67 



NOTES ON THE SHAFT SUNK FOR COAL AT THE 



CASCADES. 



[By S. H. Wintle.] 



Having heard tliat a shaft was being sunk by Mr. Newman on 

 the property of Mr. Degraves, at the Cascades, with the view 

 of finding coal, I seized the first opportunity of visiting the 

 spot, in the hope that the debris of the shaft would be a safe 

 clue to the actual age of the sandstone of that locality, — and 

 which I believe to be a continuation of the sandstone of this 

 city. Calling upon Mr. Newman on my way thither, he kindly 

 allowed his son to act as my guide to the spot. I found the 

 shaft situated on the side of a hill looking about N.W. to the 

 left of the residence of Mr. Degraves, and about three-quarters 

 of a mile beyond it in the direction of Mount Wellington. 

 This shaft has been opened at the base of an old sandstone 

 quarry, which was formerly worked, I understand, by Mr. 

 Newman. 



I never entertained the hope that coal would be found in 

 that locality in a payable seam, on account of the carboniferous 

 limestone being seen in situ in the bed of the rivulet, and 

 which formation, according to Professor Selwin, constitutes 

 the base of the coal measures, as a rule, in Tasmania. 



Upon arriving at the shaft, I found the mouth of it to be 

 about 300 feet above the limestone in the bed of the rivulet, 

 the dip of which is nearly S.E. I therefore considered it 

 highly probable that after sinking, say 150 feet, there would 

 still be room for even one or two good seams of coal, with the 

 usual strata, before the limestone would be reached, the dip 

 of the sandstone being the same as that of the carboniferous 

 limestone. 



Upon examing the debris of the pit, I found unmistakable 

 evidence of the strata already passed through being of car- 

 boniferous age ; but although a depth of 92 feet had been 

 reached, there was an absence of those striking indications 

 which characterize the existence of good seams of coal. 



The bed of sandstone that underlies the fire-clay is thickly 

 studded with fossil plants, from one of which I obtained a 

 small quantity of coal — being, in fact, the mineralized stem 

 of a plant or shrub — about three inches in diameter. It has 

 the appearance of a highly bituminous coal, but upon putting 

 it to the test it turned out to be anthracite. I, therefore, con- 

 cluded that if coal were eventually reached it would be 

 anthracite. But of such a desideratum being realised I have 

 but little hope. 



I have on former occasions expressed an opinion that the 



