Mines and Miners; or underground life. Translated, adapted to the present state of British Mining, and edited by H. W. Bristow ... Illustrated, etc

Front matter

\T 1. Price 2s. MINES AND MINERS; OE, UNDERGROUND LIFE. Pump-men of Creuzot, in leather dresse-, descending the Shaft to examine the Pump. TRANSLATED AND EDITED FROM THE FRENCH OF L. SIMONIN, By H. W. BRISTOW, F.R.S., OF THE GEOLOGICAL SUEVET; HONORARY FELLOW OF KINO'S COLLEGE, LONDON. Illustrated with 160 Engravings on Wood, 20 Maps Geologically Coloured, and 10 Plates of Metals and Minerals. WILLIAM MACKENZIE: 3 3 FATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON; 45 & 17 HOWARD STREET, GLASGOW ; 59 SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH. CONTENTS. SECTION l.-COAL MINES. women and children in Mines. — Trappers —Old system of working Coal in French mines by Falls. — Improved system of working by Remblais, or Long-work. — Miner's tools. — Transport of Coal underground. — Horses in Coal mines. — The Waggons used underground in Belgium. Somerset, and South Staffordshire. — Modes of descending and ascending the Sliuits. — Day and night crews.

Chapter I

— COAL MINES— PAST AND PRESENT. Coal in Paris and London. — Uses of Mineral Fuel.

Chapter II

— ORIGIN OF COAL. Carboniferous Period. — Mineral Fuel most abundant in rocks of the Carboniferous age. — Climate — Dr. Daubeny's estimate of its temperature. — Theory of the formation of Coal. — Limestones, how formed. — Elimination of carbonic acid from the atmosphere. — Carboniferous formation of Scotland and Ireland. — Volcanic rocks associated with Carboniferous rocks of Devon and Cornwall, Derbyshire, North of England. — Fauna of Carboniferous period; Foramenifera. Corals, Crinoids, Crustaceans, Insects, Molluscs, Fishes, Reptiles.

CHAPTER VIII.

— THE FIELD OF BATTLE. Made of preparing the hole for Blasting. — Fuses ; Safety-fuses. — Effects produced by Blasting*, Accidents arising blasting; Untamping the hole. — Bronze and Copper Tamping-bars and Needles. — Use of Electric Battery in firing charges of Powder. — Substitutes for Gunpowder in Blasting ; Gun-cotton ; Nitro-glycerine. — Spontaneous Combustion in Coal-mines; how produced. — Mode of Cutting off Fire in Coal-mines by Dams and Walls. — Burning Coal-mines extinguished by Steam and Carbonic Acid ; by cutting off external air. — Burning Coal-mines in France, Belgium and South Staffordshire. — Effects.produced on Vegetation by Burning Coal-mines in South Staffordshire ; Burning Hill.— Choke-damp or Firedamp; how produced ia Coal-mines ; effects of explosions described.

Chapter III

— HISTORY AND TRADITION. Coal amongst the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese; in England and Belgium. — The blacksmith of Plenevaux. — Coal in France. — How mineral fuel has been pro.luced. — Quantity of Coal annually brought to London. — Quantity of Coal annually raised in the United Kingdom. — Quantities of Coal annually raised at some of the largest Collieries of this Country.

CHAPTER IX

— FALLS OF ROOF AND

Chapter IV

— TIIE BLACK COUNTRY. INUNDATIONS. The British Isles; the Black Indies. — Coal-fields of the United Kingdom; Scotch Coal-field; Irish Coal-field. — English Collieries. — Belgian Coal-field; Qualities of Coal. — The French Coal-basins. — Transformations due to Coal ; Central Europe. — Prussia, Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony, Austria, Russia. — Southern Europe, Spain, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor. — Africa; Algeria, Abyssinia, Cape of Good Hope. Natal, Madagascar, Bourbon. — Asia ; India, China, Japan, Sunda, Sumatra, Anstralia, Labuan, Borneo. — America; Chile, Peru, Brazil, Greenland, California, British America, United States. — Rock Oil of Nor.h America. — Reply of a Tra seller to Fulton. Irruptions of water. — Inundations at Heaton Colliery, near Newcastle; at Workington Colliery; at a colliery ia Durham. — Inundation of a mine near Liege ; of a colliery of the Loire.

