DUE TO G-AS DERIVED FROM COAL-DUST. 119 



in the wagon at Camerton Colliery had been removed by 

 an analogous agency. The globules of coke at Camerton 

 Colliery ascended almost vertically to the overhanging 

 timber, and remained deposited there, but at the wagon 

 at Timsbury Colliery the globules gravitated to the floor. 

 In both cases the gaseous movement following the ante- 

 cedent explosions was of inadequate velocity to carry the 

 particles of coke beyond the wagous; consequent!}'- the 

 movement in the interval from explosion to explosion was 

 at a velocity that admitted the element of time for dis- 

 tillation and the formation of the gaseous mixtures for the 

 successive explosions. 



The source of the combustible gas is indicated by the 

 residues of coked coal observed in the fields of the dis- 

 asters, which show that the coal-dust had undergone dry 

 distillation, and gaseous hydrocarbons had flowed into the 

 atmosphere of the mines. The subsequent history of 

 these hydrocarbons must provide evidence for elucidating 

 the chemical and phj^sical actions that produced the ex- 

 plosions. 



Observations in the tunnels disclosed the presence of 

 a black impalpable powder upon the side walls and side 

 timber throughout the fields of explosion. In many places 

 it was in gossamer-like form, giving the vertical faces of 

 timber and stone a veined appearance. These filaments 

 were collected upon paper, but broke down into powder 

 under the slightest pressure. The general deposit was upon 

 the vertical faces of the side walls in a loosely built-up 

 sponge-like stratum, which shrunk to a fraction of its 

 original thickness when touched with a flat surface. This 

 deposit was amorphous carbon. The exploring parties that 

 entered the mines immediately after the explosions found 

 the atmosphere laden with this carbon, and compared it 



