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with bitumen ; and at about seven fathom occurs a stony stratum, 

 called, in that part of the country, cats-heads, from its containing 

 the substances so called. This vein is two feet in thickness, and 

 at about five fathom lower down is found, what is called the three- 

 coal vein, formed of three different sorts of coal ; a stony bed, be- 

 tween one and two feet in thickness, being between the first and se- 

 cond vein, but the second vein seems to lie on the third, with hardly 

 any parting between, being in the whole about three feet deep. 

 At eight or ten fathom beneath this is the peacock or peaw vein 

 of coal, the surface of which is marked with eyes, diversified with 

 colours like the eyes of the peacock's tail. The uppermost surface 

 of this coal is intermingled with fossil shells, and the vestiges of 

 fern. At about five or six fathoms beneath this vein, is the smith's 

 vein, so called from the use to which the coal is chiefly applied. A 

 little lower than this is what is termed the shelly vein, and about ten 

 inches lower than this is a vein too indifferent to be worked. 



At Whitehaven, at the depth of forty-two fathoms, the roof of 

 the coal is met with, being a black rock six inches thick, which 

 has been cleft into regular squares about six inches in diameter, 

 having an appearance similar to a piece of tesselated pavement. 

 From Whitehaven to below Thoresby are pits of coal of very con- 

 siderable depth. At Newcastle upon Tyne, there is a coal-pit, 

 which is an hundred and thirty fathoms in perpendicular depth, 

 and which is worked, at that depth, five miles horizontally, quite 

 across, beneath the Tyne, and under the opposite county of Dur- 

 ham. In Northumberland towards the more eastern parts, are 

 pits of coal at thirty fathoms depth. With respect to Cumber- 

 land^the whole county seems to be a mine of coal and of black 

 lead. 



At Newcastle upon Tyne, Staffordshire, and in some parts of 

 Scotland, the strata are chiefly composed of stones fit to be applied 

 to the purposes of building. In Yorkshire, throughout the whole 



