276 Note on the Coals of the Kanawha Valley. 



to the freedom from sulphur, this coal is destined to become 

 of very great economical importance. Experiments have 

 been made with it in the iron furnaces of southeastern Ohio, 

 and in each case it has proved to be of the best quality. 

 Owing to the uncertain outlet afforded b}' the Kanawha 

 river, little has been done with this coal, but, now that the 

 Chesapeake and Ohio Eailroad has been completed, the 

 operators in the Kanawha Valley will be able to forward a 

 steady supply, so that its introduction into southeastern Ohio 

 for use in iron smelting is a matter of comparatively short 

 time. 



No. 7 is variable in thickness and contains more bitu- 

 minous coal than the preceding. It is of excellent quality 

 but is too brittle to bear transportation. The larger pro- 

 portion of bituminous matter led to the belief that it could 

 be coked, but experiments in this direction have not been 

 successful. 



The clay parting, No. 6, is of uncertain thickness. At 

 the mines of the Kanawha and Ohio Company, it is seldom 

 more than four inches, but followed westward it rapidly 

 increases, so that at the western boundary of the company's 

 property it is two feet. A similar increase, though by no 

 means so great, is observable in the upper parting, so that, as 

 far as one may judge with the imperfect exposures presented, 

 there is much reason to believe that the thin coals at 

 Kanawha Salines, occupying the position of this bed, are 

 nothing other than its subordinate coals, 3, 5 and 7, sepa- 

 rated by the partings, 4 and 6, greatly increased in thick- 

 ness. 



About forty feet below this coal is found a seam of cannel, 

 nearly three feet thick, well exposed at Cannelton, Paint 

 creek and on both sides of the river at Coalburg. It is of 

 good quality and will probably prove of much value. 



Five hundred and fifty feet below the "Stockton" coal at 

 Cannelton, there is a bed of bituminous coal nearly seven 

 feet thick and known as the "Gas coal." This is seen at 



