282 THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 



gave expression to views held in 18GG. Then came the Geologi- 

 cal Survey of Sir W. E. Logan, and in 1876 under the direction 

 of Sir W. Dawson, a borehole 734 feet deep was put down at 

 Sutherland's Point below New Glasgow^ on the East river, 

 through rocks overlying the conglomerate. This borehole, it is 

 understood, told nothing more than the section exposed on the 

 river's bank. 



From a practical point of vievv all data bearing on the possible 

 extent of the field is of value, and it is worth while to review 

 the facts so far made known which may appear to justify a con- 

 clusion being formed either that the field is i art of a deposit 

 originally but little larger than the one w^e know, or it is only a 

 fragment of one of vast extent. In the latter case the question 

 may be asked, can reasonable hopes be entertained of workable 

 coal being found in any other part of Pictou county. Now the 

 facts connected wnth this enquiry are these : The known work- 

 able seams are in all cases conformably underlaid by Millstone 

 Grit beds. They are not found to remain uniform for any 

 great distance and especially is this noticeable in the 

 neighbourhood of the older rocks that form the hills of 

 to-day ; within the short distance even of a mile some of 

 the seams change very decidedly in character, composition 

 and thickness, and so do their associate beds of sandstone 

 and shale. Mr. H. Poole in his exploration map of 1852 shows a 

 line to represent where the sandstone comes in to the westward 

 of the Albion Mines, and begins to replace some of the black shales 

 which in a continuous series for 1000 feet are alone found to 

 overlie the main seam where it is worked near the East river. 

 When these sandstones were first met with in the Colin pits it 

 was feared a fault separated the two localities and cut ofY the 

 coals, so further sinking of these pits was suspended. This view 

 seemed to be confirmed by the dip of the sandstones varj'ing 

 somewhat from that of the black shales. Numerous trial pits 

 were then put down, those along the crops of the seams found 

 them, how^ever, to be continuous into the district where the sand- 

 stone almost entirely replaces the black shales. Now the special , 



