The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-05-09
UNCLE SANS COAL FIELDS

Can You give me an example of the
old. method Of selling in contrast 70
the present plan?"
Suppose we take one Of the
Wyoming coal fields said the di-
rector. Here is township which ar
the old rate of from ten 10 twenty
dollars per acre was valued at $3.50.
900. It is now priced at one cent a
ton, according TO its coal contents.
difference of s2,340.000 for that town
ship alone. In another township in
Wyoming the present valuation of the
cCll lands is little more than S.
100000, whereas it was less than
$500 before. and a single square
mile of that township had been valued
at 5000"
But how can your surveyors know
just what coal there is in the land +?
DO they use diamond drills and bore
down through every acre.
No. replied the director. ''They
can tell from the outcroppings of the
coal on the mountains and hills. and
the veins exposed in the canyons and
valleys. If there is a bed OF coal
twenty feet thick in one canyon and
we find bed of the same thickness
and same quality of coal some dis
tance away with the other geological
conditions that would show that the
| two We're part of one and the same
bed. We should conclude that all the
land between the two contained coal.
Our estimates are carefully made, and
as rule they are below rather than
! above the real amounts"
The Depth OF Coal Beds.
How deep do you fix the possibility
/ Of mining?"
| I'VE estimate that at about 5000
feet" replied the director. "I mean
! for coal. The Ignite is estimates at
about one-third that depth
| How about Ignite, is it OF great
value?"
''It will probably be worth far more
! in the future than it is now. We have
1 10000 square miles, containing about
! $50 billion tons Of Ignite, which is
easily accessible. There are vast beds
of Ignite in northern Dakota, covered
over with rich farming lands, and
there are great beds in the South, in
Guiding Texas and other Gulf States.
We have a Ignite bed in North Da-
kota which is as big as the whole
State. of South Carolina. It's contents
are estimated at something like 500
billion tons. Montana and New Mex
! leo have large deposits of Ignite and
there are billions OF tons Of it in
Alaska
But have we had any practical tests
Of the value Of lignite?"
1T is used largely in Europe" re-
piled the director Of the survey. Ger
many consumes fifteen million tons OF
| it annually. and in the shape Of
briquettes, it is consumed on many OF
the European railroads. It is also en-
ployed there for domestic heating and
gas making. BriQuettes have been
used experimentally on some Of our
4 1~ bnr <.P fn
tories which are now making them
The briquettes burn without clinkers,
and I have seen it estimated that il
they should be substituted for coal On
the railroads, the saving in our coal
consumption would be something like
thirty million tons per annum. The
Geological Survey has been making
experiments as to briquette manufac-
ture and we have machines which will
exert a pressure Of $4,000 pounds to
the square inch, forcing the Ignite
into briquettes without the aid of
binder such az pitch or some other
substances Ignite coal can he used
| for gasma king, and it will in time
form a large source OF fuel supply for
gas engines.
The Coal lands and tive Deserts.
What will be done with the money
that the Government gets from its coal
lands ?'' | asked.
That is very interesting feature
in connection with the revaluation.
said the director. The greater part
of the Government ceal lands lies in
the States which are reciai,ning the
deserts and this money VIII go to the
reclamation fund. 1t will be used 10
make reservoirs in lhe mountains,
dams for the rivers and canals ts carry
the water out over the land. 1t will
enormously increase the area OF irri-
gated lard and will eventually result
in the creation Of thousands OF farms.
So far the proceeds of the coal lands
. 70 raAi