VIl] BOGHEAD. 17^ 



August 4th, 1853. A lease had been granted by Mr and 

 Mrs Gillespie, of Torbanehill, in Fifeshire, to Messrs James 

 Russell and Son, coal-masters of Falkirk, of "the whole coaU 

 ironstone, iron-ore, limestone and fire-clay (but not to com- 

 prehend copper, or any other minerals whatsoever, except those 

 specified) with lands of Torbanehill \" After the Boghead had 

 been worked for two years the Gillespies challenged the right of 

 Messrs Russell, and argued that the valuable mineral Torbanite 

 was not included among the substances named in the agreement. 

 The defendants maintained that it was a coal, known a& 

 gas-, cannel- or parrot-coal. A verdict was given for the de- 

 fendants. Some of the scientific experts who gave evidence 

 at the trial considered that the Boghead afforded indications of 

 organic structure, while others regarded it as essentially mineral 

 in origin. 



The Torbanite or Boghead is a close-grained brown rock, of 

 peculiar toughness and having a subconchoidal fracture. It 

 contains about 657o carbon, with some hydrogen, oxygen^ 

 sulphur, and mineral substances. A thin section examined 

 under the microscope presents the appearance of a dark and 

 amorphous matrix, containing numerous oval, spherical and 

 irregularly shaped bright orange-yellow patches. Fig. 36, 1 

 shows the manner of occurrence of the yellow bodies in a piece 

 of Scotch Boghead, as seen in a slightly magnified horizontal 

 section. Under a higher power the light patches in the figure 

 reveal traces of a faint radial striation, which in some cases 

 suggests the occurrence of a number of oval or polygonal cells. 



The Autun Boghead possesses practically the same structure. 

 The yellow bodies are often sufficiently abundant to impart a 

 bright yellow colour to a thin section. If the section is 

 vertical the coloured bodies are seen to be arranged in more or 

 less regular layers parallel to the plane of bedding. 



The Kerosene shale of New South Wales agrees closely 

 with the Scotch and French Boghead; it is approximately of 

 the same geological age, and is largely made up of orange or 

 yellow bodies similar to those of the European Boghead, but 

 much more clearly preserved. 



1 Report of the Trial (62). 



12—2 



