29 



another, 1,000 square miles or 640,000 acres ; another, 1,045 square miles or 

 668,800 acres ; another, 1,093| square miles or 700,000 acres; another, 1,200 

 square miles or 768,000 acres. Therefore we may fairly take 937J square 

 miles or 600,000 acres to represent the area of the field, and the quantity of 

 unworked coal, as published by the Eoyal Coal Commissioners was in January, 

 1871, 36,566,195,917 tons. 



The coals at the eastern end of the basin are chiefly bitiuninous and make . 

 a very superior coke, and continuing so to Khymney, between which and 

 Dowlais a slight change takes place, becoming free burning, and this becomes 

 greater at Cyfarthfa, where the anthracitic appearances begin to be fairly 

 developed as pointed out by the late Mr. David Mushet. This same quality 

 continues through the Hirwaun Common, the head of the Neath Valley, across 

 to Ynyscedwin in the Swansea Valley, the Twrch Valley, and thence to 

 Mynydd Mawr and the Gwendraeth. At the two latter places perhaps the 

 purest quality, anthracite (Kilgetty in Pembrokeshire excepted) is now being 

 worked for hop and malt drying, distillery purposes, &c. 



The position of the well known steam coals of Merthyr, Aberdare, and 

 Ehondda will be observed on referring to the names of the places on a map of 

 the district, and the relative position of the seams on the section. 



The Llynfi Valley, all the South crop, and westwards to Caermarthen Bay, 

 may be considered as more or less bituminous and free burning, and Pem- 

 brokeshire as anthracitic. 



The argillaceous ironstones are very abundant and good, and are inter- 

 stratified with the coal measiires, the aggregate thickness varying from 60 to 

 70 inches and upwards, and until about thirty years ago comparatively no 

 other iron ore was used in making foundry pig and bars and rails, equal per- 

 haps to any in the world. 



On the 22nd of March, 1828, permission was granted by the Earl of Ply- 

 mouth's agent, Mr. Maughan, of Burnt Green House, near Birmingham, to 

 Mr. Robert Thomas, of Waun Wyllt, near Merthyr Tydvil, to open a sale 

 coal colliery on Waun Wyllt property. 



The terms of the grant are thus expressed : — " To be limited to a sale col- 

 liery, without power to sell to any of the ironmasters, and not to interfere with 

 w orks which may be erected for the smelting of the Earl of Plymouth's iron 

 mines in that quarter." This is the coUieiy from which a fine specimen of 

 Sigillaria came, which is now the property of the Baron Windsor, and was lent 

 to the Cardiff Exhibition, 1870. 



In 1836 the steam coal collieries were commenced in the Aberdare Valley by 

 the Messrs. Wayne, and the quantity limited by the buyers Messrs. Edmund 

 Wood and Co., of London, to two boat-loads or 44 tons per day, yet the 

 demand gradually and ultimately rapidly increased ; this, with the greatly in- 

 creased make of iron, caused coUiers' and ironworkers' wages to be raised in a 

 greater ratio than the iron-stone getters, and from the time we first have a 

 statement given in that valuable work, " Mr. Robert Hunt's Mineral Sta- 



