The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-02-20

AFTER brief allusion to the coal in the
extreme southwestern counties, which new
railroads will make available, lie came to a
consideration of that part of the great AL
legnany coal field, traversed by the Chesa.
peake and Ohio railroad, in the Valley OF
the Kanawha,
This he showed to be the grandest coal
Held upon the globe, and that its yery
heart lies IN the Kanawha Valley and its
tributaries. There fifty feet of solid work.
aole coal IN the seams that lie above the
water level. The beds are nearly horizon
al: NO shafting or drainage machinery
VIII ever be required. Sixteen thousand
miles OF navigation to the west is open to it
as market, and the Chesapeake and Ohio
railroad will carry it to the Atlantic within
the next year. The grades on that road.
wnen entirely completed, will not exceed
thirty feet to the mile. An engine will
haul 600 tons at load. The camel coal.
equal to the best English and Scotch can,
mel, can be put down in New York at az
per ton. 1t sells there now at sl5. The
spiint coal is the finest in the world for
smelling iron. 1t can be delivered to the
furnaces along the road, from the Aleghany
TO the Blue Ridge, at one cent per ton per
mile. This is the great hematite region.
aooundlng in brown hematites, rich and
massive.
lie quoted numerous high authorities to
sustain his statements in regard to this ex-
haustless field of camel, splint and bitu-
mlnous coal, and closed his notice of it
with brief account of the oil producing
qualities and value of the camel.
The second branch of the subject dis.
cussed, was the iron ores of Virginia. We
cannot follow him in its details. He showed
that in Piedmont Virginia, from the Blue
Ridge to the granite outcrop at the head
OF tide-water, the Plutsnic and Meta
morphlc formations were the same as char
acterized the great mineral regions north of
us on the Atlantic slope, and the water
shed OF the st. Lawrence and great lakes.
and, as might be expected, we find in most
OF the counties in this part of the State
magnetic, specular, talcose, and spatbic
iron ores, and in many of them, especially
on the James and its tributaries, and the
head waters of Dan river, are immense and
nexhaustble beds. He then pointed ont
The characteristic geological, Theological
md mneralogical similarity of Carroll.
Floyd and Grayson counties to the Wlscon.
sin shore of Lake Superior, and that here.
as there, iron and copper ores are found to
IN unlimited extent.
The great hematite region Of the lime.
tone formation, from the Potomac at Har-
'er,s Ferry to the Tennessee line, was de. !
crlbed, and it was shown that there wa,
lot link of ten miles of all that stretch ,,
cross the State, barren of rich iron ores on !.
ne or both sides OF the great valley.
The paper concluded with pointing out
ow the Chesapeake and Ohio and the
'orfolk and Great Western railroads, with IL
J year or two, and the James River and Il
Aanawha canal ere long, will bring to- t
ether these immense resources of wealth. G
nd that the demands of the country for t
ron will compel the development Of our t
nlnes on scale that few persons now ex- G
ect or fully realize aud that the trade 4
nd commerce that will spring from this
ource will build up Richmond, Lynchburg
nd Danville as great manufacturing cities, h
nd Norfolk or some other point on the \
7aters of the bay as great emporium of {
,reign trade. n