Charles Fitzhugh Talman

“ Were it possible for the lump of coal that we burn in our stove, grate or furnace to tell its story, it would take us back millions of years to a time when vast areas of the earth’s surface were covered with swamps, supporting a luxuriant vegetation. No human being, mammal or bird yet existed. ”

“ After an explosion the air of a mine contains a large amount of the deadly gas carbon monoxide, and this “after-damp,” as it is called, makes rescue work extremely dangerous. Wherever suitable apparatus is available, the rescuers carry with them a supply of oxygen, by breathing which they are able to live for some hours in a poisonous atmosphere. The Bureau of Mines has established a number of rescue stations in the coal-mining districts and maintains several mine safety cars for hurrying rescue crews to the scene of a disaster. ”

“ The Northern Great Plains Province includes all the coal fields in the Great Plains east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The coals are of low rank, being either lignite or sub-bituminous, except in a few of the basins near the mountains. The largest coal region in this province is the Fort Union region, lying in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. The amount of unmined coal in this region is estimated to be twice as great as that lying in the rich Appalachian region, but it has been little worked, as it is generally of poor quality. ”

“ Geologists are able to furnish a rough estimate of the amount of coal now in the ground and near enough to the surface to be mined; but with the growth of the world’s industries the demand for coal is increasing by leaps and bounds, and nobody can safely predict how much will be needed at any future time.
The world’s “coal reserves”—that is, the amount of coal remaining unmined—are estimated at 8,154,322,500,000 tons. In the United States it is estimated that we have used only four-tenths of one per cent. of our available coal supply. ”

“ Heatless days mean nothing to him. On a raw, drizzling day in November last a slender man was playing golf in a light woolen suit. A companion player, weighing over 200 pounds, full blooded and hearty in appearance, and bundled up in two heavy sweaters, asked the lightly clad player if he was not afraid of catching a fatal cold. ”

“ SAFETY DEVICE IN COAL BUNKER
In case of a “coal slide,” a man may be pulled out before he is buried and stifled
The elevator used for hoisting in the mine shaft is called a “cage.” After the mine cars reach the surface they pass upon an elevated structure called the “tipple.” This is generally the most conspicuous feature of a mining property above ground, and provides facilities for screening and otherwise “preparing” the coal as it passes down chutes to the railway cars underneath. The more elaborate structure used for anthracite is called a “breaker” ”

“ The coal of this province is not, in general, of as high a quality as that of the Eastern Province, but it is very extensively mined, and is used for heating and for generating power in the many cities and towns of the Mississippi valley and the Great Lakes region. Indeed, extensive coal fields in proximity to rich agricultural lands have made possible the existence of such manufacturing centers as Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, and have been a leading factor in the development of the vast railway systems of the Middle West. ”

“ At the present rate of consumption the coal in this country would last about 4,000 years; but if the present rate of increase in consumption should be maintained, it would last only 100 years!
Fortunately for posterity there are sources of heat, light and power which are not, like the fuels, exhaustible. Water-power, for example, is a permanent asset, and there are other inexhaustible sources of energy, such as solar heat and the internal heat of the earth, which Man’s ingenuity will someday turn to good account. ”

“ Which means that we would be better off in health if we could accustom ourselves to less heat; if we could live as the people of some other nations do—comfortable and content with heat enough to take the chill off the air, and not demanding that we shall be “kept going” by means of artificial heat outside of our own natural heat-giving apparatus. We make caloric cripples of ourselves by giving crutches to nature in the form of roaring furnaces and hissing steam pipes. Fresh cold air is better for us than hot air—in winter as well as in summer. ”

“ Fire-damp is explosive when combined with certain proportions of air. Apart from ventilation, which dilutes the gas below the danger limit, the principal precaution against explosives is the use of safety-lamps, so constructed that the gas cannot come in contact with a naked flame. An excessive amount of coal-dust in the air of the mine may also give rise to explosions. Such explosions may be prevented by wetting the dust, moistening the air, or powdering the walls, roof and floor with a non-explosive “rock-dust.” ”

“ Used for hauling coal from the mines
“Semi-anthracite” also ranks as a hard coal, though it is less hard than anthracite. Very little is mined in this country, and it is generally sold as anthracite.
“Semi-bituminous” coal is a softer coal, which, when properly burned, gives off but little smoke. The best semi-bituminous coal ranks highest among the coals in heating value. It is the most valuable fuel for manufacturing purposes; also for steamships, as it requires less bunker space per unit of heat than any other coal. ”

“ The Rocky Mountain Province contains a greater variety of coal than any other province in the United States. It includes all ranks, from lignite to anthracite, but the prevailing ranks are sub-bituminous and low-grade bituminous.
The coal of the Pacific Coast Province is mined chiefly in the state of Washington, where it has aided in developing the industries of the Puget Sound region. Oregon and California have small fields, but the coal is of poor quality, and little mining has been attempted. ”

“ About four per cent. of the bituminous coal output goes to foreign countries.
“The consumption of coal,” says the United States Geological Survey, “is a measure of the industrial activity of a people, for as yet coal is the main source of mechanical energy. In this respect the United States is the foremost nation, its average annual consumption of coal for all purposes being about five tons per capita. Prior to the present war in Europe the consumption of coal per capita in England, Belgium and Germany was about four tons, in Russia a quarter of a ton, and in France about 1.6 tons.” ”

“ Most of the carbon in the coal remains in the retort as coke, which is, therefore, a by-product in the process of making coal-gas. After the gas is given off from the coal it passes through a series of vessels, where, by chemical and other methods, it is freed from ingredients which would impair its value as an illuminant, but which are saved and used for other purposes ”

