New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-04-30

= The inconvenience and annoyance Of a scant sup
ply Of any article Of first necessity must Of course al
ways be In proportion to the deficiency, while the
increase in price will Invariably keep pace with the
demand, and may often go extravagantly beyond any
increase in the cost Of production and transportation
The proof of this is palpable enough without much
examination, to those who have had occasion to pur-
chase fuel in this city during the winter months.
The prices Of wood and coal are always very high
here in winter Of coal in particular, it sometimes
reaching the trfng figure Of IS per barrel and (apol
ogizing in advance,) very trfing barrels at that.
This extrayagant and people ruinous, advance
in the cost Of a commodity 50 indispensable to the
wants and comforts of all classes, not SO much to
be attributed to an increased cost of production and
transportation during the cold season. to lack of
facilities for obtaining it in sufficient quantities to
meet the demand and create healthy competition in
the market. Therefore, if ample sources of supply
nearer home can be brought into requsition there is
no question that coal may become as cheap in New
Orleans as in the majority of Northern cities. Its
great utility and universal demand that it should
We have before us pamphlet written by Mr.. Henry
Cotton Norris which in this connection is rather in
teresting 1t embraces series Of papers relating to
the coal field on the Upper Ouachita river, and ad-
dressed to the New Orleans Academy of Sciences. A
letter to the author from Professor T. L. Ridde states
that he has examined samples Of coal from this de-
post, and finds them to be Of the Ignite or brown
description, i" of unusual purity and very superior
quality" Professor Riddell, further expresses the
opinion that there is but shade of difference be-
tween the specimens he has seen, Of 0uachita coal,
and the Torban Hill (Scotland) COAL variety which,
says the author being far too valuable for fuel has
for several years been used solely for distation Of
the mineral oils and for expectation to Russia and
elsewhere for the manufacture Of gas. Both ilumi
mating and lubricating oils are extracted, and are
superceding the animal oils to such extent, that
the demand is always in excess of the supply, The
managers of the English and French railroads prefer
it for machinery to the best sperm OIL"
The Professor submits the following analysis:
~. sa,. a.. new oRrE4 ss, April l7.h, 49,
liver Arkansas IL G Morris to contain when deprived Of
Volatile combustible matters rodueing pyrogenous oils
J Ta x .S S W
VI .a{ -
There question Of the great Of this COAL
can be easily mined and eheapy transported TO
\ University Of Lonsiana
By distillaton ounces of coal yield u ounces of
states also that it abounds in pure rosin, sometimes
In Jumps as large walnut, sometimes in veins.''
This must render it highly combustible and even in
fammable nproof Of which he states that the Camden
Coal Company had several hundred thousand bushels,
which had been thrown together in pile with the
s slack, destroyed by spontaneous combustion
Mr.. James Glover, an experienced and practical
mining of Pennsylvania, agrees in the opinion of
the resemblance between the Ouachita coal and that
of Torbain Hill, and after critically considering the
peculiar properties of the former he says:
This per centage matter resous prop
erty lie remarkable durability Of the coal wl
enneeiate and general fuel for domestic for
ssrs N e IN s and and @ the a
for fatboat navigation. y s9
Mr. Morris predicts confidently that this coal, from
its intrinsic excellence and the faciity and cheapness
with which can be obtained and conveyed to Market
is soon destined to supercede all others in New Or
leans and the valley of the lower Mississippi and he
adds that the capital and enterprise necessary to
summate this result are already enlisted. Several
boats are now loading and the next rise in the
Ouachita river will bring coal from this source into
the New Orleans market.
MIR. Morris concludes by describing the navigation
Of the Ouachita, which is very good during about
eBnt M0nths OF Tue year. Ine Navigation ior nat
boats could hardly be BETTER the current being gentle
and the channel without snags and rapids. He sug
gests slackwater improvement to render the river
navigable during the entire year, and hazards the
opinion that before the Legislatures of Louisiana and
Arkansas hold their next sessions, an enterprise te
that end will be matured. We know very little in re-
gard to the Legislature of Arkansas, but think il
barely possible that provided the political destnes
Of the parish Of Orleans be notin the way the Lous
ana Legislature may take some enterprise of internal
improvement into consideration at It's next session
For our part we should be rjoced to see that body
do almost anything if it could by any chance aid il
developing Southern resources.