22 Messrs. Faraday and Lyell on 



dows iwrJcing of the Haswell Little Pit; or they may add their 

 magazine of fire-damp and explosive mixtures, to increase the 

 conflagration when the fire reaches them from an explosion 

 in some other part of the mine: this appears to have been the 

 case at the goaf of the High Brockley Whins working, on the 

 occurrence of the Haswell event. 



We are bound from all the evidence, and from our own 

 personal examination, to state on the part of the owners and 

 officers of the Haswell Colliery, that, as far as the principles 

 of ventilation in coal mines have been developed and applied, 

 and in comparison with the general practice of the trade, the 

 Little Pit appears to have been most admirably ventilated. 

 No expense seems to have been spared in the first setting out 

 of the works, or in carrying them through, or in the daily ar- 

 rangements under ground ; and this care was further favoured 

 by the natural circumstances of the mine, the seam of coal 

 being very regular, having a strong shale roof or ceiling, and 

 with scarcely any fault. The mine has the character of being 

 one of the best ventilated in the whole trade, a circumstance 

 which, though it leads us in the fullest degree to exonerate the 

 owners and officers from all blame in reference to the late ter- 

 rible event, makes us more anxious, if possible, to discover its 

 cause, and suggest some practical guard against its recurrence 

 in future. With this intention, and without going into the 

 ventilation generally, we will state our view of its effect at the 

 goaf. A great body of air, equal to 25,400 cubic feet per 

 minute, is sent into the Litde Pit, and a third part of that goes 

 to each of the three workings. This is directed, according to 

 the judgement of the viewer, to various parts; the main por- 

 tion to where the men are at work, and certain portions to the 

 waste and the goaf. In the main passages, as the Rolley wa}', 

 Mothergate, &c., the wind is so strong, that it is almost im- 

 possible to keep a candle lighted; but where the works ex- 

 pand, it becomes slower, and the speed is least in the waste 

 and the goaf. As a matter of observation, we found the speed 

 small at the goaf, though full care had been taken by stoppings, 

 &c. to make the current good and strong in the workings 

 near it, i. e. in the upper boards. If it be considered that the 

 goaf is about 1 3 acres in extent, and that with the surrounding 

 workings it can hardly be less than 26 or 30 acres, the dimi- 

 nution in speed of the current of air there can easily be un- 

 derstood. 



The air which flows into a mine will generally tend to move 

 along the floor, for it is colder, and therefore denser than the 

 air against the ceiling, warmed as it is by the men and the 

 lamps, and it is heavier than any mixture of air and fire-damp. 



