The National tribune., 1893-04-20

Capturing a Locomotive" has been awarded
George Meikle Sturgeon Bay. Wis. for his paper
on Goal. ;" the 10th of the Columbian series.
Honorable mention is accorded Eva Lamberson.
iva, Wyo., for paper on the same subject, pOr-
tons Of which are given.
SIXTEENTH PRIZE PAPER-CoAL.
]. When and where was coal first used as fuel?
2. Where are the great coal industries Of Anieri-
g. What are the uses Of coal, and how has Il adj
vanced civilization?
/ The first mention of stone coal dates back to
B. G. 81. The coal fields Of England were the frs.
practically developed; first record OF stone coal
used in England. A. d. $50. Records of regular
mining ia England were first made in Ils0.
Coal first used in London in 1240. The first
tax wss laid coal in England ia 1872 repealed
in 1881; coal having been taxed 400 years
The first patent for making iron with pit coal was
granted TO Simon Sturievant, in lGl2, but was not
successful.
Iron was first made in blast furnace with pit
coal with success by a Mr. Dairy. of COlebrook
Dale. England, in 17i3. IN 17I7 iron was made in
England with pit coal suitable for the manufacture
of cannon In 1888 the production OF iron with pit
coal ia England was 4s. 300 tons.
Coal gas first made OF practically In 1893.
q The first coalie!ds worked in America were
the bituminous fields at Richmond, Va, discovered
In 1850. This coal was used 81 Westhain. the
James River, TO make shot and shell during the
war of Independence.
The first use of anthracite coal was in I763-'69;
first used for smithng purposes in 1870; first used
to burn In common CRATE in 1908. The first sue
cessful OF anthracite coal for the smelling of
e.,
Pa. 1t had been tried on the Lehigh in 1926, but
was unsuccessful.
The great shaft OF the Philadelphia & Reading
Iron Co. has been sunk TO depth OF 1869 feet from
the surface TO the great mammoth coal ven which
attains thickness of % feet in that distance pass
| ing through no less than Is coal seams, of which
six workable and have average thickness
together Of O. feet. Even then there are number
| OF coal seams underlying these.
Coal is found in almost ali parts Of the world, but
the largest coal fields are in the United States.
where the States of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa Kan
sas, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. and Ohio are
especially rich in IL. In Europe, Russia has tho
largest coal fields, and Great Britain mines more
than half of all the coal which is dug in the world.
The word coal is from the Anglo. Saxon col;
The deepest coal mine in England is 81 Killing
worth, near Newcastle, and the mean annual tenn
persture at 400 yards below the surface is 77o and
aud at 300 yards 70o while at the surface IL is but
| 4S0, being 10 OF increase for every ID yards.
3. Coal Is OF the most valuable Of the products
got out OF the earth, not only account of it's
as = fuel for warming houses, but for the making
Of steam, the smelling Of metals, and other uses in
| arts. From IL We get the gas which we use for
| lights parafue oil, medicines and the many other
useful products including the beautiful aniline
| coIoTs, winch are made from coal tar.
BIT OF GEOLOGY.
There time in the carly history of the earth
when all parts of its surface had n very hot china
even the Arctic regions where now is frost and ice
all the year round being much like the middle OF
Africa.
There were then no changes in heat and cold,
but The same heat existed in all parts, and the
kinds of plants grew all over the globe. These
plants were OF immense Size and grew lhickly
that they made dense forest every where. There
were then no animals on the land, and only q few
| fishes and moiiusks in the sea.
Most of the plants were OF the lower kinds such
as lichens, fungi n4osses seaweed, ferns and
bearing trees; and there were no flowers and no
! fruits ut for eating.
| For thousands Of years these great forests OF
plants grew up and died. aud were followed by
other plants, until the swamps and low lands be-
filed up with thick, closcly pack ed beds OF
| vegetable matter.
Al this lime the crust Of the earth was not very
strong and it might happen that paris of l. might
sink that some OF these great beds of vegetab s
] matter were brought under water. Then the mat
ter would partly rot and become packed SO closely
| that IL would turn into peat. In time heat and
| pressure would cause a second change, and the
| peat would turn into kind of brown coal, called
| Ignite. A third change would turn this brown
| coal into real coal. This coal is made up of the
| remains Of trees md plants which grew on the
| earth before man or any other animal had ap-
| peared.
Changed by pressure, heat, and dampness.
| this mass of vegetable matter has become a kind OF
| carbon, mixed up with bitumen the tarry SUBJ
| stances which are always made by the slow decay
| OF such matter.
| Coal is illus made up of carbon mixed with btu
| men, and the quality of coal depends on the
amount Of btumeu IN II. IL is commonly divided
into three classes anthracite or stone coal some-
| times called glance COAL account OF it's shine,
| which has the least bitumen in 1t; btuninous
| COAL which has in 1t much more bitumen than
| anthracite; and camel coal, which has in it the
| most bitumen Of all.
THE KING OF GOALS
| or these Goals, the anthracite Is harder and
| closer-g ed, and has less bitumen Ia IL than the
| others because IL has had more pressure and more
heat. Ifi had had still greater heat and pressure
| Il would have undergone another change and be-
| come plumbago, or black lead.
| Anthracite coal burns slowly, and mostly without
fame, and hence is sometimes called blind coal