place, exposes the coal for 18 miles, and along 100 miles north of California and 40 miles north of Cape its tributaries are the coal-mines. The bed has an aver- Blanco, consists of several hundred square miles of terage width of 11 to 14 feet at the Sprague mine. The ritory, extending from the mouth of the Umpqua River coal itself is of a black, brilliant surface, with the same on the north to points beyond the Coquille River on tendency to rectangular cleavage which is characteristic the south, and stretching back from the coast 15 or 20 of all the Western lignites." (See Table XXVII. for analyses.) NEVADA.-Near Pancake Mountain, 20 miles east of Eureka, in Nevada, a bed of coal from 5 to 6 feet thick has been opened. It runs north and south, and dips 40° west. The coal is much broken and displaced, and in some places seems to have been burned to ashes. It has been found to coke well and to make gas, but is used chiefly for local consumption. CALIFORNIA. The Mount Diablo coal-field is the only one in California that can be profitably mined. The measures are considerably disturbed, the dips varying from 12° to 33°. The coal-beds of this field are subject to great variation in thickness, the Clarke bed ranging from 20 inches to 4 feet; the Little bed, 1 foot thick; the Black Diamond, from 6 to 20 feet thick. These beds lie parallel, with their measures dipping to the north. The coal is of rather inferior quality, lying close to the surface and requiring considerable timbering in mining-notably so in the Black Diamond bed. Fire-damp is met with in all the mines. In the preparation of the coal no machinery is needed for fracturing it, the coal being brittle in its nature and needing but slight force to reduce it to the sizes required. The yield is about 25 per cent. of the amount in the ground. Coal has also been found at Coral Hollow. The northern portion of Los Angeles county, 13 miles east of Anaheim, furnishes ten or twelve impure seams. In the western part of Fresno county the coal-measures TABLE XXXI.-Analyses of Coals of the Pacific Coast. Mt. Diablo, Cal.......... Fixed ure. car. bon. Vol. matter. Ash. Sulphur. 14.69 46.84 33.89 4:58 1.25 49-89 39:87 7.82 1.20 miles inland. The surface is generally hilly, divided by narrow and crooked inlets, each of which has a bar in front of it, with channels constantly varying. The depth of water in these channels varies from 9 to 14 feet according to the seasons, making it very difficult for large ves sels to enter. The sea is very rough in winter, and ships experience hard work in entering and leaving Coos Bay. The profitable coal-mines are all in township 26 south, range 13 west. The Eastport mine works a bed 4 to 5 feet thick, running north and south, with an average dip of 8° west. The bed is divided by 6 inches of clay slate. The coal from the gentle pitch of 8° flattens out as the bottom of the mine is approached. The Newport mine is in the same region, working the same bed as the Eastport. There are few faults or disturbances in the present mines. WASHINGTON TERRITORY.-The Bellingham Bay coal-bed in Washington Territory is 14 feet thick, with a dip N. 57° W. The coals are interstratified with slate and "bone" or slaty coal. Only half of the bed is mined, the lower half being dirty and of no value. The coal-bed upon which the Renton mine is located lies in sections 17, 20, and 29, township 23 north, range 5 east, Willamette meridian. There are two beds now being worked: the upper one is 17 feet thick, interstratified with "bone," and yielding 10 feet of good coal. The lower one is 13 feet thick, yielding 8 feet of good coal. The measures strike south 10° west, and dip 15° east. These two beds are separated by 80 feet of sandstone. The coal is hauled two miles by rail to Black River, thence on barges or by rail to Seattle. The Seattle mine is 10 miles south-east of Seattle. The land in this neighborhood was first explored in 1868, and the first coal mined in 1871. The coal-field is on the east shore of Lake Washington, and contains six distinct beds-the upper one 5 feet thick, in soft sandstone; the lower bed, 8 feet thick, of good coal. The middle beds are poor. TABLE XXXII.