334 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[November, 



The Chinese glance coal forms a remarkable exception to the unfavour- 

 able conclusion prevailing against Orienial coal ; and, accorJins to more 

 recent authority than those vtr before cited, deserves to rank at llio head of 

 the list, in respect of its purity as a coke ; aliliough, in specilic gravity, it 

 does not come up to the cliaracter of tlie Fenns^lvania or V'elsh fuel; 

 neither has it the spongy texture «hiuh contributes much to the glowing 

 combustion of the lalier. 



So late as IS-IO, a Russian officer has described the coal formations of 

 the interior, as occupying the western mountain range of China, in such 

 abundance tliat a space of half a league cannot be traversed without meet- 

 ing wilh such strata. The art of raining is yet in its infancy among the 

 Cliinese; notwitlistanding which, coal is thought to be at a moderate price 

 in the capital. Anthracite occurs iu t!ie western range of mountains at 

 about a day's journey, or about 30 miles only from Pekin. The coal for- 

 mation is largely developed, in which thick beds of coal occur. Tliey ap- 

 pear to be of various qualities. Some of this coal occurring in shale beds, 

 is singularly decompc^eil, and its particles have so little cohesion, that 

 they are almost reduced to a slate of powder. Beneath these coal shales 

 are beds of ferruginous sand stone, and below those occur another series, 

 consisting of much richer seams of coal than the upper group. 



In this range are seen also both horizontal and vertical beds of coDglo- 

 merale, accompanied by scams of coal, which have ihe conglomerate for 

 the roof, and diorite or greenstone for the floor. As might be expected, 

 this coal very much resembles aoihracite. It is shining, of compact tex- 

 ture, didicult to ignite, does not flame in burning, or give out any smoke. 

 Its suiistance is entirely homogeneous. Every thing respecting it leads to 

 Ihe belief tliat there had been a great development of iieat at the period of 

 its formation, or subsequently. The horizontal coal beds are the most im- 

 portant and vnluable, and are denominated large ; but no greater lliickness 

 than three and a half feet is quoted. Tlie blacksniithsaud those who work 

 in copper, prefer this coal, on account of the intense heat which it gives 

 out. 



Throughout the whole of this mountain range may be continually seen 

 the outcrops of this combustible, where they have never, as yet, been 

 touched by the hand of man. 



In those parts of China where wood is very dear, coal is worked on a 

 great scale for the Pekin market ; but the process of mining is very little 

 understood by those people, who excel in the preparation of uliarcod. 



We possess evidence, tliat extending over large areas in China, are beds 

 of tertiary or brown coal, of cannel coal, a dozen varieties of biluuiinous 

 coal, of anthracite, glance coal, and graphitic anthracite ; all of which, for 

 ages, iiave been in common use in this remarkable country, and have been 

 there employed for every domestic pui'pose known to civilized nations of 

 all times, including gas lighting, and the manufacture of iron, copper, and 

 ulber metals. 



Mode of mining Coal in China. 



It might be expected that in China, where most of the practical arts 

 have, from time immemorial, been carried on with all the perseverance of 

 that industrious people, the operations of mining coal would he conducted 

 with some regard to science, in relation to sinking, drai[iing, and extraction. 

 M'e liave, however, good authority, especially in regard to the environs of 

 Pekin, for stating that the process is still in a very imperfect state. Ma- 

 chinery there to lighten labour is unknown. They have not even an idea 

 of the pumps indispensable to draw off the water. If local circumstances 

 allow, they cut drainage galleries ; if not, they abandon tlie work when- 

 ever the inundation has gained too far upon them. The mattock and 

 shovel, the pick and the hammer, are the mining instruments — the only 

 ones, iu fact, which the Chinese employ in working the coal. The water 

 of the mine is emptied by the slow process of tilling small casks, which are 

 brought up to the surface by manual labour. Vertical shafts are not used. 

 In working horizontal coal seams, the timber is expensive, and the mate- 

 rials cost about 2 copecs per pond, =: 8 dollars 50 cents per ton, English 

 wood being sold by weight in China. 



The coal, when mined, is put into baskets, and drawn upon sledges, 

 ■which are raised to the surface by manual strenglh. Kach basket contains 

 about three pouds of coal, and one man can raise about eight baskets in a 

 day. This is equivalent to 1032 Russian pounds, or to 12 cwt. English, 

 per day. The miners' wages are at the rate of 30 copecs a basket ; which 

 is equal to 240 copecs (copper currency), or 46 cents of Uuited States cur- 

 rency, per day ; being 76 cents U. S. per Ion. 



Prices iit Pekin. — At the pit's mouth, this coal is sold for 60 copecs per 

 poud,=4 dollars C3 cents per ton of 20 cwt. It is then conveyed on the 

 backs of mules through the mountains, and thence on camels to Pekin, 

 where the price is I J rouble, =] J francs, =29 cents United Slates per poud ; 

 which, if our calculation be correct, is equal to II dollars CO cents United 

 States, or 21. 8s. 3d. per ton of 2240 pounds English. We perceive, there- 

 fore, that the best of fuel is expensive at Pekin, and hence the necessity 

 for resorting to the artilicial compounds and substitutes to which we briefly 

 alluded. 



There is, however, a kind of coal sold in that city at a much lower price, 

 particularly when it is mixed with one-half of coal dust. This coal, in 

 1840. sold for one rouble per poud, which is at ihe rate of 7 dollars 75 cents 

 equal 1/. 12s. 3d. per ton. It is of indifferent quality, however ; giving 

 out but little beat, and is quickly cuasiiuied. 