CHAPTER X.

— THE PERILOUS PASSAGE. Accidents which occur in the Shafts. — Tubs protected with a roof. — Mode of preventing the Collision of Tubs. — Safety-cages, or Parachutes. Advantages arising -from the use of guide-rods.

CHAPTER XL

— THE SOLDIER OF THE ABYSS.

Chapter V

— HOW COAL IS DISCOVERED. Miner and Pioneer. — Qualities of the Coal-miner; his intelligence. — Sobriety of French Colliers. — St. Barbe. — Diseases of Coal-miners. — Sick-funds and Benefit Clubs; Churches and Schools. — Humanity of French Coal-proprietors. — Cheap Dwelling-houses. — The Cottage and its Garden. — Predilection of Colliers for detached house. — Failure in France of the system of Lodging-houses. — Cost of Colliers' houses in France. — English Colliers' cottages. — The unmarried Miner; furnished rooms and canteens in England, France, Belgium, and the United States; cost of board and lodging. — The Collier's daily life. — Sunday amusements. — Wages. Coal-basins. — Discovery of the Mines of La Sarthe and Anzin. — Discovery of Coal by Vise unt D^sandrouin in French Hainaut. — Tubbing. — Steam-engine first used in France in Draining the Alines of Hainaut. — Discovery of the Coal-field of the Pas-de-Calais. — Watery ground or Torrents. — Use of the borer in Coal-mining. — Hen- Kind. — Coal-basin of the Moselle ; number and cost of borings. — Cost of some English borings.

Chapter VI

— SHAFTS AND LEVELS. .Manner of sinking of Shafts and Pits. — Cutting through soft and watery measures. — Systems of sinking of Kind, Chaudron, and Guibal. — Triger's system of working in compressed air. — Names of Shafts. — Mining-pnmps. — Driving of Levels. — The animals, plants, and water-courses of the Underground World. — The cost of a Coalmine. — The Stakes and the Gain.

CHAPTER XIL

— TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW. Quantity of Coal annually exported from Great Britain. — British Coaling-stations abroad. — Number of persons directly employed in raising Coal in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Prussia, and other countries. — Quantity of coal raised in 18G6 by Great Britain, Prussia, France, Belgium, Austria, Saxony, United States, and other Coal-producing countries. — Average price of Coal in England, France, and thS money value of all the Coal annually raised. — Great importance of Coal at the present day. — Production of Coal in United Kingdom, Belgium, Prussia, and France, per head, in 1866. — Consumption of Coal in those cour.tr!' -,, per head, in 1806.

Chapter VII

— HOW THE COAL IS WORKED. Coal-mines of Turkey and China. — Mode of working thin seams of Coal in England and France ;. Holing, or Travail it col tordu. — Mode of conveying the Coal to the surface formerly practised in France by Mendits, and by Putters and Bearers in England and Scotland. — Employment of Convoy of diamonds in Brazil. MINES AND MINERS; OB. UNDERGROUND LIFE. By L. SIMONIN. TRANSLATED, ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF BRITISH MINING, AND EDITED By H. W. BRISTOW, F.R.S., OF TIIE GEOLOGICAL SURVBY; HON'ORARV FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE LONOOSa ILLUSTRATED WITH 160 ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, 20 MAPS GEOLOGICALLY COLOURED AND 10 PLATES OP METALS AND MINERALS LONDON: WILLIAM MACKENZIE, 22 PATERNOSTER ROW; HOWARD STREET, GLASGOW; SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH. FRISTED EV WILLIAM >IA< KESZIE, 15 *. t7 HOWARD STREET, GLASGOW AUTHOR'S

Preface

. Victor Hugo has recently described the straggles of the sailor in "The Toilers of the Sea." What he so happily calls the ui'ayict], or irrepressible power of the Elements, addi^esses itself alike to the Mariner and the Miner, for each is the soldier of the deep, against whom the powers of nature wage at times their utmost fury. In the following pages we purpose to describe the struggle of the miner in its reality, without exaggeration of any sort. We shall follow him to the field of his labours, observe him in his subterranean life, and describe his habits in various countries; and as we would not only amuse, but instruct, we shall speak of the countries he inhabits, and of the substances he digs from the earth : in short, we shall endeavour to explain the social position of this pioneer of civilization.

