﻿GEOLOGY. 
  237 
  

  

  Lignite, 
  or 
  wood 
  coal, 
  partially 
  carbonized, 
  belongs 
  to 
  

   the 
  tertiary 
  strata 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  considered 
  by 
  some 
  as 
  an 
  im- 
  

   perfect 
  coal, 
  not 
  yet 
  mineralized 
  ; 
  whilst 
  others 
  doubt 
  

   whether 
  it 
  ever 
  becomes 
  true 
  coal. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  several 
  kinds, 
  variously 
  known 
  as 
  Bovey 
  

   Coal, 
  Erdkohle, 
  Moor 
  Coal, 
  &c. 
  ; 
  these 
  generally 
  burn 
  

   with 
  a 
  flame, 
  but 
  neither 
  swell 
  nor 
  cake 
  like 
  the 
  true 
  

   coal. 
  

  

  The 
  foregoing 
  is 
  the 
  language 
  of 
  different 
  writers 
  on 
  

   geology. 
  

  

  With 
  this 
  knowledge, 
  and 
  a 
  recurrence 
  to 
  the 
  expla- 
  

   natory 
  remarks 
  which 
  introduced 
  this 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  

   present 
  report, 
  and 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  geological 
  section 
  

   (Plate 
  IX.), 
  an 
  inference 
  maybe 
  drawn 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  proba- 
  

   bility 
  of 
  discovering 
  this 
  mineral 
  in 
  the 
  State, 
  and 
  as 
  to 
  

   its 
  character 
  and 
  quality 
  if 
  found. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  reconnoisance 
  that 
  has 
  so 
  far 
  been 
  made. 
  Lig- 
  

   nite 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  many 
  situations, 
  and 
  satisfac- 
  

   torily 
  ascertained 
  to 
  exist 
  in 
  others 
  ; 
  but 
  as 
  yet 
  with 
  

   no 
  results 
  as 
  to 
  character 
  or 
  position 
  contradicting 
  or 
  

   impairing 
  the 
  evidences 
  of 
  geological 
  research 
  or 
  of 
  past 
  

   experience. 
  I 
  am 
  aware 
  that 
  dilBferent 
  expectations 
  

   have 
  been 
  entertained, 
  and 
  it 
  would 
  assuredly 
  be 
  very 
  

   agreeable 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  have 
  it 
  in 
  my 
  power 
  to 
  announce 
  a 
  

   different 
  conclusion. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  considerable 
  deposit 
  of 
  lignite, 
  by 
  far, 
  which 
  

   has 
  come 
  under 
  my 
  observation, 
  is 
  that 
  at 
  Vicksburg. 
  

   This 
  I 
  had 
  a 
  favorable 
  opportunity 
  of 
  examining 
  on 
  the 
  

   10th 
  of 
  October, 
  1852, 
  owing 
  to 
  an 
  unusually 
  low 
  stage 
  

   of 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  it 
  being 
  rarely 
  exposed 
  to 
  

   view. 
  

  

  On 
  that 
  occasion, 
  I 
  measured 
  five 
  hundred 
  yards 
  on 
  

   its 
  surface, 
  along 
  the 
  margin 
  of 
  the 
  river, 
  and 
  obtained 
  

  

  