246 ^ The Upper Coal Measures 



Coal VIII of the second section was carefully traced with its 

 crinoidal limestone along its western and northern outcrop, 

 from^Salesville, in Guernsey Co., to the Ohio river at Steu- 

 benville. From Steubeuvillc it was easily followed down 

 the river to Belleair, where it was found to be identical with 

 Coal VIII of the first section. It is clear, then, that the coals 

 between VIII and IX have disappeared somewhere within 

 the dividing ridges of Belmont Co. One would expect to 

 find the successive disappearances along the Ohio, but the 

 coals become very thin above Belleair and the superficial 

 deposits are so thick that accurate tracing is impossible. 



It is well to note that wherever VIII c occurs, it has the 

 same relative position to Goal X that Coal VIII holds west 

 and north of the dividing ridges in Belmont Co., the interval 

 in each case being about one hundred feet. 



The gradual disappearance of the limestone below Coal IX 

 and the merging of that coal into Coal VIII are more easily 

 traced. In Section I on the Central Ohio railroad the lime- 

 stone is seventy feet ; at Barnesville the interval, including 

 the shales and upper layers of Coal VIII, is only forty-five 

 feet ; at New Egypt, considerably east of Barnesville, it is 

 seventy feet ; at Flushing, north from Egypt, it is thirty- 

 eight ; at Cadiz, northeast from Flushing, it is only twenty 

 feet, and diminishes rapidly to the northwest, being only 

 five feet at Hanover ; at York it is seven feet, including the 

 shales, overlying VIII ; while at Unionport and Knoxville 

 the limestone does not exist and Coal IX itself has disap- 

 peared. From a careful study of these facts I am led to be- 

 lieve that here we have a series of bifurcations of Coal VIII 

 almost as extensive and interesting as those said to occur in 

 the MammotJi bed of the anthracite region. It is worthy of 

 note in this connection that the distance between Coals VIII 

 and X gradually diminishes northward, from one hundred and 

 five feet on the Central Ohio railroad to eighty-five feet at 

 Unionport, and the interval between X and XI diminishes in 

 the same direction from one hundred feet on the railroad 



