270 COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OF AUSTRALIA. 



The washed coal passes to a Carr's disintegrator, to 

 which it is raised by a scraper elevator, the bottom of the 

 trough being made of perforated copper so that the coal 

 drains as it travels along. From the coal hopper,, which 

 holds enough for a day's work, the crushed coal is fed into 

 canisters that are drawn backwards and forwards over the 

 ovens by an endless rope, which is capable of being reversed. 

 The canisters have a special hook on one side at either end ; 

 a short chain is hooked on to the canister, and a clip at the 

 other end of the chain is fastened to the rope. When the 

 canister gets near the end of its trip the rope stops, but the 



Fig. 174. Irregularity of Surface, due to caving in of ground 

 between Pillars. 



inertia carries the canister further on, in consequence of 

 which the chain becomes automatically unhooked. There 

 are 70 ovens, mostly of the round beehive pattern, having a 

 capacity of 7 tons each. The coal is reduced in weight to one- 

 half when converted into coke. 



Maryland Colliery. 



This colliery, formerly owned by the Co-operative Com- 

 pany, is now in the hands of the Sneddon family, and is 

 managed by Mr. T). Sneddon. The old workings of about - r if) 



