28 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
Fresh hay. Darkened hay. 
Carbon: : 207006 ABSENCE AO 51.61 
Hydrogen: oa 2st DBO ES Se ee ee 5.88 
Osyren er Sas AD AL th tots RARES 40.50 
Nitrogen: er 2 DOTE. ee pre | 2.01 
The increase in ash in the two samples may indicate the amount of 
loss and on this basis it may have been as high as 18 per cent distributed 
as follows:— 
CATDONE soe PEN ARE MEN UN a ee eee 6.63 
HVGrO LENS MUR RER PETER ORNE 1:51 
Oy eri EN AS ROC PU PRE ARR RS 9.29 
IB fcc) 0 WR RE ree oer AS 65 
18.08 
The form in which this loss occurred was probably gaseous. Of 
the ordinary combinations the following will satisfy the above propor- 
tions :— 
AATMRMOMLAG as, BEA es PEN INTER 0.79 
Cétbon one es nee EE A ery 11.01 
NÉS EST Ut SP LC 4.84 
M atere.T eis breed Bake Hates aeuce tek Lead RE 1.44 
18.08 
Although other combinations could be formed free hydrogen would 
be liberated. If free hydrogen or nitrogen were liberated these amounts 
would be slightly altered; but they no doubt represent in a general way 
the combinations that were formed. . 
In a bed of mixed vegetable material the softer parts, which gener- 
ally are lower in carbon, suffer both maceration and fermentation with a 
consequent increase in their carbon content, while the harder parts de- 
compose more slowly; hence a uniform percentage of carbon is soon 
attained in the mass. Coals of a uniform bright fracture are evidently 
from homogeneous soft material in which the maceration was complete 
before entombment. In the bright coals frequently are found beds in 
which the ash is very low. In these cases it may be that the jelly mass 
had been derived by settlement in basins from the drainage of swamps 
or bogs, the transporting waters carrying the ash particles but short 
distances compared with the distance to which the gelosic material 
could be transported. 