We our selves have long sojourned with him both in Europe and in America, and have made ourselves acquainted with the manly qualities which so eminently distinguish him. The first part of the present work is devoted to Coal, a substance indispensable to all civilized nations ; the second to Metals, the origin of all progress ; the last to the Precious Stones, which play so important a part in the decorative arts. The intrepid coal-miner, whose advent is but of recent date; the veteran of the mineral world, whose origin dates from a

PREFACE.

. II the dawn of history; and the patient seeker after gems — are the types of industry we have to consider. It will be thought, perhaps, that a chapter ought to have been dedicated to Petroleum, Sulphur, and Salt Mines, but these do not happen to belong to any of the divisions we have under consideration. They are touched upon incident ally, and the processes by which they are worked differ but little from those described. Fiction has been strictly excluded, but the artist's crayon has been employed whenever it was thought necessary as a forcible appeal to the eye, but in no instance has any merely fanciful design been admitted. All the fossils and minerals, all the implements and apparatus, have been drawn from models; and the specimens so well represented in the coloured plates, whether chosen from the national collections of the Museum of the School of Mines (of Paris) generously placed at our disposal, or from the private collections of our friends or ourselves, have been selected as the best within reach.

Among those artists who have seconded the author with so much zeal, we may mention MM. de Neuville, Eaguet, Dumas-Vorzet, Bonnafoux, Langon, and Bonhommd, but we return to all without exception our most sincere thanks. L. SIMONIN.

PREFACE.

. III NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR. M. Simonin, in "La Vie Souterraine," looks at Mining from a French point of view, and consequently he does not give any special prominence to the Mineral Industries of this country. It would have been impossible, therefore, to give a more elaborate account of British Mines and Miners, without re modelling M. Simonin's book. Under the circumstances, I have chosen to preserve his text entire when it was possible to do so, making only some few interpolations where they appeared to me to be absolutely necessary. Amongst the friends to whom I am indebted for advice and assistance, my thanks are due to Mr. R. Etheridge, Mr. H. Bauerman, and Mr. W. Whitaker, and more especially to my esteemed colleague, Mr. Robert Hunt, of the Mining Record Office, for much valuable aid kindly rendered during the progress of my undertaking.

The Geology of the maps has either been revised by Mr. James B. Jordan, of the Mining Record Office, or new maps constructed by him to replace those in the original work when considered necessary. In this task Mr. Jordan has had the benefit of the advice of Mr. John Arthur Phillips with respect to the map of California ; and for the map of Chile I am indebted to my friend Mr. David Forbes, whose personal observations in that part of South America extend over several years. HENRY W. BRISTOW. London, October, 1868. a ERRATA: Page 33, third line from bottom, for Plate I. read Plate VIII. Plate V., fig. 2, for Sulphate of Arsenic read Sulphide of Arsenic. Plate VII., fig. 2, for Bisulphate of Iron read Bisulphide of Iron. Plate X., fig. 7, for Grenada read Granada. COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS. CONVOY OF DIAMONDS IN BRAZIL, Frontispiece.

