BURNING SPUING^. 101 



c<»Qjmunicating with the fire in the workmen's 

 shops, became ignited, and consumed every thing 

 in the vicinity. Large quantities of coal are 

 close hy. 



Hollinshed states in his Chronicles, that at the 

 time of a great earthquake in the reign of Henr}'!. 

 "" fii-e burst out of certain rifles of the earth in so 

 huge flames, that neither by water nor otherwise 

 could it be quenched." And Southey speaks of 

 sea-fires which rose from the sea, travelled into 

 the isterior, and consumed many towns. These 

 undoubtedly proceeded from large collections of 

 carbnretted hydrogen gas, extracted from the 

 bowels of the earth, and put in a state of ignition. 



As this gas is partly generated from carbon, 

 the principal constituent of coal, it is an almost 

 certain indication of a coal mine. I admit that 

 it is not an infallible one, and that it may be 

 extracted from other substances, but tlus can 

 rarely, if ever, occur in large quantities. The 

 actual existence of coal at Rocky Hill, and of 

 shale, the roof of coal mines, at Bristol, justify 

 beyond question the correctness of my conclu- 

 sions. 



Here then is an important developement, which, 

 in connexion with a preceding letter, shows satis- 

 factorily the existence of coal throughout this 

 region. Bituminous and sulphur springs confirm 



