COAL 



1443 



COAL 



pounds of hydrogen and carbon with a few 

 other substances, and their presence in varying 

 proportions gives us the different varieties of 

 coal. 



Varieties. Three general varieties of coal 

 are recognized in commerce. The classification 

 is founded on the degree of hardness, and the 

 varieties are anthracite, bituminous and lignite. 

 Each variety may be subdivided into several 

 sub-varieties, each named for some distinguish- 

 ing quality or from the locality where it is 

 mined, as Indiana Black, Lehigh Valley and 

 Pocahontas. 



Anthracite. Anthracite is the hardest and 

 best variety. It is often called stone coal, be- 

 cause it is so hard and is supposed to have been 

 the first coal formed, since it occurs deep in 

 the earth. It was probably subjected to greater 

 heat than bituminous coal, since it is almost 

 pure carbon. The most extensive anthracite 

 mines are in Eastern Pennsylvania. The veins 

 do not lie as they were formed, for they have 

 been moved by mighty convulsions of the 

 earth; some are near the surface, while others 

 are found at great depths. Anthracite burns 

 with little or no flame and without smoke, and 

 produces intense heat. Its chief uses are for 

 warming dwellings and for manufacturing of 

 water-gas. 



Bituminous Coal. Bituminous coal is much 

 softer than anthracite, and contains much more 

 matter that is readily vaporized. It burns with 

 more or less flame and a dense black smoke, 

 the latter caused by the escape of unburned 

 carbon into the air. In many large cities this 

 smoke has become so annoying that ordinances 

 have been passed requiring the use in chim- 

 neys of such devices as will prevent the 

 nuisance. 



Bituminous coal is widely distributed in the 

 United States and Canada and in nearly all 

 other countries. The great coal fields of West- 

 ern Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana 

 and Illinois all contain it. Canada's largest 

 coal areas are in Alberta; its next largest fields 

 are in Saskatchewan. Bituminous coal from 

 different fields varies in composition. That 

 from one region, as Illinois, is especially suited 

 to one purpose, like the production of steam; 

 that from Wrsf Virginia is especially valuable 

 for coke, and so on. Hence we find the names 

 steam coal, gas coal and coke coal applied to 

 these coals of different composition. Some 

 of the best grades of bituminous coal approach 

 anthracite in hardness and are known as semi- 

 bituminous. 



Cannel Coal. This is a variety of bituminous 

 coal which is very compact. It burns like a 

 candle from one end of the lump to the other, 

 hence its name, cannel being corrupted from 

 candle. Very hard pieces take a good polish, 

 and they are sometimes used for ornaments. 

 Cannel coal is highly prized for burning in 

 open grates, but it is scarce and consequently 

 expensive. 



Lignite. Lignite is of a brown color, soft and 

 brittle. It is the most recently-formed coal, 

 and contains more or less earthy matter. It 

 often shows a woody structure, and sometimes 

 branches or twigs are found in it in the form 

 in which they grew. Lignite occurs west of the 

 Mississippi River, where it is mined in North 

 Dakota, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado 

 and New Mexico. The scarcity of other fuel 

 in these localities makes it of considerable 

 value for warming dwellings. It is not, how- 

 ever, well suited for use in steam boilers or 

 for other manufacturing purposes, because of 

 impurities present which prevent it from pro- 

 ducing so intense a heat as anthracite or 

 bituminous coal. 



Distribution. Coal is found in all the conti- 

 nents, but the largest areas are in North 

 America and Asia. The fields in Asia, however, 

 are only slightly developed, and the United 

 States, the United Kingdom and Germany pro- 



United States 

 528 



*.* 



Great Britain 

 30^ 



Germany 

 278 



Austria- Hungary France 

 56 **** 



Russia Belgium Japan India China 

 3a 25 21 16 16 



Figures Represent Canada 13 



Millions of Short Tons 



WORLD'S COAL PRODUCTION 



The figures represent for each country an 

 average of five years' production. 



duce as yet over eighty per cent of all the coal 

 used in the world. The following table gives 

 the estimated area of the coal fields of the 

 world so far as they have been located, and the 

 chart above shows the annual production. 



