Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1874-08-12
THE FORMATION OF COAL.

THE FORMATION OF COAL
Coal, then, according to the modern
hypothesis, is merely a Transmitted
vegetable soil which accumulated, not
under water, but under the trees com
posing primeval forests. These forests
stood on areas which were subjected to
repeated changes of level in relation to
that of the ocean. 1t must be under
stood that though the ground beneath
us is popularly regarded as the type Of
everything steady and immovnblc, this
earth of ours is far from deserving the
character for stability with which it is
thus fondly credited absolute rest is
all but unknown to it. 1t happens that
even at the present day there are GER
tain regions, such as those subject to
volcanic disturbances whose tenden-
cics are always to move upwards, like
the more aspiring Of our youths, while
there are others, such as the coral re-
gions, which are steaai,y Sinking, iii,v
thoscunfortunatcy youths who have failed
in the voyage of fife. So it was in the
olden time. The coal beds appear to
have accumulated on the latter class of
areas--areas of dcpression--geograph-
ical regions which had a tendency to
sink below the level of the ocean. Mud
and silt had collected upon such areas
until the deposits thus formed reached
the surface level Of the water and then
came what appears TO have been neces-
sary to the growth of the coal-plants,
namely, bed of peculiar gray mud
We do not know why that mud came
there, or whence il was derived. That
il was very different from the ordinary
deposits, the sandstones and shales,
which accumulated in the carbonifer-
'ous ocean, is shown by the physical
properties which il still possesses, and
which they do not possess--properties
which fit it for the purpose TO which it
is now devoted, of being manufactured
into fre-bricks, whence its common
name of fire-clay. That this gray mud
was the soil preferred by the. great
majority of the plants constituting the
carboniierous forests is as obvious as
that the oak wood of lIerefordshire
and the sunny south viii not flourish
upon the cold soils of the Lancashire
uplands. Minute spores, representing
tho seeds of the plants which afterward
became coal, were ioated to this mud
by wind and water; and finding there
a suitable soil, they germinated, struck
root, and soon converted the swampy
area into magnificent forest As the
trees grew they shed successive showers
of their microscopic spores, which often
fell in such vast quantities as TO consti-
tute an important contribution to the
accumulating vegetable soil but a long
with them there fell other and more
bulky objects, such as might be expect
ed to accumulate under n semi-tropical
forest, the dead leaves, broken branches,
and prostrated stems, alike contributed
a share to the decaying vegetable mass.
In the tropical regions of the present
day such accumulations become rapidly
decomposed, and pass away in gaseous
forms but such does not appear TO
nave peeh 'hc casc III ,ho hocarooiiiicrous
agc-at least, not IN the same degree
Even in Lancashire, notwithstanding
all the influences tending to diminish
the bulk of the vegetable mass
such as atmospheric decomposition
chemical changes occurring during
the iater process OF miheralHa'ioh, ana
the pressure OF super-ln,poseu rocks
prolonged throughout al subsequent
ages. we nave coal-seams SIX or seven
ieet IN thickhess, WINE they occur III
america,as ioreNalhPieln ID tneoon,lc coal
neiu Oh uic james river WIN tne sur,
prising IhicNhess OF between tnirty ana
Iorty ieee oucn accunuiations OF
VegetaDie sou as ,his tnicNness OIL soma
coah feprese,l's' alhics. eNoeeu coinprc-
hensi9h' anu must lnulcate enormous
Perious vl unuis,urpou iores' me. put put
Ut iehg'n I" eh"ngc came over ing
Sylvan scene 'he ianu sailk-"hether
sHuuenly OF slowly we nave no means
oi saying nc numbers oi uei'u nsnes
iouho on inc roofs ana upper portiohs
Oh some Goals seem 10 ihulea'e sudden
rush OF pure water over the iaho, i9i-
ioWeu oy INC qu'yh destruction oi tne
iisnes, poisoned py tne pltumhous
vegeapie hiuu IN Whleh tney iounu
themselves enlahgiep' IN o'hsr cases
inc rool OF clean piue shaie' oeVoio OF
ah appearance oi ei,her animal or
Nege'apie remains ana resting imlheui-
a'eiy upon uen'ioo su'iace OF pure
co'u, Is suggestive Oh u slower supmerg-
cnoe' aiio"ing thie lor inc obstruction
ana opl'eratloh Oh ail traces OF grow
ing Vegetation upon US suriilee' Inc
eNVeht anu uuratioh % the supmergea
stage mas varied, as also mas, IN an
prooapillty, the Sma OF water under
Which IL sank "hether the coal
measures are marihe OF iresn water
uesposit Is sun an open question, ana
answer 10 "hleh uepehus paruy upon
Ine nature oil certain olValve sneils
Nan1nracosie iouhu IN cohnectoh
WIN many oil the Goals IL Is allowed
py the advocates OF me marine hypoth-
esis' thai the gahold nshes SO common
among the carponiierous peds are as
likoly 10 DC ilesn wafer animals as
marine ohes-Tthe only nVing gaholus
WIN wmch we are acquainted oehg
iouhd m rivers ana mol IN the sea put
tne weight oi th's argument Is mate
riaiiy reduced py the iact that IN .hese
phieozclc ages an the known hshes
were either ganolds or plaeolds ana no
one doubts Tor a moment that inc great
mass, even oil ihe iormer, must nave
been marine, otherwise we op'aln IN the
reano,o dd dosWa"a tn,lt there were
no hshes IN many yoi 'he ancient seas,
nu. .nere remains y, yes a = more , eonG,u,