COAL. TO FACE PAGE I., VARIETIES OF CARBON, 33 II, GEOLOGICAL SECTIONS OF FRENCH COAL-FIELDS, 82 METALLIC MINES. III., GOLD, SILVER, PLATINUM, AND MERCURY, 277 IV, COPPER, 278 V, LEAD AND ANTIMONY, 283 VL, ZINC AND TIN, 304 VII, BISMUTH, COBALT, ARSENIC, AND NICKEL, 307 VIII, IRON, VARIETIES OF, 28-1 IX, IRON AND MANGANESE GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. X., TRANSLUCENT AND OPAQUE STONES 407 XI, TRANSPARENT GEMS, 498 GEOLOGICAL SECTIONS. XII, MINERAL VEINS OR LODES, . 292 XIII, METALLIFEROUS VEINS, . . - 293 XIV, METALLIFEROUS DEPOSITS, 297 XV, METALLIFEROUS DEPOSITS, 298 XVI, OF METALLIFEROUS DEPOSITS, GEOLOGICAL MARS. COAL-FIELDS OF THE WORLD. TO FACE PAGE I, COAL-FIELDS OF GREAT BRITAIN, 37 II, COAL-FIELDS OF NORTHERN FRANCE AND BELGIUM, ... 45 III, COAL-FIELDS OF PART OF FRANCE 48 IV, COAL-FIELDS OF DURHAM, NORTHUMBERLAND, AND CUMBERLAND, 49 V, COAL-FIELDS OF YORKSHIRE, LANCASHIRE, THE MIDLAND COUNTIES, AND NORTH WALES 50 VI, COAL-FIELDS OF SOUTH WALES, DEAN FOREST, AND SOMERSET- SHIRE, 53 VII, SCOTTISH COAL-FIELDS 5C VIII, COAL-FIELDS OF CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. ... 66 XI, CARBONIFEROUS FIELDS OF DEVON AND CORNWALL, . .183 X., COAL-FIELDS OF WESTPHALIA AND BOHEMIA, 80 METALLIFEROUS REGIONS.

XI, METALLIFEROUS REGIONS OF CHILE, 339 XII, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA, 344 XIII, METALLIFEROUS REGION OF LAKE SUPERIOR, 347 XIV., VICTORIA, g55 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. COAL-FIELDS. PAGE Lepidodendron Stevnberyii restored, ........... (J Ideal Landscape of the Coal Measure Period, ......... 9 Fossil coral (Micheltnia favosa). Belgian Co;il Measures. Scale, §. . . . . ,14 Fossil Polyzoan (Archimedipora Archimedis). Coal Measures of Illinois, U.S., ... 14 Cast of a Star-fish (Asterias constellata?} in a nodule of Clay Ironstone. Scale, §, . . 15 Spirifera striata. Yorkshire Coal Measures. Scale, §■, . . . . . 1G Nautilus cai'i n ifei'usf Coal Measures of Indiana, U.S. Scale, §, ..... 16 Fossil Fish (Amblypterus macropterus) Coal Measures of Saarhriick, in Rhenish Prussia. Scale, §,............... 17 Archegosaurus, or the most ancient Lizard {Archeyosaurus Decheni).

Coal Measures of Saarbriick. Scale £, ............. 18 Impression of a Fern (Odontopteris Scldothtinui). Coal Measures of SaarbrQck. Scale, §, . 19 Impression of a Fern (Pecopteris dentatd) Scale, §, ........ 20 Impression of a Fern (Neuropteris speciosa, Ad. Brongniart, MS.). Coal Measures of Blanzy (Saone-et-Loire). Scale, j, . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Impression of Annular ia lonyifolla. Coal Measures of Saarhriick. Scale, §, . . . 22 Impression of Asterophyllites (^Asterophyllites equiset'tjormis) Coal Measures of Saarhriick. Scale, §, 23 Impression of a Coal-plant {S oggerathia Jactuca). Scale, ...... 24 Impression of Lepidodendron yracile. Coal Measures of Eschweiler, near Aix-la-Chapelle. Scale, £, 25 Trtyonocarpum Noyyeratkii, ............ 26 Trunks of Sigillaria in the mine of Treuil, at Saint Etienne, ....... 28 Impression of Walchia pinij'ormis.

L'Herault. Scale, f, . . . - . . .30 Fossil Palm (Flabellaria raphifolia). Tertiary formation of the Somme. Scale, . .31 Impression of a Date QPhœnicites Jtaltca). Tertiary formation of Lorn hardy. Scale, -j'^, . 32 Oil-wells at Tar Farm, Pennsylvania, .......... G7 Cross-section of the Coal-basin of Rive-de-Gier, ...... 70 Trepan or Chisel, .............. 75 Shell-pump with clack, . . . . . . . . . . ... .75 Boring Operations (System of Mulot and Saint-Just-Dru): Boring the Hole, ... 76 Boring Operations (System of Mulot and Saint-Just-Dru) : Changing the Rods, ... 77 Cutting Gouge, ............. .78 Grapnel. Scale, -['5, . . . ■ . • • • ■ - • .78 Specimen of argillaceous shale with plant-iinpressions, brought up from a boring made by Herr Kind at Stiring (Moselle). Scale, £, 79 Section across the London Basin, showing the Probable Ridge of Old Rocks under London, &c, 91 Section of Triger's apparatus for sinking shafts under water; after Burat, . . . .97 Pump-men of Creuzot, in leather dresses, descending the Shaft to examine the Pump.

