Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-05-30
FACTS ABOUT COAL
Geological Survey Makes Public
Some Interesting Data.
Report Shows Why There is hes'n
in Heat-Producer and Why Steam
Boats Blew Up-Peat the
Mother Substance.

Washington.-To the head OF the
family who has been shoveling coal
during the long winter 1t matters no'
what his coal Is made from as lohs
as 1t gives a reasonable amount vi
| heat and is paid for. And yet THIS
question of the ingredient matter ana
| the geologic processes OF peat from
which cbal is formed is considered 30
! important by those who are not sim,
nly shovelers of coal that the Ohiteu
States geological survey, through Ia
yid White. has made study OF INC
subject of the effects OF resins III
Goals. Resins. under which is incluu-
cd the resin OF commerce, the copai
from which varnish is made, the am
her used In jewelry, and many oIhei
similar materials, are secreuons gen
Grated in some Of the cells or vessels
in plants of many different kinds. one
of the most familiar resin-proouclhs
trees is the pitch pine. in which pitch
is a resin.
Resins contain very much more
hydrogen and carbon compared 10 Ine
amount of oxygen than ordinary woou
so that. other things being equal, tht
resinous woods make much hol'e'
: fires than those containing no resins
:, the hydrogen and carbon belnt
sources of the heat. the larger 'n'
amount of heat the hotter the nre.
MANY a Mississippi river steamboa
vas blown I'D in the old days when Il
order to win race, the barrels q
: resin in the cargo were broacheu
~ feed the fires. Resin adds heat po"e
n not only to the woods which contain
10 but also to the Goals.
Is These are some OF the interestiH
n. sidelights on a report which Is ra'h'
dry reading to the layman. HOW I'll
"a rasin get into the Goals and why al
Is, some Goals more resinous than o'hei
ia Tbese are some OF the questions Uni
n. Mr. White answers for the satlsta
rn t,on NJ the student and the ethclen'
rs expert as we'll as for the coal snow
or er in the home.
by This is why there is resin IN CO.
ar Being more resistant to decay uhu
at water than the wood cells and otn
'or tissues of the plants and trees lro
rn- which the peats of boys and coal-for
ey ING swamps are produced, the res
at mmps and particles are generally II
zen to be buried in the peat deposi's' CIV
.ge when most Of the surrounding VIC
or has rotted away and disappeared.
'ok In this way they are sometimes c.
the centrated in quantity SO that, togetl
Ing with wakes, likewise OF heat val
an tbov form considerable portions OF
TOT vegetable debris in the peat. feaI
- the mother substance which, al
deem burial in the crust Of the cal
has been converted into coal.
kind Of the peat largely determines
type Of the coal.
In his paper Mr.. White emphasl
the mart played by the resin, whicf
some Goals is very abundant, In
tributing to the heating power OF u
fuels. In some places he gllttei
amberlike resin forms large par
.~.t the coal Beautiful samples OF
~ sort are found in the coal beds OF
81 Philippine islands
~ Mr.. White has found not only lu
Of amberlike resin in the bitumil
coal of the Paleozoic age In lndi
Illinois and Iowa, but he also sf
'oine that many of the singular and long
in no "a. 80. ~ vegetation that ,
efore -, neot swamps of
their II INC "a Trunks contai
'eno' great quantities of resinous
t all S'"n
drink