Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-05-21
SEMI-LOCAL NEWS,
Goal CatcchiSm."

adelphia and London, a copy of
book OF 2lS pages entitled Goal Cat
echlsm,' by William Jasper Nlcolls.
AS the title imports, the work is
serial of questions and answers,
manner of which the author correct
ly says mo better has been devised for
impartlng thorough knowledge of
the subject" In other words, it is
the most effective of all the methods of
what Roswell C. Smith called the
productive SYSTEM
The JOURNAL condenses a few quota
tions which, besides showing the great
value of the work to minds unframed
in the technique of carboniferous geol-
ogy and chemistry, illustrate the gen
eral character of the work:
What is coal?
Fossil fuel black, earthly substance which
is dug from the ground and which can be
burned for fuel.
OF what does coal consist?
Chemically, it consists of carbon, volatile
matter, sulphur, and ash, with IA small
amount of water.
What is carbon?
Carbon is one Of the most common of the
elements. diamond is pure carbon and a
piece of charcoal is carbon united with a
small portion OF oxygen.
What is meant by volatile matter"
The volatile matter consists of the gases
VIZ. hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen The
conf ustion of these gases is seen in the flame
when the coal is burning.
What is sulphur?
One of the simple elements. 1t unites with
many of the metals. 1t is almost always to
% nd in I.,,1, 6,
a braSsy-Ilke substance occurring in layers
from the thickness of paper to half an inch.
What constitutes ash?
Ash is the inorganic matter of coal; the
part that is not consumed in combustion 1t
is the earthly matter in the drift of the coal
period
When was coal first mined in America?
In 100 in the Virginia btlminous coal
lleidS, which were opened and worked on the
James river near Richmond.
What is the total amount of foreign coal
imports annually?
1t is now about 100000 tons.
What was the cost of transportating coal
by canal?
In 1918 from the mines to tidewater,
Georgetown, ID. c., it was about 81 per ton
What was the cost of mining the coal?
In the same year it was put at 81 per ton.
What was the price at tdewater
In those times f. O. b. in Baltimore it was
Sc per ton and of Allegheny Pa.) coal in
Philadelphia, 81 per ton.
AT what price are these Goals sold to-day?
The marH",on, transported bv railroad
would be 500 per ton for Cumberland
Cmeanlng Georges Creek coal at Baltimore,
and - for CleaItield coal at Philadelphia.
What proportion of tide-water bituminous
coal Is carried by the Pennsylvania railroad i?
About 46 per cent. of the bitumnOus ton
mage coming to the Atlantic seaboard at
Greenwich Piers, Philadelphia South Ambov
ana Harslmus, New jersey and Canton Piers,
Baltimore.
What is the bituminous tide water tonnage
OF the Norfolk and Western railroad?
This railroad transports to Norfolk annual
ly about Is per- cent. Of the tide-water btu
minous tonnage.
What is the bituminous tide-water busi
ness of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
The oldest of the bitumnous coal carriers
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad now ships
about IL per cent. of all the seaboard tonnage
from It's own piers at Locust Point Baltimore
ON the Chesapeake; jackson street, on the
Delaware river, Philadelphia, and St. George,
Staten lslano, i'll the New York harbor.
hat is the tide water tonnage of the
Chesapeake and Ohio railroad?
About - per- cent. of the whole.
What proportion of the tide water btu
mlnous tonnage is carried by the Philadel-
phia and Reading railroad?
The remaining II per cent.
What is the total amount of btuminous
coal earned to Atlantic shipping ports an
nually?
1t is estimated at about 30, 600 600 tons.
What is the difference between bituminous
and seml'bltuminous Goals?
When coal contains as much as IS pey
rent. of volatile matter it is called semi-bitu
mlnouS and when the volatile matter is as
high as 80 per cent, or over, it is called btu
mlnouS although there is no btumen in the
composition of either. The only matter
which sometimes eXudes from burning coal
closely resembles that substance, but it is
not bitumen.
What is the mother of coal?
In examining piece of bright coal it some.
tunes occurs that the fragment contains thin
layers of a dull black substance. which the
observer almost invariably pronounces Slate,
More frequently this substance is the
mother Of coal, is often as highly combus.
tlble as charcoal and its presence generally
indicates highgrade coal
How can the "mother" be distinguished
from slate?
BY scraplng with the point of a knife
slate is hard and gritty the mother is
soft and woody.
Theoretically, what kind of coal would
be the most powerful steamer
Anthracite would be as much better than
the bltuminouS coal as it exceeds that fuel IN
liked carbon. But this is not the case.
Either from the difficulty of mbustion or
the lnefficlency of the mechanical appliances
i'll present IN use for generating steam, the
excess OF carbon in anthracite is not utilized,
ana, generally speaking, ton of bitumnous
coal Will generate as much, if not more
steam than an equal ton of anthracite
Relate some of the earlier attempts to Use
bltumlnous coal i'll American furnaces
The first bltuminous furnace built i'm the
United States was at Bear Creek, in Arm.
strong county, Pennsylvania. This was IN
1918. 1t was not successful. In 1889 a coke
furnace was III operation at Homecoming, in
Maryland, making 10 tons of pig.iron daily,
and burning the coke from 50 tons of coal
Near Frostburg, in Maryland, were two large
or bltuminouS coal.
The most significant question and
answer are probably the last. They
deal with the future, and there are
foreshadowings already of the fulfil
ment of Mr.. Nicoll's prophecy:
How will coal be used in the future?
The time is not far distant when we will
abandon the clumsy, inefficient contrlvances
for burning coal in our houses and work
shops. The annoyance of black coal-dust,
sooty smoke, and grimy ashes will be replaced
by the comfort and convenience of fuel gas
of high grade and healthful properties
Central plants will deliver this clearly and
.l,.. l..