After a photograph by M. Larcher, . . . . . • ■ • • ■ • .101 Views of walled levels, ......-•■••■■ '06 Sectional views of timbered levels, .......■• . . TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VIII PAGK Longitudinal views of a timbered level, .......••■ 108 Timberer's axes. Scale, tl0, ......-■-••■ 109 Holing Coal, 116 The Mendits, or Putters of coal in Provence, . . ... 118 Putters or Trolley-boys in England formerly, . . . - - • ■ .119 Rearers of Coal in Scotland, . . . . . . - ■ . • .120 Pick : St. diamond 124 Various forms of Picks, ............. 125 Double-pointed Pick, . . . - ■ . . . ■ 126 Belgian Pick or rivelaine, ........ ... 126 Hammer, ............... 126 Wedges, ................ 1 26 Bar, 127 Shovels 127 Descent of a Horse down a Mine-shaft at Creuzot. After a photograph by M. Larcher. . 128 Stable in a Mine, .............. 128 Working Coal in the thick coal of South Staffordshire, ........ 129 Miners going down a Shaft.

After an engraving by Bonhomm^, ...... 131 A Consultation in the Mine, . . . . . . . . . . 13G Horse Whim formerly used for drawing Coals and Water. After Lanfon, .... 1-U Miner's bars of different models, ........... 147 Miner's hammer or sledge (tnassetle), ......... I-J7 Scrapers for clearing the bore, ............ 148 Tamping bar for ramming in the cartridge, ......... 148 Needles for pricking the cartridge, ........... 148 Explosion in a Coal-mine. ........... 149 Mode of using the Fire Extinguisher in a Coal-mine, . . . . . . . .153 Explosion of Fire damp, ............ I57 The Penitent, or Fire-man, igniting the Fire-damp, ....... 164 The first Davy-lamp, ........... iqq English Safety-lamps, ........ . igg Dumesnil's lamp for fixed lights. ......... i/p Mueseler's lamps with gauze and glass cylinder, ...... 168 Dubrulle's lamp with chimney, ....... 1 n « Petroleum lamp, *•■....... iro Dubrulle's lamps with wire-gauze, ....... ipo Photo-electric lamp and box, ....... ipq Generator of electricity ; bobbin and illuminating tube shown out of the box, . 1-st Lamp used at the mines of Saint Etienne, .... , 1 -,-.

Lamp used at the mines of Anzin, carried in the hat, ..... 1-1 Saving Life by means of Rouquayrol's Apparatus, ."..-. i-p Rescue with Calibers s Apparatus, . . -__ Falling in of a Mine, ........ ,-q Inundation of a Mine, ..... 1 83 Hand boring-tools for the interior of mines. Scale, -y, . . . 104 Chisels for hard rocks, -.-.... 1a. Augers for soft rocks, ....... 1 ft A Fontaine's Safety-cage (parachute). Scale, _ qf|- Fontaine's Safety-cage — The rope broken «08 Collision of Tubs in a Shaft, ...... t>11 Critical situation of an Engineer of Meons (Loire), . . 019 Descending the Shaft at Wielliczka t. A fall in going down a shaft, A fall in the shaft, The Man-engine, with double movable ladder . -,,. 1 •■---.. Z\i TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. IX PAGB Simple movable ladder, with fixed landing-stages, . . . . . . . .218 Pitmen and their Wives, in their working dresses, at the Collieries of Charleroy, in Belgium after a Photograph, ............. 241 Woman and young miner of Pontypool, .......... 242 Pierre Lhote and Father Gamier, overmen of Epinac (Saone-et-Loire) ; after a photograph, . 249 METALLIC MINES.

