Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1857-07-04
Boston Society of Natural History.

Boston Society Of Natural History.
Reported for The Boston rravellerby the Recording
secretary
The President IN tie CLAIR. Professor
AaAssIzopenedthe the meeting by some highly
interesting remarks upon a new family OF
fishes and their habits.
DR.. CHARLES L. JACKSON gave brief
description of the bituminous coal formation
of Elk County, Pennsylvania, which he
had been engaged in exp oring during the
month of June last. lie observed that the
great bitumonous coal basin or trough ex-
tends from the northwestern border OF
Pennsylvania, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as
Indicated on Mr.. Jules Marcou's Geological
map of the United States.
The northern portion of this basin is Of
great economical value on account of its
being the nearest to Lake Erie, one Of the
greatest markets for Goals, which are requi-
red for navigation on all the great lakes,
and for the furnaces and gas works, as well
MS domestic use fer fuel, on both the u S.
and Canada sides of these lakes. lie re-
marked that statistics showed larger
amount of tonnage on the lakes than exists
on the Atlantic coast of this couutry, and
that steam navigation would certainly
greatly increase upon the lakes where
Goals could be obtained at a reasonable cost,
as will soon be the case when the western
portion of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad,
now under contract, is completed, which
would be done in the course of two years.
Since the recent explorations were made
into the extensive coal formation of Els
county, Pa, the Directors of this important
Railroad have ordered the road to be laid
amid these coal fields, aud the consequence
of this movement will soon be ielt in the
augmented value Of the coal lands.
The par icular region explored by DR..
Jackson is known as the tidgway Land and
Coal CompaDy's property, some $1,000
acres of land, all situate in the coal region.
Five or six beds of coal underlie this soil,
and they generally dip only from two to
six feet in thickness. Most of the large
beds are undisturbed, and only the small
enes are here and there denuded by valleys
of excavation.
The deep ravines, or runs, expose some
Of the out crops of the l'rger beds on the
southeast side Of the hills. On the north
ives, they are still deeply covered with
rocks, the sandstones and bitumnons shales.
Each of these coal beds is overlaid with
a stratum of 8 or 10 inches of slaty camel
coal, and they ell rest on fire elays. Iron
ores, namely carbonate of iron and brown
hematiie, abound the former in the fire
clays and the latter in the superincumbent
shales. But few fossil plants are found in
these shales, and only the scales, fins, aud
tails of fshesin the slaty camel coal, which
appears to have fine aqueous sediment Of
yater.logged vegetable matter.
A bed of buff-colorcd limestone occur;
beneath the principal bed of coal, and i;
nine or ten feet thick. This limestone
contains small fOssi! bivalve shells, not ye,
named,
The Ridgway land thus contains Goals
ircn ors, limestone and sandstone, with al
abundance OF clay suitable for FIRE proof
bricks. All the facilities Tor the reduction
of iron exists on the spot, and soon tht
means of transportion of the Goals nnC
metal to market will be supplied. The
country is elevated about 1000 feet abovt
the sea, and is 10 lat Alps N, and long
LAO w, OF Washington, aud is remarkably
healthy.
The following analysis of the Goals, iroI
ore and limestone have been made by DR.
jackson, since his return TO Boston,
Specimen from the feet bed;