10 



ReplyinfjT to a question by the President, Mr. 

 Burr stated that the thickest seam yet proved in 

 tlii; Kent borings was five feet two inches 

 throu<,jh, and lay at a depth of 2..'1(X) feet. In 

 Belgium coal seams only two feet thick were 

 wttrked at a depth of four thousand feet. Obviously 

 therefore, it would pay to work the Kent seam. In 

 one of the operations of the Company with which 

 he was connected, they were having some difficulty 

 with water — at Snowdown, whereat a depth of ;i(_«) 

 feet in the chalk a large feeder burst in and the 

 water rose so nipidly that one of the excavators 

 was drowned. They had made no progress with 

 that shaft; since. A trial rim had been made 

 with two pumps ; they pumped about im>,000 

 gallons of water an hour, and only lowered the 

 head of water about one yard a day. The 

 difficulty wa^ that they had no water-course near 

 to take the water pumped out of the pit, and that 

 if they went on they would flood Nonington 

 village and the cricket pitch, which, of course, 

 was out of the question (laughter). In some 

 Durham mines thry had to pump seven and a 

 half million gall<ins a day to keep the water down. 

 Very little water had l>een met with at Tilman- 

 stone. It was purely a matter of ill-luck to strike 

 a big fissure like that at Snowdown. Nowhere 

 *?l6e bad the water been serious. 



The President remarked that the question of 

 water supply to the coast towns was an all 

 absorbing one. Margate had been compelled to 

 go twelve miles for a water supply and to sink 

 wells near Wingham and other towns were 

 anxious on the subject. It was, therefore, im- 

 portant to know what amount of water was 

 avaihible. 



Mr. BiuT said the Company would be only too 

 glad if someone would take their M-ater (laughter), 

 it would be necessary to line the pit with a water- 

 proof lining in order to keep the water out of 

 the mine. The supply of water obtainable in the 

 chalk was absolutely inexhaustible. 



The President, in thanking Mr. Burr for his 

 lecture, expressed the hope that he would en- 

 lighten them still further as his experience 

 i ncreased ( hear. In -ar ) . He wished to propose 

 that Mr. Burr should be made a member of their 

 Society. 



Mr. Lander seconded, and the proposition was 

 unanimously adopted. 



Mr. Gardner: Can you tell us how soon we are 

 likely to get coal :•' 



Mr. Burr (smiling) : I am an engineer and do 

 nt.»t jjrophesy. I may Siiy that it will be sooner 

 than you expect. 



VISIT TO GUILFORD COLLIERY. 



At the kind invitation of Mr. Malcolm Burr, 

 B.A., F.G.S., etc.. Resident Engineer to the Kent 

 Coal Concessions, Ltd., nearly sixty niembei-s and 

 friends of the East Kent, Dover, and Folkestone 

 Scientific Societies visited the collieries on Thms- 

 day. June IS. The party from Canterbury joined 

 the others at Kearsney Station, and proceeded in 

 four large brakes to Guilford Colliery, where 

 they were met by the n)an.ager (Mr. Austin) who 

 condiictf d the party ill! over the extensive works, 

 a number of the more venturesome members, in- 

 cluding one courageous lady, going down the shaft 

 in the cage and exploring the underground work- 

 ings. The fossils and specimens in the museum 

 were examined with gi-eat interest, and the splen- 

 did engines and winding machinery fairly 

 astonished most of those present. The brakes 

 were then requisitioned and the party pro- 



ceeded to Tilmanstone Colliery, where the shaft 

 is already i)2:t feet deep, and the massive wood- 

 work and new winding apparatus is nearly ready 

 for resuming sinking in the new shaft. By the 

 kind hospitality of Mr. Burr and the Manager, tea 

 was provided and much enjoyed by the large 

 company i>reseut. Aftvr a very hearty vote of 

 thanks to Mr. Burr, Mr. Austin, and the Company 

 (moved by the President of the East Kent Society 

 and seconded by the President of the Dover 

 Society), the party started on the homeward 

 journey to the shrill music of the colliery whistle. 

 So ended one of the most interesting and enjoy- 

 able excursions of recent years, most of those 

 present hoping to be able to accept the kind invita- 

 tion of the Manager for another visit next year, 

 when the coal will, it is said, have been reached 

 and the collieries in full swing. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



In a wood cut down the year before last, ne.ar Charing, many plants sprung up, yielding a profu- 

 sion of flowers in the early part of this summer, as is usually the case. A gorgeous sight was 

 presented, the blending of colour being so lovely that I wished some of my friends could share it 

 with me. When July arrived the climax was passed, but the appearance of a large number of plants 

 ol Vesbasrum thajisus and lychnitis increased the interest. The livtter, in much greater abundance 

 than heretofore in this district, led to the expectation of finding hybi-ids. On the 15th of Jidy the 

 Rev. J. Taylor was induced to come up from Dover to see the sight. On this occasion I spotted a 

 large plant with branching inflorescence and yellow flowers, which proved on reaching it to be a fine 

 hybrid, of which three or four more were afterwards found. This led to some of the members of the 

 Dover Natural History Society coming up a few days afterwards, but it was the 21st of July before I 



