Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1876-04-07

isct of coal formations who assert with
perfect and unsuitable confidence the
theory o: such formations, as If their
theories We're based on the ahsoluteEess
Of fixed fact, =, Professor Denton, fo-
example, there are still those who, after
looking through those theories and COM
pairing them with what they have OBJ
served, fail to be convinced that any
holy has vet satisfactorily explained the
processes by which the grea. reaches OF
coal which unisrlie the earth were
formed. Professor Denton, with his
charm of language and huency of reier-
ence tells L, tina. Science answers
with confidence. coal was once grow
ing vegetable matter Fibsrs of wood
are plainly visible in bituminous coal.
BY grinding down and placing under
microscope, tie very vessels Of the wood
are to be seen Examine the mine. and
on the surface of the shale above
the coal will te found perfect impress
sions OF leaves and branches. In the
shals beneath. the roots Of the original
plants are formed. ramifying the shaie'
once the sell IN which they grew.
What Is cIearer, and what could seem
stronger than this: And yet the OBJ
server finds that trees and vegetable
matte. buried in the earth turn to mold /;
that IN some places, as in humboldt
County in this State, there are great
forests of petrifed trees found far under
the surface; while in New Jersey the
people are actually mining ont whole
cedar trees which have lain in state Of
complete preservation fer centuries.
Looking at these facts, and standing
lace to face with Professor Denton, an
intelligent gentleman and scholar, known
far and wide over the Pacific coast, mod
eStly advanced the theory that coal WAS
hardened petroleum; that petroleum
was decompossd coral animals: that the
presence OF woody fbres and vegetable
matters in coal was due to the fact that
thev had fallen into and been absorbed
by the stream of petroleum, etc. And
now, as If to add confusion to the mat
Ter, We have the following remarkable
story from the Shenandoah Virginia.
Herald
We have before Us now on our table
specimen which is one-half anthracite
coal and the other half soldihed sedi-
,nent that four years ago was all soft
sediment. For over four years there
had been in use in the Indian Ridge
shaft of the Philadelphia and Reading
Coal and Iron Company, this district, q
wooden pipe. abou. six inches in dame
ter, made OF inch boards nailed together,
which served to carry water from one Of
the rings in the shaft to lower level.
The rings are boxes around the sides Of
the shaft which catch the water coming
out of the rock, slate, or coal, and are
put in to prevent the water from falling
Town and making regular shower-bath
Of the shaft. At the ring in question
large spring in the slate, about thirty
feet below the Primrose vein. had been
struck, the water from which is appa-
rently as pure 60 crystal. Some four
months since it was found that this
wooden pipe had become so clogged
with the reddish-brown sediment that is
deposited by all mine water that the
open spsce il it was not more than two
inches in diameter, and not large enough
TO carry off the water from the ring.
Consequently o new pipe was put in,
and the old one, nearly closed with the
sediment adhering to its sides, was left
standing. The water was then turned
into the new pipe and cut off from the
old one, which is some fifty feet over in
length.
On Friday last, after remaining in the
shaft without any water passing through
it for over four months, the greater part
of this old pipe was taken out; and
when broken open the wonderful phe-
nomsnon presented itself that the sedi-
ment was gradually changing into what
appears to be anthracite coal. About
half inch of the inside Of the sediment
lining the pipe had changed into coal,
and the remainder was also gradually
changing, the only portions Of tho sedi-
ment remaining quite soft being that
part deposited first and next the inside
Of the pipe. A cross section of the pipe
now shows, commencing at the center,
first a circle of about a half an inch
in diameter surrounding two inch open
ing remaining in the pipe, then circle
Of sediment partly turned into coal, and
then the sediment in its natural state
and the sides of the pipe. The surface
Of sediment which was exposed to the
action of the atmosphere has changed
first, and tho same influence or chem !