The Huntington argus. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1872-1905, 1872-12-14
ORIGIN OF COAL.

\ mistaken impression ia somevhs,
widely prevalent that, in the coal fields W.
have the remains OF ancient iore-ts-in 9th.
er words, 1t i supposed that wherever Their.
WAS forest in primeval tin,s there now
exists a coal-iieli Of greater or les ext.p,
In connection with this view. al-o H..
opinion j, entertained that the forests now
IN existence will, in the process OF time. and
after due geological changes. becom. Tia,
coal-beis Of future ages. But although. a.
We shall presently see. the coal field. A..
undoubtedly due to the vegetation of for.
mer erns It il i,r from hein, The case that
the primevHl forests became converted in A..
general way into coal Conditions OF a re.
c"I'"r' ana to some extent exceptional char
acter were requisite for the formation Of
coal II we consider the evidence given
10y the coal fields themselves, we shall se.
what the conditions were The L.Js -
seams of coal form but a small rroro-,,o,,
of the thickness Of the great geoloyicaj
group Of strata to which they for the mos,
part apPerta'n. This group is called In,
carhonilerou7, and not uncommonly ",ba
coal But even where coal is mos, abun.
dant It forms only minute art Of tn.
whole mas Thus it has been estimated
Sir Charles Lyell, tells Us, that in South
Wales the thickness of the carboniierous
strata amounts in all to between II 900
and $4,000 feet, or more than two miles.
but the various coal seams do not" ac-
cordIng to Prof Phillips, exceed in the
aggregate 100 feet, or less than one.hun
dredth part OF the whole. In north Ian.
cashire the carbouiferous strata occupy a
depth OF more than three and half miles.
with the same relative disproportion b.
tween the thi kness Of the coal-seam. and
that of the complete series of strait Again
IN Nova Scotia, the coal bearing strata al
tain the thickness oil more than three miles.
Here, no fewer than eighty seams Of coal
have been counted seventy-one having
been exposed 10y the action OF the sea, but
these seams are no where more than five
feet in thickness, and many are but few
inches thick. Thus it is evident that the
formation OF coal can have been in pro.
gress but short portion OF the time during
which the carboniierous series oil strata
was in process Of deposition Throughout
10y TAR the greater portion of that time 9th.
er mineral were being deposited 1t is next
to he noticed that under each coal seam a
stratum OF ancient soil exists, in which
there are commonly found the roots OF an
cient trees while above the coal there il
commonlya layer Of shaleor sandstone, in
which not upirequeutiy the trunks OF those
trees are found either fallen or still in their
original position, and only partly convert
Ell into coal The bark remains. hut !.
transmitted into coal the hollow Of the
trunk, decaying long before the trunk gave
way, Il represented by cast in sandstone.
Thus, II We try to picture to ourselves the
state ofthings which existed when such a
seam Of coal first began to be covered up
by the next higher depo-iie. we see that
there must have been trees standing ere,
above layer ofve vegetable matter the roots
OF The trees being imbedded in the soil
which forms the deposit next below the
coal. The vegetable layer NAV probably
have leen two or three times a. thick a.
the resultin6 coal-seam. and were reduced
10y pressure to their present thickness but
such layers cannot at any time have reach
ed to the branches OF the forest trees Then
The process of dpuoSition BEGAN This ca,