DISTRICT OF mCIIMOND. 397 



supply fuel of an inferior dcsci-iption for use in tlie neighbouring 

 country. In the deeper parts of the bed, the coal is probably harder 

 and of much better appearance than at the outcrop, but in its mixture 

 with shale and high percentage of ash no material improvement can 

 be expected. It will also be found to contain a large proportion of 

 the bi-sulphuret of iron, much of which has been removed from the 

 outcrop by weathering. 



The other strata seen in the vicinity of the coal are gray shales 

 and hard sandstones, with a small seam of bituminous shale. No 

 other bed of coal appears in the vicinity, though, as the coast section 

 for about half a mile on cither side shows little except boulder-clay, 

 it cannot be affirmed that others are not present. If other beds occur, 

 they can be found only by expensive works of discovery, unless acci- 

 dentally uncovered by excavations made for other purposes. Since 

 the above description was written, these beds have been farther ex- 

 plored, and a bed of coal four feet thick is stated to have been found, 

 but the working of this bed has not been prosecuted.* 



Coal also appears at Little River, a small stream emptying a little 

 to the eastward of Carribou Cove. At the mouth of this stream there 

 is a bed of gypsum. The coal occurs two and a half miles inland. 

 Here, as at Carribou Cove, the measures are vertical, the strike or 

 direction of the beds being N. 40° W. Two beds are seen at this place, 

 one four feet in thickness, the other ten inches thick. They are sepa- 

 rated by five feet of shale. Above the place where they cross the river 

 I observed in the bed of the stream fragments of coal and bituminous 

 shale, which have probably been washed from the outcrop of a third bed. 



The coal of the principal bed is hard, and very little injured by 

 exposure. Its fracture is uneven and crystalline, with glistening 

 surfaces; and its texture is very uniform, the lamination or "reed" 

 being rather indistinct, and almost free from dull coal or mineral 

 charcoal. Its specific gravity is 1"38. When burned in a stove or 

 grate, it ignites readily, fuses, swells, and cakes, giving a strong flame 

 and a lasting fire. It leaves a rather large quantity of broAvnish ash. 

 In a smith's forge it works well, its behaviour being similar to that 

 of Pictou coal. On analysis, it is found to contain, — 



Volatile matter . . 30*25 

 Fixed carbon . . . 56"40 

 Ash .... 13-35 



100- 



* Rutherford's Report. 



