The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1861-08-23
GEAUGA SOLDIER.
Depth of Mines-The Working of the
English Mines.

An English journal, after valuing tho total
product of tho miues of Great Britain ut
E4l ,49l, ,l02 pcr annum, and computing
that Engiand's supply of coal will last al
least seven hundred years louger al present
ratios of consumption. gives tho following
account of the depth to which the bowels
OF the earth have been pierced in En-
gland:
'The depth to which we mine for coal is
already great. The pit ut Ducknfiold, In
Cheshire, is 1904 feot below the surface to
tho point where il intorsects the Black
Mlno Coal, q scam which is four feot six
inches thick, aud of tho best quality for
domestic and manufacturing purposes
from this point further depth of 500 feet
has boon attained by means of IN engine
plane in the bed Of coal, SO that a grea.
portion o. the coal is now raised from tho
enormous depth OF 1904 foot. At Pondle.
ton, near Manchester, coal is daily worked
from dopth Of 2, 1875 feet; and tho Camel
coal Of Wigan is brought from 1873 foot
below tho surface. Many OF tho Durham
colories arc equally doep, and far more OK.
tondod IN their subterranean labyrin,hs.
Somo of those, and others in Cumberland.
arc worked out far under the bed Of tho
sea; and on both sidos of the island We are
rapidly extending our sub oceanic burrow.
ing. ....
Dolcoath tin mine, Ia Cornwall, is now
working ut one thousand eight hundred
feet from the surface, and is rapidly sinking
deeper The dep:h of Tresavean, u copper
mine, is two thousand one hundred and
eighty feet. Many o,hor tin and copper
mines are approaching thoso depths and
undor the Atlantic waves, in Botallack Lao.
vaat and other mines, man is pursuing his
labors daily at half u mile from the shore.
To aid tho miner in these sevore tasks, gi.
gantic steam engines, with cylinders one
hundred inches in diameter, are employed
in pumping water from those vast depths.
Winding-e -engincs, which arc master pieces
Of mechanical skill, aro ever at work raising
tho minerals from each dark abyss. and man
engines, OF considerable ingunuity-so. call
cd because they bring the wearied miner to
tho light OF day. saving him from tho toll of
climbing up perpendicular laddors--are in.
troduced in many OF our most perfectly
conducted mines. Our Goals cost US an
nually ono thousand lives, and more than
double that number of our motaliferous
miners perish from accidents in the mines,
or at an unusually oarly age-thirty-two-
from diseases contracted by the conditions
of their tolls BY the industry of our min,
ing population there is annually added to
our national wealth considerable more than
thirty millions sterling. This, when elabora.
ted by the process OF manufacture, Is in.
creased in value ten fold. While wo arc
thus drawing upon 'hoarded treasure.
guarded by dragons white aud rod, which
the enchanter Merlin is tabled to hayo con-
ceaDed in the caves of tho Garth, we should
not ccase to remember how much OF montal
labor ard muscular. power is expended, and
how large percentage of human life is
annually sacrificed in the contest with those
hydra-headed OWLS which are truly porsoni-
fled by the dragons o: the legend"