The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-02-01
MINERS NEWS.

4 From the Sctentt1f Amertcan.
Coal. ITS ORIGIN AND NArURE.-There can
be no reasonable doubt that all Goals, btu
miuous and anthracite, are Of vegetable or
igin. BY powerful microscope the vegeta-
BILE texture of the mass can be distinguished,
not only in softer qualitiee. but even in the
hardest anthracite. We have seen speci
mems of indnbitable jet yield to the power Of
the microscope, and cal the original
grain OF the wood or vegetable fibre. Peat
is the fret combustible form Of coal, and If
our peat beds, not sought after with 80 much
avidity, and judged to be such mines OF
wealth, were suffered to remain undisturbed,
thew would, at some future period, become
beds of coal for warming and lighting the
winters Of future generations.
Coal is not q material belonging exclu-
sively to past geological periods, but is in
process u formation now, as may be proved
by an examiration o. the brown coal, well
known 10 Europe and frequently met with
here. Thin slices which allow the light to
pass through them, show to the naked eye
the original vegetable structure. 1t is uni
yersally acknowledged that this brown coal,
or Ignite, rs an undeveloped coal, not yet
subjected to the esange CT years which
would transform 1t into pure bituminous or
anthracite coal. To be sure, time is required
to change the disintegratei porous mass Of
vegetable fbres, roots, and tendrils, leaves
and lignum, to hard, brilliant, laminated or
crystallized coal. But nature works slowly.
We End il difficult to understand her pro-
cess CT to comprehend her infinite patience,
which watches through unnumbered years
aud countless ages for the slow and gradual
progression Of her agencies. Bot il is GER
tain that her transforming processes have
not suffered an abatement OF their original
power by the scoveries of man. They
still 20 on, and will so long rs this globe and
universe endure.
Il is possible that the present furore about
peat will lead to the discovery OF accelerat-
ing the action of unaided natural forces. 80
that this material may be made to give out
as much beat power as tn = concentrated coal,
but we much doubt it. The principal fault
with our coal is, that it combines With 1t ele-
ments deleterions to iron, whether in state
Of fusion or merely subjected Temporarily to
iVs heat. Stoves, for instance, which are
constructed to burn coal only, will last
life time or longer, but burn anthracite coal
and the parts warp and crack. and oxitizs,
until the stove, or that portion exposed 10
the direst action Of the heat, must be renew
ed yearly il not ofsener With the bitumin-
GUS coal it is worse still. The CRATE, with q
hot FIRE, Yields and falls In pellicles, melted
from the mass, until, in a short time, the
most important portions OF the contrIvance
are useless. To Withstand the concentrated
heat they must be made OF extraordinary
thickness.
In reducing ores, also, and especially in
fusipg iron, these components Of coal are the
Il
bodies, which have become incorporated with
the orgina' vegetable mass, AM hold,
chemically or mechanically suspended, sui
phur, silicon, and other elements, which are
detrimental to the metal.
There is no reason to believe that al var
ieties Of coal have a common origin. They
are vegetable masses, which, mixed with in
organic particles, have unasrgone different
degrees Of naturalization, the more recent
still retaiains --seh - sIs -el@<iie elements,
the bItuminous less, and III anthracite still
less, until this will burn with out little fame
and no smoke.
Coal mining ia Great Britain COS, 1868
lives last year-nearly five day.
Coal CUTTING MAcHINB.-An especial fea-
turc in the machinery department Of the
late French Exposition was the variety or
implem ents for the cutting of csal so a. to
save the waste OF tho pick and other hard
hand tools. One machine, worked BY
compressed AR, was capable of giving sixty
or seventy blows minute, and OF under out
ting slo q a line Of ten to fifteen yards in
an hour, to the depth Of over yard, and
with very little waste Another more com
plicated machine acts not by percussion but
cy Plsanug. -scraDiqg ar s,algsiRg making IL
way through sandstone with facility. The
power is applied by hydraulic pressure, and
the apparatus win cut about twelve yards in
an hour. eEe