430 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Our corresponding member, Mens. L. A. Huguet Latour, of Montreal, 

 from whom we have received almost all the valuable public works of Canada, 

 sends since our last meeting several more, among them an octavo volume 

 relative to the crown lands ; another octavo, relative to the roads of the 

 Canadas, by a special committee of the Legislature. 



Mr. Pell. — Our subject this evening is one of vast importance, from the 

 fact that we are naturally led to believe that coal is a substance inexhausti- 

 ble in the world. We are told that the United States contains 129,230 

 square miles of coal ; G-reat Britain, 11,850 ; Spain, 3,408 ; France, 1,719 ; 

 Belgium, 518 ; and that the actual annual product in 1852, in G-reat Brit- 

 ain, was 31,500,000 tons ; Belgium, 4,960,000 ; United States, 4,000,000, 

 and France, 4,140,000 tons. The opinion that these fields and others to 

 be discovered are inexhaustible, it appears to me rests altogether upon as- 

 sumed data, rather than upon accurate statistical accounts, upon which 

 alone it would be safe to warrant an opinion, entitled to respect. And I 

 assure you, that unless we can found our calculations upon a much firmer 

 basis, than we can now, this question will become one of serious concern. 

 You will all allow that there is nothing easier than to assume, that availa- 

 ble coal seams of great thickness extend over innumerable square leagues, 

 yet when we come seriously to contemplate the only data given as to found 

 these estimates upon, how perfectly unsatisfactory they are. We must not 

 take into consideration, the mere quantity of coal, but the extent, depth, 

 position, and thickness. Hundreds of inferior seams can only be worked 

 to repay the expense from nine to eighteen hundred feet, in conjunction 

 with those of superior quality. Inferior coal cannot be raised from such 

 depths unless its price is raised to that now asked for the best quality of 

 coal. The vital question to be considered is the additional expense and 

 increased difficulty of mining, and not the exhaustion of mines so much, 

 but the point at which they can be profitably worked ; this needs immediate 

 attention. If these inferior seams are not now worked in conjunction with 

 the richer seams, they will inevitably be lost. Much of our coal is anthra- 

 cite, and incapable of yielding more than a trace of oil ; it is different in 

 its properties from all others, and consists almost entirel}' of carbon, with 

 very little hydrogen, consequently it gives no flame nor smoke, neither 

 does it afford gas. You may almost term it mineral charcoal, it is not 

 unlike coke, which it resembles in its properties, but not in appearance. 

 It has a high shining lustre, but is smooth in its fracture, and is without 

 a doubt superior to the very best Newcastle. 



Cannel coal by means of super heated steam, may be made to yield a 

 beautiful oil, which has been successfully substituted for turpentine in 

 painting. This liquid is perfectly colorless, completely volatile, and very 

 fluid, is not altered in the least by exposure to the light, and leaves no stain 

 upon paper ; it has however a pungent smell, something like coal gas, 

 which, when evaporation takes place, disappears. Very many comparative 

 experiments have been made, with the view of comparing it with turpen- 

 tine, which have resulted in showing satisfactorily, that wood work, painted 