Interior of the Graphite Mine of Batougol, in the Saiansk Mountains, Eastern Siberia, . . 329 Auriferous Placers of the Tipuani Valley in Bolivia. After a drawing in water-colours by Deherrypon, .............. 335 Silver-mines of Cerro de Pasco, Peru, ........... 339 Apache Prisoners condemned to the Mines of Chihuahua, Mexico, . ..... 341 The saw-inill of Coloma (California) as it was at the time when the first nugget was discovered, 305 Botallack Copper and Tin Mine at St. Just in Cornwall; worked under the sea for more than half a mile, 396 Winze-shaft, or " sinking, " in a Cornish mine, ......... 397 Ladder-shaft in the Harz mines, . . . . ."„.'.. . . . 398 Harz minors working on the lode, ........... 399 Working by direct or descending steps at Stolberg, in Rhenish Prussia, ..... 401 Working by descending levels, ............ 402 Working by the Excavation of a Mass, at Campiglia, in Tuscany, ...... 403 Open workings at Rammelsberg in the Harz, ......... 403 Dialling the Plan in the La Vieille-Montagne Mines.

After F. Bonhomme', .... 404 Picks and gads, .............. 404 Double-hand boring hammer, single-hand hammer, and wedge, ...... 405 Pointed bar (Banena of the Spanish-American miners), ....... 405 German shovels, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406 Tools used for blasting, ............. 406 Boring a blast-hole by three men, . . . . . . . . . . .408 Attack of rocks by fire, ............. 409 Low's Rock-boring machine, ............ 412 Modification of the French lamp, .... ...... 415 French lamp, . . . . ... ■ • . - - . - . .415 Saxon miner's lamp, or Blende, . ........... 416 Prussian miner's lamp, . . . . . . . . . . . . .417 Mansfeld miner's lamp, ............. 417 Harz miner's lamp, .............. 417 Miners of Chihuahua, Mexico, . . . .418 Coin found in the mines of Campiglia, . . . . . . . . . .423 Lamp found in Etruscan workings, ........... 424 Coin found at Monte Catini, ............ 425 Picks from the ancient mines of Massa-Maritima, in Tuscany.

Scale, £, . . . 426 Stone hammer from the ancient copper-mines of the province of Cordova. Scale, £, . . 429 Stone hammer from the ancient copper-workings of Lake Superior. Scale, |, . . . . 429 Stone hammer fitted to a handle by the Kayoway Indians of North America. Scale, £. . . 429 Stone hatchet found at the ancient stream tin-works of La Villcder (Morbihan). Scale, |, . 430 Bronze Kelt from the ancient stream-tin works of La Villeder (Morbihan). Scale, . .431 Moorish lamp found at the mines of Gar-Rouban, in Algeria. Sc;ile £, . . . . . 432 Frngment of a Moorish lamp found at the mines of Gar-Rouban, in Algeria. Scale, £, . .433 Flint implements taken from the tomb of an Indian gold-finder of Chiriqui, in the province of Panama, ................ 433 Cornish ore-dressers, . . - • ■ • - - ■ • • ■ 437 Horn or spoon for washing gold at the American placers, ....... 439 Chinese washing auriferous sands with the cradle, at the Australian placers, ....

X TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Pack Chilians working at the placers, after the method of their country, 442 Working auriferous sands in California by turning the water-courses, ..... 443 Hydraulic Method invented in California for working Auriferous Alluvium, .... 444 Crushing ores by the old Mexican process, ....... ... 445 Arrastre, or Mexican mill for the treatment us gold and silver ores, ..... 446 Trapiche, or Chilian mill for treating ores, .......... 447 Miners at Prayer at La Vieille-Montagne before descending the Shaft, ..... 456 Saxon mining-captain in full dress, with his baton of office, . . . . . . .459 Miners of St. lves in Cornwall, . . . . . . . . . . . .461 Common room of Spanish miners of the Alpujarras (province of Granada), . . . .464 Barretero, or miner of Cerro de Pasco, in Peru, ....... . 465 Apire, or ore-bearer, of Cerro de Pasco, in Peru, ......... 4G6 Miners of Spanish America in full dress, .......... 467 Chilian Miners, .............. 468 Indian miner of Lake Superior, . . . . . . . . . . . .471 Californian gold-finder prospecting the ground, ......... 474 PRECIOUS STONES AND GEMS.