-Production of Bituminous Coal and Lignite West of the 100th Meridian. All the coal shipped from these mines goes to San expended $5000 on coal-workings can enter not exceedFrancisco. There were sent in 1881-from the Renton ing 640 acres. The act allows only one entry by the mine, 12,708 tons; from Seattle, 134,710 tons; total, same person or association of persons. Payment for 147,418 tons. It is estimated that the amount used lands must be made within one year after the filing of locally and supplied to steamships in the bay brought the entry. up the total output to 160,000 tons. The Bellingham Bay coal has an extensive reputation as the best on the Pacific coast, and its use is growing very rapidly, the exports from Seattle having grown from 4918 tons in 1871 to 147,418 in 1881; the total shipments for the eleven years included being 876,558 tons. The field is being rapidly developed by railroads, and new mines are being opened. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT COAL-LANDS.-The officials of the General Land Office at Washington made a compilation from their surveys, from which they estimated that the total number of acres of coal-lands owned by the United States was as follows: Acres. Acres. 829,440 3,350 826,090 414,720 ALASKA. Good bituminous coal has been found at Port Gardner, Hood Bay, Admiralty Island, in Alaska, and also at Hamilton Harbor, on the east side of Kake Strait. A 6-inch scam is reported as found in hard rock. with a southerly dip of 35°, at Kuin Island, Kuprianoff Island, and Port Camden. At Cape Beaufort, on the Arctic coast, a small seam of true Carboniferous coal is found. Most of the coal in Alaska is Tertiary, and inferior to the Carboniferous coals. The deposit at Cook's Inlet is the most promising. North of Cape Starichkoff the coal is found in two parallel layers, variously reported from 18 inches to 7 feet in thickness, and from 36 to 60 feet below the top of the bank. To the north a third layer appears. The U. S. revenue cutter Corwin in 1882 found beds of coal on the coast of Alaska, within the Arctic Circle. Numerous beds were exposed on the face of a bluff about 150 feet high. They pitched at an angle of 45°, 414,535 and varied in width from 3 to 20 feet. They could be traced for miles on the "tundra," or grassy plain, which ended in the bluff. The coal is described as a semi1,800 246,020 anthracite, which burned well and made little smoke, but left a large percentage of ash. It is probably a 600-1,127,625 good variety of lignite. 247,820 ..1,128,225 ..2,764,800 2,180-2,762,620 10,800 Nebraska: the coal-bearing rocks cover an area CANNEL COAL. Near Greensburg, in Beaver co., Pennsylvania, is a bed of cannel coal about 8 feet thick, resting on about 3 feet of ordinary bituminous coal. This cannel is light, 10,080 compact, ignites with great facility, ana purns with a 42,000 strong bright flame. 50,000 5,528,970 The laws regulating the sale of lands of the United States containing coal provide "that any person above the age of twenty-one years, who is a citizen of the United States, or who has declared his intention to be come such, or any association of persons severally qualified as above, shall, upon application to the register of the proper land-office, have the right to enter, by legal subdivision, any quantity of vacant coal-lands of the United States, not otherwise appropriated or reserved by competent authority, not exceeding 160 acres to such individual person, or 320 acres to such association, upon payment to the receiver of not less than ten dollars per acre for such lands where the same shall be situated more than fifteen miles from any completed railroad, and not less than twenty dollars per acre for such lands as shall be within fifteen miles of such road." Any person in actual possession of land, and who has opened mines, shall have preference of right of entry. Any association of more than four persons who have The famous Stockton bed at Cannelton, Fayette co., West Virginia, contains 3 feet of excellent cannel coal and 22 inches of splint coal. Cannel coal is also found in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, and, we believe, in Tennessee. It is not commended for any purpose of iron making and manufacture, but is suitable for steam-engines. Kentucky.