STEVENSON— INTERRELATIONS OF FOSSIL FUELS. 11 



meters thick. Immediately above the lowest seam is a laminated 

 sandstone, carbonaceous and containing many plants of swamp 

 types. The upper part of this sandstone, floor to the second seam, 

 is somewhat argillaceous and holds vertical plant remains resembling 

 roots. The coal seams consist ordinarily of several benches, some 

 of them good, but others worthless. Kudernatch's section at one 

 locality shows (i) upper bench, clean coal, 0.713; (2) earthy, im- 

 pure coal, a mixture of Faser and bright coal, locally known as 

 "Brand," 0.552; (3) middle bench, clean coal, 1.025; (4) coal and 

 shaly coal, 0.053; (5) lower bench, clean coal, 1.394; (6) impure 

 coal, not mined, has steel-like luster, 0.154; total, 3.891 meters. 

 The coal is in bright and dull laminae, but the bright predominates. 

 The Hangendflotz also has the Stahlband as faux-mur. The roof 

 and floor of all the seams are shaly sandstone with remains of 

 plants. In the lower coal group, ferns predominate, in the upper 

 group, cycads are abundant. These groups are separated by 97 

 meters of barren measures and Hantken is inclined to regard the 

 upper one as belonging to the ]\Iiddle Lias. About 74 meters of 

 bituminous shale overlies the sandstone mass and contains streaks 

 of coal as well as layers of iron ore. Some portions of this shale 

 yield 3 to 7 per cent, of crude oil, from which parafifin and illuminat- 

 ing oil are obtained. The Liassic in this district is apparently of 

 freshwater origin ; the variations in thickness of the coal seams are 

 due in very small part to compression, as is evident from the many 

 illustrations given by the author. 



Grand'Eury, in the memoir already cited, states that the coals 

 at Anina and Bregeda rest on soils of vegetation. At Bregeda, 

 where the coal is anthracitic, the mur and partings have many roots 

 in place, some of them spreading out under the coal and much 

 divided, while others are erect and cross several layers of the shale. 

 At Anina, where the coal is fat, woody roots are in the mur and 

 herbaceous roots in the partings. 



The greatest thickness of coal is in the small area near Fiinf- 

 kirchen, where the coal group, consisting of alternating sandstones, 

 marly shales, clay shale, coal seams and layers of iron ore, rests on 

 Rhaetic beds and underlies the marine Middle Lias. It is about 800 

 meters thick. Not less than 180 coal horizons have been recognized, 



