302 Belmont Anthracite Mines, &é. 
The Legislature of Pennsylvania, at the last session, granted 
corporate privileges to a company for making a rail-road 
from these mines to the Susquehannah. This company have 
the power to hold and work coal lands. It is contemplated 
to extend this rail-road down the Laeckawana creek to its 
mouth, nine miles above Wilkesbarre. 
The coal valley averages, perhaps, three miles in width. 
From its termination to the southern extremit 
region anthracite is found. The beds are of various depths, 
but will average perhaps fifteen feet in thickness. 
, In removing the shale and micaceous sand-stone, in order 
to uncover a vein of coal, a nodular clay iron stone was dis- 
‘covered in small beds interspersed among the shale. The 
nodules were of different sizes, from that of one’s fist to that 
of thirty pounds weight. Mr. Meredith says that he discov~ 
ered a bed of this iron ore about two feet in diameter in the 
midst of the shale. The nodules at the circumference and 
at the centre appeared to be in concentric layers and took 
the shape of the bed. The interstices, particularly toward 
the centre, were filled with ochre. specimen of the ore 
and of the ochre was presented to Prof. N oyes, who thought 
it would make excellent paint. 
The nodules in this ochre were of all sizes—in some in- 
Stances very small. They had not the hardness of stones, 
but consisted of a shell, inclosing a dark blueish substance, 
sometimes of the consistence of paint, always so soft as to be 
cut with a knife, 
called it shell-iron ore, and declared it to be of superior 
wality for making bar-iron and for castings. They gave 
‘tieate to thisefiect, and said that three tons of ore would 
iron. 
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