The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1872-01-12
lrrom the New York Trihurc.l
A STATE GROWING RICH.

w cuIth ErCm BeDcath the SOll...
The Block Coal OF IMdiaMa---l
Their Physical and Chemical
Character--Jhcir Adaptation to
Iron Smelling ana Bcssemer
Steel Manufacture.
TO The Editor Of she 1riLane:
SIR Eow propose to discuss the
physical and chemical properties OF the
block Goals OF Indiana and their adapta-
tiOn 10 tic manufacture OF the highest
grades o.. bariron and Ecssciner steel.
The term "blOI.,' rs descriptive of a
peculiar class OF Goals, is Gn ALTERATION
lm the geological vocabulary, but has
now become so rTuIiy IUoled HAT ~
must Hereafter DC rIcVy siSe1. n hc phys-'
teal characters of the coal are ts.csc:
There arc two 8, stems OF joints, tiavcrs-
ing the seam perpendicularly, which cut
The whole mass into iuadrangnlar blocks
Two or three feet long and foot. or
more broad, and the miner availiEg
himself Of these natural divisions, after
having undermined the base, is enabled
10 pry cut the blocks without a resort to
gunpowder. He can easily take down
three tons day. These Jcili,, appear
to have been formed after the materials
cntcring into the structure of the coal
were deposited, and are due to force
acting independently OF that OF CONSOLE
datiou. Where considerable area is
laid bare by stripping the surface, the
seam resembles II tesselated pavement.
Viewed in sections, the appearance is rs
though block upon block, each Of uni
form size, had been piled up by the
hands Of man. In entering the drifts,
the zig-ag appearance reminds one Of
Virginia fence. The sides of the blocks
are smooth, OF u dull blush color, and
are often stained white with fire clay,
but, ii cleft lomgitudinally, there is seen
mass o; mineral charcoal SO slightly
cemcnted with bitumcn, that it readily
cracks OH handling. The blocks are
spintcry OH cross-fracturc. but longi-
tudinally they come out in thin fiat
sheets, like roofing slate. Such arc the
external characters Of the coal near
Brazil; but further South in Spencer
county, while it is SO far consolidated
that it breaks longitudnally with a
splintcry fracture, and may be rubbed
with white handkerchief without COM
municating any crock.
This coal when thrown OH fire, at
once ignitcs with a cracking sound. and
UUGus Win u uIiSut tcucN u"tH's tsN i"s
oil little fuliginIous matter. IT is non
cokimg, or in other words, does not run
together, thus ailording free air passages
II is SO far free from sulphur that il
leaves behind white or gray focculcnt
ash, and, subjected TO The strongest
drugh,s, il z yes no clinkcr. Hence, il
; is an udnirauIc coal for locomotives. b!
, reason Of its combustion, its freedom
: from clinkcr, and its disposition moi Il
folm hollow arch, which in The tatt.
Goals must from time to time be broker
up to Tree air passages. These qualities
too. insure the integrity Of the gratt
bars wherever burned. IL is sufficient!
firm 10 hold up tho burden OF furnace
and tho only Inconvenience experienced
is in the amount Of "tlust," or fine Par
ticlcs OF n.imercl charcoal which ar,
: nearly incombnstiblc. This incOnvcn
icncc appcrtains 10 the Goals at prcscn
& used in the blast furnaces. but 1t wouIt
bc absent in the more compressed cOal
: before referred to. From careful assay
b it is asccrtaincd that this coal gives from
81 10 62 per cent Of fixed carbon, a smal
amount Of hygromctric moisture. and !
small amount fash, whose whitisl ant
fioccurcmt character would indicate th
comparative absence Of the bi-snlphurc
OF iron.
; The Pittsburg coal differs very slight
~ in composition from the block coal
OF Indiana, and yet we know that the
behave altogether differently IN cOmbus
i tion. Tho latter will make iron In
nude state, while the former require TIM
sl,< ,.,iutilu mn cria1. l,o cxpc1lcd M,