Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-05-07
who in,rodueea this unfortunate .ystsm did not bes

ot their mineral Representations of dollars hay,
been sacrificed for want OF engineering sitsiaments
or little geological information. We NAV rot feel
the effects severely, but when our coal lsrc.
are valued they are in the other regions, the compu.
tation will be easy IS it will be astonishing. Yer
the most serious consequence is the jeopardy 10 which
the hUes Of miners are placed BY former neglect
No plans we're preserved Of those old mines, whose
tortuous aud unnnerlike ramticatons extend ip the
most unexpected directions. aud no wisdom can con
lecture, and no skill, with certainty discover where
their subterranesn caverns Of water lie, since every
ton of coal which bas been extracted from those old
aud abandoned mines, must be replaced by an equal
bulk and greater weight of water.
In order to obtain the coal which has been left in
such localities we are forced TO sink below the old
works, and the is that thousands of tons
oi impending waters hang above u.s. suspended al il
were by single hair, and ready at any moment to
enguf our lives and our poperty in their descending
deluge. Had anything like plans Of mining opera
tons been precerved,or engineering skill heen employ
ed this would not be the csse we could than lay our
finger on the dangerous parts and avoid drain them
as might suit our purposes.
None can be so painfully aware of this defect as
information, or plans Of the old mines as much as
them Yetdo they, our present coal.miners, prepare
anything more satisfactory for those who may folow7
We fear too many of them think more of the pre-
semi than the future, We all do-snd nothing can
remedy this cryng sin, but a compulsory lam such
rs exists in England or France and elsewhere. The
lives of the mnerssre al~ays in imminent danger from
this cnpa6fe neglect yet there s provision for their
safety. Will the authorities see to it:
We would refer to the deluged mines at Midlothian
| and Dover, and to those of the Tuckahoe, and the
souh.Side of James River near the Belons Arse
nal At the first place. the greatest precaution of the
managers did not prevent awful oatastro phe,
which resulted in fearful loss of life, and all i'm.
nense destruction of property. At the latter named
places, the waters of the James River and the
Tuckahoe have been carelessy tapped and let into the
suberranesn works. These are serious difficulties
which we have yet to encounter and those which We
ongh TO prevent in future, since they must be paid
| for, and dearly too. comparative friie would
| accomplish the object But, 10 addition to the secu.
rty, and the enhanced value of land. which correct
system of mining would insure, do not hesitate to
say that be cost Of producing coal would be reduced
1
called he mother of invention and in no business
whatever is ingenuity more required. constant at
tention more demanded than In the coal business
| From epick OF the miner to the consumer, every
item of cost must be- lealously watched, for the mi
| ner makes his profits by the saving Of mills more
I than by the saving of pennies. He must be scien.
tifc man well as practical man. He must un
derstand the philosophy Of ventilation and of drain.
age we'll the various phenomena Of the weather
of coal formations and Of geological causes generally
in order to make his business profitable.
| In no other mining region of the world could en-
gneering skill or geological science be- made 30
profitable as here. Indeed it is necessity which
we feel every day. Our miners feel it in the cost Of
producing COAL which is greater here. at the present
time, than in any other coal region of the world and
our citizens feel il severely the price they pay for
fuel which s greater in Richmond than In New York,
though we are in position rs favorable as Pottsve,
or even New csss.onTyne. Why is ii cot Our
| coal can be obtained as cheap IA the Pennsylvania
coal can be produced from the deep mines of Schuyl
| kill county or the French mines near Nantes. The
cost Of which with ample profit TO ths miner is re
spec,ivey 1926 and S2,4!. The coal basins near
Nantes are strikingly similar to those of Richmond,
both In form and clsarness Of coal. And another
singular feature, II we may not term il phenomena,
is the existence of Natural Coke in the Northern
end Of this coal field. Traces of this truly
Interesting formation exist on the South side
of James River, but the great body of it lies on
the North side near the head of the Tuckahoe creek
| and on lands of Messrs. Dunlop, McCsnce g. Co.,
| ~. j. Werh, Esq, sgenti Messrs. Msgruders,
Bowes, and Crouch, upon whose properties it has
| been developed and mined Its exact limits however,
is hard TO determine, but enough is known TO define
local deposite without rival in the world. For,
| strange to say, il is the only known deposite Of
Natural Coke; hence its value is increased not only
as a monopoly, but in reality, since the loss in
artificial cookery ia about IS 20 40 per cent. The
price of Cumberland coal at the mines is so per
ton while the price of coke is $3.0U. The price of
coal at Nantes. France 90 miles from the mines, is
2i2i of coke 522; at the furnaces Of Myrthyr,
Wales, the price of coal is from rs cents 10 81 per
tom while coke lie worth from 81 25 TO 81 90 per ton,
according 10 quality. The Natural Coke of Richmond
is an elegant fuel for household uses and s equally
as we'll adapted for steam purposes generally and
might take the place of antheracite in almost every
| instance under iudicious treatment.
This coke 10 located about bO feet above the coal
| seams on q bed of fine clay. While about 10 fee!
above the coke, or lbs feet above the coal seams, Il
second bed of coke is found, reduced however, to
cinder, evidently by some intense heat. Immediately
over this bed of cinder occurs bed Of hard igneou,
sand stone, locally known as nhin or trap which
however loses its basaltic character where the coke
| does not exist.
The theory advanced by Prof. Rogers, which attr
butes the cause to the ascent of the internal heat
the esrth must be erroneous, since find the uppe,
veins coked, instead of the lower ones. j. J. Werh
Esq. from his practical knowledge Of The locality
and his scientific observations could best explain this
freak of Nature. We have no time, at present. for
theories. s. II. DEB-'.
RIcHaosD, May 5, 1858.
| NoTE-In letter XVII. the types make us say. the
census valuation of Virginia $43D 7Ol 0S2 in 1880
II should have bsen in 1850. Several trAing
occur in other places, such "CeneTpots of Trade
| for Entrepots of trade, and Goal Basins' Letter
YVIII.) as proper instead Of a common noun.
| FROM WASHINGTON CITY.
ICorrespondence of the Richmond Enqurer.i
| WASHINGTON May 4, 1858.
| The National Medical Convention assembled oday
! AT the Smithsonian Institution at A. NJ. The dele
gstes number soma five or ak hundred, and have
come from every State in the Union. except those ir
the extreme South. West, viz: Louisiana and The
neghboring States.
brethren Of the city, by DR.. Lndsey of this district
The chairman read very able paper address
and committee on nominations having been selected