208 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



and even more interesting. The steep declivities 

 are, however, surmounted by the aid of stationary 

 engines at the tops, whilst tne cars on the Mount 

 Washington road are accompanied by the unique 

 little locomotive, which lifts with its arms of iron 

 behind, and forces the train up the almost perpen- 

 dicular rock to a height of nearly seven thousand 

 feet. We can never cease to wonder at and admire 

 such triumphs of mechanical and engineering skill. 



A hunter named Ginter first discovered anthra- 

 cite coal in this region, eighty years ago ; but he 

 did not understand its nature, and it was called 

 " black stone,'.' and supposed to be as incombustible 

 as granite. The history of the early attempts to 

 burn anthracite are not only amusing but instruc- 

 tive, as they serve to show how mankind may be 

 baffled in attempts to reach an end as easy and 

 simple as building an anthracite coal fire. It re- 

 quired more than forty years to learn how to burn 

 this form of fuel ; and it is alleged that the dis- 

 covery was made accidentally after all. An ex- 

 perimenter in Philadelphia, after most persistent 

 efforts to ignite the black stones, gave up in de- 

 spair, and left his furnace filled with a mixture of 

 wood and coal, and went home to dinner. Fortu- 

 nately there were some sparks left upon the wood, 

 and more fortunate still, the furnace door was left 

 closed, with the draft open. This arrangement 



