6 



part of the nineteenth century this industry began to grow rapidly. In 

 1849 the number of blast furnaces using charcoal or coal, charcoal 

 forges, and rolling mills in Pennsylvania was 504. The estimated 

 amount of wood used in the form of charcoal in 1847 was nearly 

 1,500,000 cords for the whole State. Probably one-third of this was 

 consumed in western Pennsylvania. Great areas of even-aged forest 

 throughout the State testify to-day to the extent of clear cutting 

 during this period for the production of charcoal to supply the iron 

 industry. 



In 1838 anthracite coal began to be used as fuel for the blast fur- 

 naces, and by 1855 had largely replaced charcoal. Anthracite in 

 turn was replaced, about 1875, by coke, a product made from bitumi- 

 nous coal. The development of the coke industry meant, however, a 

 larger demand upon the forest again, as coal mining increased. In 

 the Appalachian coal field the production of coal for all purposes rose 

 from 1,000,000 tons in 1847 to nearly 80,000,000 tons in 1900. This 

 represents an enormous drain on forest resources to furnish the sup- 

 ply of pit props, mine ties, and other materials necessary to mining 

 operations. 



Thus the forest of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania has been 

 reduced principally to isolated woodlots of small extent, the aggregate 

 amount of which grows less each year as the stands are cut for lumber 

 and mine props. Land thus cleared of its forest growth is usually put 

 under cultivation or into pasture, excepting steep ridges or the sharp 

 slopes bordering rivers; hence there is less and less productive forest 

 land. 



A description of the coal fields and the character and effect of the 

 mining industry reveals the necessity for forest extension in this 

 region. 



COAL MINING AND ITS EFFECTS. 



The most important bituminous coal region of the United States 

 is the Appalachian coal field. It extends from the northern bound- 

 ary of Pennsylvania southwestward, a distance of 800 miles, to 

 central Alabama. Near the northern end it is 180 miles wide, nar- 

 rowing southward to less than 20 miles in Tennessee and expanding 

 to about 80 miles in Alabama. 



The geologic structure of the Appalachian coal field is simple, and 

 consists of a canoe-shaped basin or trough. The deepest portion 

 lies along a line extending from Pittsburg, Pa., through West Vir- 

 ginia to Huntington, on the Ohio River. The rocks dip from either 

 side toward this line. At the northern end they outcrop in an 

 irregular semicircle, dipping toward the deepest part, which in 

 Pennsylvania lies in the southwestern portion of Greene County. 



a Report of committee on statistics Convention of Iron Masters of Pennsylvania, 1849. 