Working diamond-washings, . . . . . . . . . . , .512 ■ Diamond-case of the Brazilian washers. Scale, $, ■••..... Pa\OF. 35 TABLE OF CONTENTS. FIRST PART. COAL MINES.

Chapter I. Coal

MIXES— PAST AND PRESENT. Coal in Paris and London. — Uses of Mineral Fuel. ........ 3

Chapter II. Origin Of Coal

Carboniferous Period. — Mineral Fuel most abundant in rocks of the Carboniferous age. — Climate. — Dr. Daubeny's estimate of its temperature. — Theory of the formation of Coal. — Limestones, how formed. — Elimination of carbonic acid from the atmosphere. — Carboniferous formations of Scotland and Ireland. — Volcanic rocks associated with Carboniferous rocks of Devon and Cornwall, Derbyshire, North of England. — Fauna of Carboniferous period; Foramenifera, Corals, Crinoids, Crustaceans, Insects, Molluscs, Fishes, Reptiles. Coprolites, Foot-prints, Rain-drops, Ripple-marks. — Coal Measures. Flora. — Enormous time required. — Chemical changes undergone by vegetation during the formation of Coal. — Theories as to mode of formation of Coal ; Elie de Beaumont ; the ancient Geologists ; Adolphe Brongniart. — Baroulier's experiments. — Analogy between Coal and Peat. — Coal of any geological age, but most abundant in the Carboniferous formation. — Lignite and Brown Coal ; of Germany and Russia; of Bovey Tracey. — Coal of Mackenzie River, China, Scarborough. — Classification of Coals. — Anecdote connected with the discovery of Coal in Etruria, .....

Chapter III. History And Tradition

Coal amongst the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese* in England and Belgium. — The blacksmith of Pl^nevaux. — Coal in France. — How mineral fuel has been produced. — Quantity of Coal annually brought to London. — Quantity of Coal annually raised in the United Kingdom. — Quantities of Coal annually raised at some of the largest Collieries of this Country,

Chapter IV. The Black Country

The British Isles ; the Black Indies.— Coal-fields of tlie United Kingdom ; Scotch Coal-field; Irish Coal-field. — English Collieries. — Belgian Coal-field; Qualities of Coal. — The French PAOE •Jl Coal-basins. — Transformations due to Coal. — Central Europe ; Prussia, Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony, Austria, Russia. — Southern Europe ; Spain, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor. — Africa ; Algeria, Abyssinia, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Madagascar, Bourbon. — Asia ; India, China, Japan, Sunda, Sumatra, Australia, Labuan, Borneo. — America; Chile, Peru, Brazil, Greenland, California, British America, United States. — Rock Oil of North America. — Reply of a Traveller to Fulton, ............. 48

Chapter V. How Coal Is Discovered

Coal-basins. — Discovery of the Mines of La Sarthe and Anzin. — Discovery of Coal by Viscount Dcsandrouin in French Hainaut. — Tubbing. — Steam-engine first used in France in draining the Mines of Hainaut. — Discovery of the Coal-field of the Pas-de-Calais. — Watery ground or Torrents. — Use of the Borer in Coal-mining. — Herr Kind. — Coal-basin of the Moselle; number and cost of borings. — Cost of some English borings. — Borer used for discovering Coal-fields, and proving their extension beneath rocks of newer age than the Coal Measures; as in Deps. Gard and Haute-Saone. — Boring-rods and tools. — Free-fall Cutter. — Simplest mode of boring — Modern improvements in boring. — Boring at Mouille-longe stopped by accidental breaking of Borer. — Experiments of Walferdin at Mouille-longe on subterranean heat. — Rate of increase with the depth in the mines of this country. — Principles by which the search for Coal should be guided. — Probabilities as to finding Coal under London and Paris. — Well-borings at Passy and Grenelle. — Opinion of Mr. Godwin-Austen as to the occurrence of Coal in the south-eastern counties of England ; Opinion of Sir R. I. Murchison. — Well-borings at Harwich and Calais. — Conclusions to be drawn, ..... 69

Chapter VI. Shafts And Levels

Manner of sinking Shafts and Pits. — Cutting through soft and watery measures. — Systems of sinking of Kind, Chaudron, and Guibal. — Triger' s system of working in compressed air. — Names of Shafts. — Mining-pumps. — Driving of Levels. — The animals, plants, and water-courses of the Underground World. — The cost of a Coal-mine. — The Stakes and the Gain, .

