, 1863-12-16
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,

Interesting Lectnres-EneG Daniels on
"eCoal FoTn1afaorss, = Professor
WF. Kcnnfcots on the 4t Great
Barren Regions
4 special meeting OF the members Of the Acad-
c1ny Of Science WIS held last evening, In their
rooms, located on the corner Of Lake and Clark
atrccta. In the absence Of the President, Prof E.
Andrews, Of Lind Medical College called the meet
Ing to order, and in short speech, introduced
Prot Daniels. who delivered an able address On
Coal formations" The following is m abstract
COAL.
There arc two great classes Of coal bascd on
tlcls chemical constituents. One consists pr.n-
cipaly Of carbon, and is known us Anthracite; the
other Is composed Of carbon and bitumen, aud is
known % tue bftumenons variety: These coasti-
asphultnm end pitch belong to The bItumenous
class. II we examine anthracite coal, chemically,
We find that pure anthracite md charcoal arc a.
amount Of 1ni1ic:al matter, which Is found in tic
ash Of the former We shall dnd eteady sr1da+
ton throughout the whole se-.es, uurtl We reach
Sarict.ca Ut coals as VIC find taen! n tie ,i,st
placc let US refer to the supposed origin OF coal,
!e1oely; tl1c change of vust vc:etshlc deposits.
esnble matter, there IL gradatIon Of from one
quarter to eleven per cent in the amonnt Of ashes
great claases oftrees s5onnans in reaInonsa @
oily sccrc:ionE. The conifera Of that pesiod were
extensively developed and these trees would mate
coal Which gsast Quantity q reslneas pianss ln
same result would be tound In those deposits Of
in considering the process Of the formation Of
blrnminons coal. whole evening might be devoted
to the bcautiul chemical changes, consequent apon
1clntion to the changee going o. in the decompo-
which bad l,een buried foE SONG twenty years, vas
opening the coffin, the body was fonnd to be pre-
served IN rcry remarkable condition-being
turned into aditoee1s Thc vegetable deposits weEs
Is turned into adipcoerx.
There ID yet another cause. The vegetable de-
posits have crcWn in extent and mighty chemical
turned these masses into bitumenous coal. II we
tnlc specimen Of this coal, and apply hest, till
the volatile matters have been all expelled. then
ts nothing but carbon. In this connection the
great volcanic fires IN .hc interior Of the earth.
Mndar heavy pressure, have chasrcd the bltumenous
have been subjected 10 volcanic action, that We
And anthracite coal. In the mountainous regions
Of Pennsylvania and Virginia, we lind only an-
OF Illinois that We ind the pure hsumirous article.
In connection with this VIC End the origin Of the
coal oil: The volatile Casses distilled y tue s9b-
tefraneous fires, arc condensed In porous rocks,
and thus are found the oil springs.
The great western coal fields OF illinois, Iowa,
and INDIANA oner Ereat ana satoanle ned Of & *
varieties In Illinois arc the "cadng" and ''can-
mel which fs rich in volatile matter: Tho 'slaty''
yaaenes aiso oeenr Fer5 d1eqpenfiy n the State:
than slate, and arc known By the technical uame
of' ehale:" There is no anthracite coal in this
ststc, and the great problem which will nov agi-
t5ese ces!s ZIG coEc :ath5seite, AVAILABLE ssr
processes. .--
AonocEHE.
Prof Andrews Of Lind Medical Corfere. then
wavc sbo,+ hi.tnrF IT rhn nrocesa If aea trrnfn,,
60. ss,.s. ~ :L ~ -. - - ~" -.
lug 1au'poeae, ~ lue eou.se VI "a'ca ns sa.o:
physician, who Laid away piece Of liver IN his
On sabsequent chemical examination ths liver
WAS 1ound 10 nave tutnea INTO q kahd OF sosp,
he called odsRcnes derived from adipose, fat, and
essn he bg ri te eeoa
position of tho body and the soda and potash IN
the human ~ system, upon the fatty portion Of thc
Qody. IAe phselclah was appointed py the
French G0Vetnmcnt to superaqtend TIC cxh1ninS;
OF the bodies Which had been Inferred in the old
cemeteries Of Paris. These bodies had been
wards Of forty years. When they we're exhumeda
great many Of them Eerc found TO hnTc turned IN
to adipoeeFc- particularly those which had laid IN
this condition for great number Of years, RroEi-
dcd the bodies were buried in bogGy ground; Il
mas a!so peen touno lhat the mnscnlaf Issue aiohg
Tor :iis chemical Change haa pot As ye. been thor
onghly understo9d- Tue Fartsians with an entc1-
91ss Wnny q Iae enes5 ana lneenans oi ve
bodies and manufactured them into spcrz.aceti
canole@-