Coal Gus Lighting in China. 



Whether, or to what extent, the Chinese artificially produce illuminating 

 gas from bitumiDous coal, we are uDcertaiu. But it is a fact, that sponta- 



neous jets of gas, derived from boring into coal beds, have for centuries 

 been burning, and turned to that and other economical purposes. If the 

 Chinese are not manufacturers, they are, nevertheless, gas consumers and 

 employers, on a large scale ; and have evidently been so, ages before the 

 knowledge of its application was acquired by Europeans. Beds of coal 

 are frequently pierced by the borers for salt water; and the intlamniable 

 gas is forced up in jels, twenty or thirty feet in heiglit. From these foun- 

 tains the vapour has been conveyed to the salt works in pipes, and there 

 used for the boiling and evaporation of the salt: other tubes convey the 

 gas intended for lighting the streets and the larger apartmentsand kitchens. 

 As there is still more gas than is required, the excess is conducted beyond 

 the limits of the saltworks, and there forms separate chimneys or columns 

 of flame. 



One cannot but be struck with the singular counterpart to this employ- 

 ment of natural gas, which may be daily wiiuessed in the Valley of the 

 Kanawha, in Virginia. Tne geological origin ; the means of supply ; the 

 a]<plication lo all the processes of manufacturing salt, and of the appro- 

 priation of Ihe surplus for tiie purposes of illumination, are remarkably 

 alike, at such distant points as China and the United Stales. Those who 

 have read, even wilhiu the present mouth, the account of the recent extra- 

 ordinary additional supply of gas, and tlie services it is made to perform 

 at the Kanawha saltworks, must be impressed with the coincidence of all the 

 circumstances with those which are very briefly stated in the previous 

 paragraph, in relation to China. In fact, the parallel is complete. 



To the coals and combustible minerals of China, I cannot further advert 

 here. But wliat a conviction irresistilily presses upon the mind, as to the 

 incalculable uiility of the Ruilvoad system, and coal mining improveineals 

 in such an empire! If ever there were concentrated at one point all the 

 circuroslances especially and unequivocally favourable to that system, and 

 imperiously calling for improvements of the character suggested, it seems 

 to be presented in the ease of the ciiy of Pekin. Here, with its enormous 

 population of 1,500,000 souls, it is situated only at a day's journey — com- 

 puted at thirty miles — from an immense region of coal, comprising several 

 varieties. Yet its inhabitants cannot purchase the best qualities of this 

 coal, brought from the mountains on the backs of mules and camels, under 

 11 dollars CO cents per ton, and the very worst for less than 7 dollars 75 

 cents per ton. 



Borneo, " the largest island in the world," which is only twenty degrees 

 due south of Canion, has lately come into repute for the great quantity of 

 coal which it contains, not only accessible to ships along the coast, but ex- 

 tensively occurring in the mountains of tlie interior. Much iufurmatioa 

 has also been acquired from the natives; and the facts which are already 

 elicited are regarded as of considerable importance, in respect to the facili- 

 tating the steam navigation of the China seas. 



[NoTK. — The prices and admeasurements, which are quoted in the fore- 

 going article, were reduced to the United Slates and English currencies 

 and measures, from the Russian, as furnished by the Engineer Kovanko ; 

 who, in like manner, converted them into the Russian from the Chinese 

 standards. In consequence of this triple conversion of standards, addi- 

 tional care has been taken to avoid error iu these calculations.] 



TIDAL HARBOURS' COMMISSION. 



Analysis of the Evidence. 

 Improvement of Thames Navigation. 

 Evidence of J. Walker, C.£.— The Report on the Thames of 1842 stales 

 that Barking Shelf is the worst iu the river, and might be removed without 

 difficulty ; it is to be deplored that so important a measure as the removal 

 of the shoals in the ri\er should, for the want of 60,000;.. be left un- 

 touched. The Report in 1843 enumerates 14 shoal places in the river, and 

 that all might be removed, and witness has had no reason to alter his 

 opinion, and contemplates an nuiforni depth of 12 feet allow water springs 

 from London Bridge to Ciravesend ; dredging may be done at from 9d. to 

 Is. a cubic yard. Is of opinion that there should be one superintending 

 power over all harbours to control all operations where navigation is con- 

 cerned. Considers that local trustees, with proper professional advice, are 

 the most likely persons to be vigilant conservators of their rivers ; a general 

 surveillance would be uuobjectionable on public grounds. Is of opinion 

 that there ought to be a plan of every harbour in the United Kingdom, but 

 would not interfere with the present efficient system of the hydrographer, 

 iu having each port surveyed. There should lie eflicient conservancy over 

 the harbours, but it will require great caution as to the party entrusted 

 with the exercise of that power. Has reported that the eiubaukiuents at 

 Southwold Harbour are an evil, but it must not be supposed that in all 

 cases Ihe embanking of land is an evil. The Tliaines, lor instance, was 

 once six times its present width, and many thousand acres of marsh land 

 have been taken from it with advantage, reserving always an adequate 

 breadth for a channel. The evil in Southwold Harbour arises from the 

 tidal estuary having been diminished, so as no longer to contain backwater 

 to scour the harbour. No reason to suppose that the shoals at the moutfi 

 of the Thames have increased, or that they v,'M increase. If the Penryn 

 Dock were made, does not apprehend any dangerof silting up in Falmouth 

 Harbour. It would be advisable to call upon the parties to give security 

 for the completion of the works, or for their removal. The balance is iu 



