THE RELATIONSHIP OF MINING TO SCIENCE 607 



footing in the mining industry, and bid fair to retain it. The 

 change, too, is not simply one of improved machinery and 

 mechanical application generally, but also one of personnel. The 

 time was, and that very recently (and in some quarters still is), 

 when the only men thought fit to manage a colliery or a mine 

 were those who were matured and brought up in the closest 

 connection with it, who had " risen from the ranks," and had 

 gone through every detail of the work ; the demand, in short, 

 was for the " practical man " pure and simple. No one is going 

 to quarrel with the importance attached to the practical man — 

 the man who has "been through the mill." It is essential that 

 one who is responsible for the safety of men's lives, and for the 

 right use of a large amount of capital, should have a practical 

 and intimate knowledge of his work. But this is not the only 

 requirement, and merely " going through the mill " will not meet 

 it. Modern mining is a very different thing from what it was even 

 a few years back. The old rule-of-thumb methods no longer apply. 

 New conditions have arisen, and these call for new methods of 

 meeting them. One need only compare a modern-equipped 

 colliery with its prototype of, say, fifty years ago, in order to 

 realise the strides that have been made. Winding, hauling, 

 ventilation, the winning of coal, and the rendering it fit for the 

 market, were all in a primitive condition, while the introduction 

 of electricity as a motive power was not even dreamt of till a 

 much later date. Nor does the comparison end here. Not only 

 has the controlling head of a modern mine to have an intimate 

 acquaintance with all the latest phases of mechanical appliances, 

 but he must also have regard to the altered conditions with 

 which he is confronted underground. These are vastly different 

 from what they were in the early days of mining, when the coal 

 or the mineral lay within easy reach of the miner, and required, 

 perhaps, only the turning over of a few sods in order to obtain 

 them. Now, however, 3,000 or 4,000 ft. of intervening earth 

 and rock have often to be penetrated before access can be gained 

 to the hidden wealth. And not only so, but, having reached this 

 depth, the question of raising the material to the surface is one 

 which requires fresh treatment. 



The problem of deep mining is one which is largely engaging 

 the attention of mining men at the present time. There is no 

 known limit to the depth at which minerals occur. As far as 

 the earth has been penetrated they have been found ; but their 