“ It means home comfort—and if this “coal comfort” is denied us, or even curtailed, we raise an immediate and mighty outcry. And why not? The health of a community can be fatally affected by a few heatless days. The experience of the past winter has shown us how dependent we are on fuel, not only for luxury and comfort, but for life itself. ”

“ The overlying soil is removed by steam-shovels, and the coal is then blasted out and shoveled into cars.
Most coal is mined underground. Access to the coal-beds is obtained either by sinking a vertical “shaft” or by driving a tunnel, according to the location of the beds. A tunnel driven at a steep angle is called a “slope.” A horizontal tunnel leading into a coal-seam is called a “drift.” In this country few coal mines are more than 300 or 400 feet below the surface, and the deepest is about 1,600 feet. ”

“ In times gone by coal was carried out of the mines on the shoulders of men and women, and then transferred in wheelbarrows to the sailing-vessels or wagons in which it was taken to market. In progressive mines of today the coal is loaded in the mine into small mine cars, which are hauled and hoisted to the surface by electricity or steam. ”

“ While the vegetable origin of coal is beyond question, two rival views are current among geologists to account for the deposit of ancient plant material in the form of coal-beds, such as we now find in the earth. One school of geologists holds that the coal plants grew in great lagoons and swamps, like the mangrove swamps of today, and that the modern coal-beds mark the locations of these swamps. ”

“ RESCUE PARTY ENTERING MINE AFTER EXPLOSION
THE STORY OF COAL
Safety in Coal Mines SIX
Since the year 1870, some 60,000 men have lost their lives as a result of coal mining accidents in this country. This is approximately one fatality for every 180,000 tons of coal mined. Gradually this bad record is being improved, thanks to the combined efforts of the United States Bureau of Mines, the mining departments of the various states, the operators and the miners themselves; but coal mining remains a hazardous pursuit. ”

“ COATING WALLS OF A MINE WITH CEMENT
To prevent coal-dust explosions
DRILLING IN COAL FOR BLASTING
“Anthracite” is the hardest of coals. It was formed from bituminous coal under the crushing pressure due to the upheaval of mountains or by the intense heat of adjacent molten rocks. Most American anthracite is mined in eastern Pennsylvania. The largest deposits in the world are found in China. Anthracite burns slowly, with little smoke. It is well adapted for domestic use on account of its cleanness, but is not an economical fuel for steam-raising or general manufacturing. ”

“ These birds are much more susceptible than human beings to the effects of carbon monoxide, and show signs of distress before a man begins to feel any discomfort from the gas. In many mines they are carried in routine inspections. After an explosion the number of rescuers equipped with oxygen apparatus is always limited. These form the advance guard, and are followed by men without apparatus, who carry canaries, by observing the behavior of which they can tell how far they may safely penetrate into the mine. ”

“ The layers of coal are known as “coal-beds.” Unless a coal-bed is at least two feet thick it is hardly worth working, and, ordinarily, the thickness of a bed does not exceed eight or ten feet. The shale or sandstone above a bed is very commonly found to contain the remains or the impressions of the ancient plants from which the coal was formed. A study of these remains and casts has made it possible to classify hundreds of species of plants now extinct. ”

“ Has not civilization pampered us to a point that has impaired our original heat-giving resources and substituted a forced warmth that has enervated us? The doctors tell us that many diseases come out of artificial heat—indoor diseases, they might be called—the diseases that are treated, and sometimes cured today, by foregoing artificial heat and going back to nature. ”

“ Of the by-products of gas-making, ammoniacal liquor was, until recently, the only commercial source of ammonia. Coal-tar, formerly thrown away as worthless, is today the source of innumerable substances of immense value to science and the industries. ”

“ Fires and explosions attract a greater amount of public attention than other mining disasters on account of the large number of victims so often involved in a single occurrence of this kind. In the explosion at the Courrières colliery, in France, March 10, 1906, more than 1,100 miners perished. This mine had previously been renowned for its freedom from accidents. Coal mine explosions are due to two principal causes, which may act either separately or in combination—fire-damp and coal-dust. ”

“ The Bureau of Mines has devised a special form of cage in which the canary may be revived with oxygen after being overcome with gas. Experiments show that the bird may be asphyxiated and revived again and again without suffering any ill-effects; neither does he acquire an immunity to poisoning which would make him a less reliable indicator. ”

“ Falls of the roof are responsible for more accidents than any other single cause. These are likely to occur wherever the roof is not fully timbered; especially in the “rooms,” where the coal is being blasted out. Many accidents also occur in mine shafts, notwithstanding the various safety devices with which the “cage” or elevator is nowadays provided. ”

“ The railroads themselves use about one-fourth of all the coal mined in this country. The coastwise coal-carrying trade is mainly by wooden barges towed by steamers, though much coal is also carried by schooners, some of which can carry a cargo of 5,000 tons or more. ”

“ The total number of coal-tar products runs into the thousands, and is constantly being increased by fresh discoveries.
In Germany, just before the war, the industries engaged in making these products (no longer by-products, but far more important than coke and gas) were capitalized at $750,000,000. One firm made no less than 1,800 coal-tar dyes, besides 120 pharmaceutical and photographic preparations. ”

“ The coal-producing areas of the country are divided into six great divisions, known as the Eastern Province, the Interior Province, the Gulf Province, the Northern Great Plains Province, the Rocky Mountain Province, and the Pacific Coast Province. ”

“ Each subject is complete in every detail—and you have the privilege of possessing all subsequent volumes as fast as they are issued, which in time will be the most complete, the most authoritative, and the most interesting set ever published. ”