TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 259 



soils of bottom lands also occupy but a small part of the county. The soil is 

 probably the most valuable mineral product of the county. With the proper 

 treatment it will grow all the products of the region. 



N. B. — Since the foregoing was written, the writer has had the privilege 

 of reading two papers which, with illustrations, were submitted to the Kan- 

 sas Academy of Science and is allowed to make excerpts therefrom. They 

 give definiteness to one or two points mentioned in the foregoing pages. 



Prof. E. B. Knerr, in describing the Atchison coal field, says: "The vein of 

 coal lies between two veins of brick shale or soapstone, as it is sometimes 

 called, the material from which the excellent Atchison vitrified brick is made, 

 and it is the purpose of the Donald firm (the coal company) to operate a brick 

 plant in connection with the coal industry. The vein of shale' over the coal is 

 25 feet thick." The coal measures 16 inches thick and its value, as indicated 

 by chemical analysis, is "on an equality with the best from any other part of 

 the state." The analysis is as follows: 



Ash 7.30 



Water 3.46 



Gas 36.84 



Coke 52.38 



99.98 



The coal is worked from the outcrop which is two miles south of the city, 

 and has been continuously worked since August, 1S93. The area that has 

 been excavated is 700 by 400 feet, which gives a total output of over 373,000 

 bushels, or about 15,000 tons. This is no mean addition to the resources of the 

 county. Prof. J. M. Price of Atchison has worked out the succession of the 

 formations in the neighborhood of the city completely, and so gives the coal 

 horizon its proper place. The geological succession is thus indicated by 

 Professor Price: 



Boulder drift from to 50 ft. 



Fusulina limestone, about 3 ft. 



Shale 10 ft. 



Limestone 4 ft. 



Shale 4 ft. 



Sandstone 6 to 8 ft. 



Brick shale 20 ft. 



Limestone 4 ft. 



Shale 20 ft. 



Limestone 8 in. 



Shale 4 ft. 



Cap limestone 20 ft. 



Slate (shale) 3 ft. 



Limestone, heavy jointed 1 ft. 9 in. 



Shale 12 ft. 



Limestone 10 ft. 



Shale 25 ft. 



COAL 1 ft. 4 in. 



Shale, to river level 30 ft. 



Total 231 ft. 



DONIPHAN COUNTY. 

 TOPOGRAPHY. 

 The third county in the state for "smaliness," Doniphan, has a remarkably 

 extensive river front. It has the same rolling loess topography as the other 

 river counties, and the same limestone and loess bluffs to the river. 



