308 MR. E. W. BINNET ON SOME SUPPOSED 



the first instance known of such a pebble having been 

 found in the coal strata." This convinced me more than 

 ever that such stones were of rare occurrence, especially as 

 none of the readers of that journal, which has an extensive 

 circulation amongst the practical coal-miners of Great 

 Britain, stated in its pages that any such pebbles had come 

 under their observation. 



In answer to a letter addressed to Mr. Edward Jones, a 

 gentleman who has the management of the Rhydgaled 

 colliery, in March, 1851, the stone was liberally sent to me 

 for examination, with a consent to analyse it, accompanied 

 by the following letter : — " The stone was found by a per- 

 son of the name of Edward Price, on the 4th November, 

 1850, whilst hewing the coal. It was imbedded in the 

 upper part of the coal, within ten inches of the top of the 

 seam, in a part of it called bone coal from its extreme hard- 

 ness. The layers of coal that surrounded it were perfectly 

 regular; so that, had the stone been immersed in a vessel 

 containing metal in a fused state, and allowed to remain 

 there until it was cooled, it could not have been more accu- 

 rately fitted in its place. The seam in which it was found 

 is called the main coal, and is the lowest that has been dis- 

 covered in this neighbourhood. It is superior in quality 

 to any other seam in the formation, and is the one most 

 extensively worked here. Perhaps I should state, that the 

 place where the stone was found was within twenty-five 

 yards of a fault of considerable size." 



On comparing the Welsh stone with the two specimens of 

 stones found in the Lancashire coal seams in my possession, 

 their great resemblance in characters induced me to attri- 

 bute them to a common origin, and to endeavour to find 

 out what that origin was. My attention has therefore been 

 directed to this enquiry ; and, although considerable time has 

 been spent in hunting after more specimens of stones found 

 in coal seams, no further information has been obtained of 



