Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-03-24
Railg Niraiaiau.
Coal.

Coal.
Probably no invention or discovery Of tho last
few centuries is likely to result 50 advantageously
to the world ns the explorations which, in tho last
fifty years. have developed tho coal measures
derlying tho surface Of the globe. ltis impossi-
BILE to oyerstate tho Importance of this mineral to
the present and future generations just whom
population was increasing most rapidly. and ccon-
omists were anticipating with dismay the not
distant period when the forests would give place
to cultivated fields and gardens, it was found that
immense storchouses OF fuel had been stored up
for ages for the use and comfort of tho human
race. And just when science and ingenuity were
| excrting themselves ~ the utmost to invent aud
perfect tho immune raLls mechanical contrivanccs
which have multiplel mans strength thousand
fold. the agent'whc was to supply their motive
power began to unfold its gigantic resources.-
Steam machinery would have been comparatively
valucless to us hereafter unless suihcicncy Of
coal had been provide d. for wood cannot now be
obtained in Europe, and n hundred years hence
it will be both scarce and dear on our Continent.
The mines of England hnvc, it is true, bcon long
known, but ns they. until very recently, were ex-
peccd to furnish the world It's chief supplies Tor
all time to come. it was foreseen that th"y would
one day tnil DIR. BucKLAND thought in 1880
that Mt the then rate of consumption the con beds
of that Island would be worked out IN 400 years
though subsequent calculations allowed periods
Of 900 and even LOO yenrs before they would
po cAHuuSiou' Du', uS Coui ls uuiiy HpVi'cu w
some new purPose. and the demand hns increased
with enormous raphlity since these calcuatons
were made it l. not unreasonable to presume that
the English colonies would be exhausted long he
fore the last mentioned dates. BE this us il mny
however, 1t would have been serions impedl
ment to commerce an,f manufactures if all coun.
tries had been compelled to obtain an Article ol
such prime necessity from one distant point, md
to remain forever dependent for it upon one M
ton. 1t requires, them but little effort Of the
masination to realize the Importance of the dis
coveries which have established tho fact that coal
is tn bc found IN every quarter of the earth. and
in inexhausiblc quantities. OF the service IL can
be made to render us, it salmost needless to speak
In the Inst number of the Edabnrgh Rericn this
subject is discussed Mt some length. and We quote
from it the following extract, contrasting the rcla-
tive powers Of man. and the agent he summons to
his assistance -
each acre of IA coal seam four feet In thickness,
aud yielding yard net of pure coal, is equivalent
to about 900 tons, and possesses, therefore re-
ofmcchnnical strength in its fuel equal to HE
llfe-labor of 600 men. Each square mile of one
such single coal bed contains 1900 900 tons Of fuel
equivalent TO 1000, 600 OF men laborng through 20
years ofh'ir ripe strength Assuming, for calculation.
that 900 600 of tons out OF the annual produce ot
British coal mines applied TO the production Of
mechanical power then England annually summons
to Ter aid the equivalent of 3,3o0,000 fresh men
| pledged to exert t4rr fullest strength through 20
years. Reducing this to one year, we find that Eng
lands actual ANIMAL expenditure Of power, generated
by COAL is represented by that Of &C 900 Of able
bodied laboreis.
An element in the above calculation is ono cf tue
most humiliaing comparisons that can be drawn be-
tween human aud mechanical power. five estimate
life time of hard human work at 90 years giving TO
each year 400 working days, then we have for mans
total dynamic efforts 5000 days. In coal this is re-
presented by three tons, so that man may stand at
his door while ordinary quantity Of Goals Is
being delivered, and say TO himself: There In thnt
wagon, lies the mineral representative of my whole
working lfe's strength
An idea may be formed Of the value of the Eng
lsh coal, by estimating the cost and the difficult
ties which nre encountered to procure the best
qualities. Some Of the lateral excavations Of
inconcevablc extent, and in some instances hun
dreds Of men are compelled 10 toll for years be-
fore they gain the point "A. which the mining opc-
ratons, proper can begin. Thus we learn, that
the
Lowest working seams are Mt Morkwcarnouth,
Sunderland where the celebrated shaft of Penn
bcrton's Pitt has been sunk l.73O feet before the
Hutton seam ofroal was reached depth which is
feehly conceived by mere inspection of figures, but
which can be strikngly represented by saying that
this shaft exceeds in depth the Monument of London
piled eight times upon ITSELF and nearly equals ST.
Pauls piled upon itself five times This for long
period, regarded rs the deepest perpendicular
shaft iu the world bnt some foreign mining shafts
now, dispute with il the palm OF degth, aud a shaft
near Ashton nndcr-Iyne, approaches to it,
But it must not be supposed that the coal beds
of England usually reached by such laboron
and expensive methods ~ were necessary to open
the ''Iluttn seam" They are generally ncces-
slide, and their yield il, moreover, so abundant
that we may well be surprised that men should
devc ~ deeply in the earth TO find those which
lie so far beneath the surface five are astonshed
at the immensity of the power which coal can
generate, and The magnitude and ingenuity of the
efforts which men have nut forth to procure it, we
are lost 10 greater wonderInent when we try to
comprehend the figures by which the mass of coal
in the vol is weigl o. and measured. We
will not pursue the interesting reflections
which naturally suggested by this subject,
but content ourselves with single reference to
the size of our coal fields contrasted with those
of England. The latter used to be considered rs
Of marvellous extent, but they are simply insig-
nifcant when compared with those in this
country. The coal area Of Great Britain is com.
puted to contain about 400 square miles, while
that of the United States measures 1875, $50. The
number Of tons in Great Britain is stated Mt about
100, 900 900, 900, and North America ii is believed
could furnish 1000 900. 100000. Who can mum.
ber the blessings to accrue TO mankind from the
development OF this mine of incalculable wealth,
or measure the results which human labor is des-
tined to accomplish by its aid 2-Bdltimore Er-
change.
A SINGULAR QgIRK IN IINDoo LAW TURNING
To THE ADVANTAGE OF CHRISTIAN CoNvERTs.-
The Missionary Herald, of March, has an account
of n dcci sion m ada nv an Enulish MAGISTRATE at