-At Hawesville, on the left bank of the Ohio, 120 miles below Louisville, is a coal-bed 4 feet thick. The upper eighteen inches of this bed consist of caunel coal; the remainder is common bituminous coal. Its analysis, by Dr. Jackson, shows-carbon, 18:40; bitumen, 48'80; ashes, 2'80. The price of this coal at New Orleans is from sixty-two and a half cents to one dollar per barrel of two and a half bushels. It is in request there for the use of the towboat companies. Hawsville is about 258 miles above the mouth of the Ohio. The coal-seam is nearly horizontal, appearing on both sides of the river, in a position remarkably favorable for loading into vessels lying in the Ohio. It is a compact, largely conchoidal coal, producing a bright flame-does not cement, or adhere together in burning, but, on the contrary, falls into a profuse white ash, much larger in amount, practically, than the analysis indicates. It is specifically lighter than common bituminous coal, yet heavier than the cannel coal of Lancashire and Yorkshire, as is shown by the following Indiana-The Cannelton coal of Indiana is found above Laredo, in Texas, a bed of cannel coal has been in that part of the coal-field which is intersected by developed by a tunnel or drift, and is used to supply the Ohio River, about 120 miles below Louisville by the Rio Grande and Pecos Railroad. At the outcrop water, but scarcely more than half that distance in a the bed is 3 feet thick, but at 650 feet from the surface straight line. The seam varies from 3 to 4 feet in it has a thickness of 4 feet. It is said to be a pure canthickness, and occasionally expands to nearly 5 feet. nel, and very hard. The strike of the bed is north-west It is mined at an elevation of 70 feet above the Ohio and south-east, and its dip 6 inches per 100 feet. There River. The coal can be furnished at a low price. It is said to be a great deal of coal in the vicinity of Lareburns freely, yields a pleasant flame, and affords a light do, though much of it has been consumed in the ground sufficiently strong to read by. Prof. Johnson observes by spontaneous combustion. The country has not been that the fracture is often conchoidal, and the lustre explored sufficiently to procure specific data. dull, like that of Scotch cannel coal. The mean result of two specimens gave Iowa.-A bed of pure cannel coal 5 feet thick has been discovered in Red Rock township, in Warrior co., Iowa, 30 miles from Des Moines. Samples tried by a gas company are pronounced equal to West Virginia cannel. Missouri.-A very fair cannel coal is found at several points in Callaway co., Mo., north of the Missouri River and on each side of it, 120 miles above St. Louis. Extraordinary statements have been made of the immense thickness of the Calloway county bed of cannel coal. At one point it is said to be 24 feet, and at another 46 feet, in thickness. In Cole county, a few miles from Côte-sans-Dessein, it is affirmed that a shaft has been sunk 32 feet into the coal without getting through the stratum; probably an oblique section of the seam. It is well adapted for steam, gas, and iron manufacture. Texas.-At a point on the Rio Grande River 27 miles GAS COAL. The varieties of coal best suited for the manufacture of gas are the bituminous coals, especially the caking and cannel varieties. Some asphaltic materials, like albertite, can be used as enriching materials, but never alone. They produce large quantities of gas, but their cost limits the quantity used. Cannel coal yields the richest gas, and is much used in England, but caking coal is the material in most general use. The advantage of this variety is in its abundance and consequent cheapness, and in the fact of its furnishing coke of value. Gas from caking coal is inferior in illuminating power. The percentage of sulphur in gas coal is a matter of considerable importance. Half of the sulphur remains in the coke, while the other half goes into the gas, and must be removed by purification, thus increas ing the cost of the process. Nova Scotia coals contain 3 to 5 per cent. of sulphur; Red Bank, Pa., 0'89; Westmoreland, Pa., 150; Murphy's Run, W. Va., 188 to 306; Orrell, Eng., 175 to 2:34. The last column in the accompanying table shows the number of feet of gas purified by one bushel of lime, which is a tolerable indication of the amount of sulphur that goes into the gas: |