The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-05-09
RALEIGH, N. c., MAY 10, 1911

Our highest production was that Of
1907, when we used 4S0,O0O,O00 short
tons. That was about a million and
a half tons every day. We are now
using little less, but it would take
more than 100000 trains Of thirty cars
each to carry the coal that we are an
nually mining, and the combined
length Of those trains would be be-
tween eighty and ninety thousand
miles They would make a solid train
OF coal reaching two and One-half
times around the globe at the
equator"
''But. Mr.. Director" said I. 'if we
use less than 500 millions tons a year,
would not those 1000 billions last us
1000 yearsF'
|I don't want to talk about years."
said the head Of the geological survey,
but if any one wants to prophesy he
can use those figures as a basis, keep
ing in mind the fact that the increase
in consumption Of our coal has been
remarkable and that in each decade
the amount used has exceeded the
total previous consum ptiOn since we
began to mine coal. I mean to say
that the consumption for the ten years
ending with last year was greater than
the total consum ption during the last
century. II such a ratio Of increase
should continue, which is impossible,
the life of our coal fields would be
comparatively short"
Where the Coal Lies
'.Can you tell me just where our
great coal fields are, Mr.. Director?"
said I.
They are to be found in all but
fourteen States OF the Union. They
extend from northern Pennsylvania to
Oregon. and from Canada to southern
most Texas. You can get the best
idea of them from map made for the
years or SO ago"
Here the director sent for a map
Of our coal lands about four times as
large as page Of this newspaper, and
spread it out on his desk. AS we
look ed at it he said:
''That great patch at the east is the
Appalachian coal field, md those spots
to the right Of it, at its northern
end are the anthracite beds of eastern
Pennsylvania. It is from there that
comes the chief anthracite of the cOun-
try. Those beds originally contained
over nineteen billion tons Of anthracite
and at the close OF the year 1909
there We're estimated to be over fif-
teen billion tons still in the ground.
The Appalachian field contains much
high-grade btuminous coal good for
portant coal field Of the Union at the
present time A little further over is
the eastern or Illinois coal bed. It
covers an area as large as the State
Of Ohio. and on the other side Of the
Mississippi is another vast region un-
derlaid with coal. while at the south
are the coal fields of Texas. Our sur
veyors have recently investigated the
coal fields Of the northwest and the
Rocky Mountain plateau, and especial
ly that upon the public lands the title
to which is still in the Government"
What Uncle Sam Owns.
"Can you give me some idea Of the
coal lands which still belong to the
Government? What is their extent"
.,rhey cover an area of more than
seventy or eighty million acres, and
they contain an enormous amount.
Some Of the beds are twenty. thirty,
forty and even as high as eighty feet
in thickness, and in many or them
there are several beds with clay or
rock between them. In the Navajo
reservation of Arizona We have the
Black Mesa coal field, which is esti-
mated to contain more than 5,60O.O0O,-
900 tons or more than all the coal
that Pennsylvania has produced or
wasted up to date. Altogether 1T IS
estimated that there are almost 2,3oo
billion tons of coal Of one klna or
anOthef 1Ii tHe PuplIc ieeiIo o'-l7
must be remem bered that great deal
of this is Ignite of such low grade
that it will be many years before It is
mined"
"What is the character OF the west
ern coal?'
ct IS of all grades. Some Of il is
anthracite and : some of it IS nigh
Grade bituminous coal We have con-
sid erabIe anthracite ia Alaska. anu al
so great quantities of bituminouS coal
which will make excellent coke and
which. eventually will be used large
X in the Industrial development OF the