Chapter VII. How The Coal Is Worked

Coal-mines of Turkey and China. — Mode of working thin seams of Coal in England and France ; Holing, or Travail a col tordu. — Mode of conveying tbe Coal to the surface formerly practised in France by Mendits, and by Putters and Bearers in England and Scotland. — Employment of women and children in Mines. — Trappers. — Old system of working Coal in French mines by Falls. — Improved system of working by Remblais, or Long-work. — Miner's tools. — Transport of Coal underground. — Horses in Coal-mines. — The Waggons used underground in Belgium, Somerset, and South Staffordshire. — Modes of descending and ascending the Shafts. — Day and night Crews. — Names and duties of men employed at Coal-mines, underground and at the surface. — Novel sensations experienced on first going down a Coal-mine. — Underground workings described. — Exaggerations of Authors. — Salt-mines of Wielliczka and Bochnia. — Mode of making underground Survey of a Coal-mine — Magnetic compass and chain. — Anecdote of an old Coal-viewer. — Tbe great importance of correct plans of workings. — Animated aspect of underground operations ; in the drawing-shafts, and around the pitm cutlj. — Sorting and washing Coal at the surface, ....

PAGE 115 179 CHAPTER VIH. THE FIELD OF BATTLE. Mode os preparing the hole for Blasting. — Fuses; Safety-fuses. — Effects produced hy Blasting. — Accidents arising from Blasting; Untamping the hole. — Bronze and Copper Tamping-bars and Needles. — Use of Electric Battery in firing charges of Powder. — Substitutes for Gunpowder in Blasting; Gun-cotton; Nitro-glycerine. — Spontaneous Combustion in Coal-mines; how produced. — Mode of cutting off Fire in Coal-mines by Dams and Walls. — Burning Coal-mines extinguished by Steam and Carbonic Acid ; by cutting off external air. — Burning Coal-mines in France, Belgium, and South Staffordshire. — Effects produced on Vegetation by Burning Coal-mines in South Staffordshire; Burning Hill — Choke-damp or Fire-damp; how produced in Coal-mines; effects of Explosions described. — Explosions of Fire-damp in Coal-mines near Lie'ge ; at Jemappes, near Saint Etienne. — Story of poor Marie, the Overman's wife. — Explosions of Fire-damp at Merthyr-Tydvil. — Story of John and Thomas Hall. — Lighting mines by means of Steel-mills ; by natural gas. — Everlasting lamps in the Newcastle Coalfield. — Inflammable gas at the Salt-wells of Sz'chuen in China. — Fire-wells of Tse'lieoutsing. — Lighting of gas in Coal-mines by the " Penitent, " or u Fireman.

" — Invention of the Safety-lamp by Sir Humphrey Davy. — Defects of the Davy-lamp.— The L* Georgie, " or Stephenson's Safety-lamp. — Mueseler's Lamp. — Dumesnil's Lamp. — Accidents caused by carelessness of miners at Merthyr-Tydvil. — Visit of M. Simonin to a Colliery near Saint Etienne — Electric Lamps of Dumas and Benoit. — Lamps used at St. Etienne ; in Belgium ; South Wales; and the LTnited States — Experiments with Safety-lamps. — The varieties of Coal which give out Fire-damp; Blowers. — Fall of Barometer often followed by Explosions. — Carbonic Acid; Surfeit or Choke-damp. — Air of a Mine ; how vitiated. — Modes of ventilating Coal-mines; natural ventilation; by furnaces; by mechanical means. — Nature ofthe Gases which accumulate in Mines. — Sensations experienced on entering a Mine wlTere the air is bad. — Respiratory apparatus for entering places filled with deleterious gases; of des Rosiers, Kouquayrol, Galibert,