346 PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY 



boilers, and in general for all purposes of heating and burning. 7 

 Russia possesses many very rich coalfields, amongst which the Donetz 

 district is most worthy of remark. 8 



During the imperfect combustion of volatile substances containing 



purposes (see Note 8). Besides coke, the dry distillation- of coal produces gas (see further, 

 illuminating gas, p. 861), coal-tar (which gives benzene, carbolic acid, naphthalene, tar 

 for artificial asphalt, &c.) and* also an aqueous alkaline liquor (with wood and lignites 

 the liquid is acid from acetic acid) which contains ammonium carbonate (see Note 6). 



7 In England in 1850 the output of coal was as much as 48 million tons, and in latter 

 years it has risen to about 190 millions. Besides this other countries contribute 300 

 millions Russia about 6 millions. The United States of America come next to England 

 with an output of 160 million tons, then Germany 90 millions ; France produces but 

 little (25 millions), and takes about 5 million tons from England. Thus the world con- 

 sumes about 500 million tons of coal yearly. Besides household purposes, coal is 

 chiefly used as fuel for steam-engines. As every horse-power ( = 75 kilogrammetres per 

 second) of a steam-engine expends on the average more than 25 kilograms in 24 hours, 

 or in* a year (counting stoppages) not less than 5 tons per horse-power, and there are not 

 less than 40 million horae-power at work in the world, the consumption of coal for 

 motive-power is at least equal' to half the whole production. For this reason coal 

 serves as a criterion of the industrial development of a country. About 15 p.c. of 

 coal is used for the manufacture of cast iron, wrought iron, steel, and articles made of 

 them. 



8 The principal coal beds of Russia under exploitation are : The Don basin (150 

 million poods per annum, 62 poods = 1 ton), the Polish basin (Dombrovo and others 

 120 million poods per annum), the Toula and Riazan beds of the Moscow basin (up to 

 25 million poods), the Ural basin (10 million poods), the Caucasian (Kviboul, near Kutais), 

 the Khirjhis steppes, the smithy coal basin (Gov. of Tomsk), the Sahaline, &c. The 

 Polish and Moscow basins do not give any coking coals. The presence of every variety 

 of coal (from the dry coal near Lisichansk on the Donetz to the anthracites of the 

 entire south-east basin), the great abundance of excellent metallurgical coal (coking, see 

 Note 6) in the western part of the basin, its vast extent (as much as 25,000 sq. versts), 

 the proximity of the seams to the surface (the shafts are now from 20 to 100 fathoms 

 deep, and in England and Belgium as deep as 500 fathoms), the fertility of the soil 

 (black earth), the proximity of the sfea (about 100 versts from the Sea of Azoff) and of 

 the rivers Donetz, Don, and Dneiper, the most abundant seams of excellent iron ore 

 (Korsan Mogila, Krivoy Rog, Soulin, &c., &c.), copper ore, mercury ore (near Nikitovka, 

 in the Bakhmouth district of the Ekaterinoslav Gov.), and other ores, the richest 

 probably in the whole world, the beds of rock-salt (near the stations of the Stoupka and 

 Brianzovka) the excellent clay of all kinds (china, fire-clay), gypsum, slate, sandstone, 

 and other wealth of the Don coal basin, give complete assurance of the fact that with 

 the growth of industrial activity in Russia this bountiful land of the Cossacks and New 

 Russia will become the centre of the most _extensive productive enterprise, not for 

 the requirements of Russia alone/but of the whole world, because in no other place can 

 be found, such a concentration of favourable conditions. The growth oi enterprise and 

 knowledge, together with the extinction of the forests which compels Russia to foster 

 the production of coal, will help to bring about this desired result* England with" a- 

 whole fleet of merchant vessels exports annually about 25 million tons of coal, the price 

 of which is higher than on the Donetz (where a pood of worked coal costs less than & 

 'copecks on the average), where anthracites and semi-anthracites (like Cardiff or steam 

 coal, which burns without smoke) and coking and metallurgical coals are able both in 



| quantity and quality to satisfy the most fastidious requirements of the industry already 

 existing and rapidly increasing everywhere. The coal mines of England and Belgium 



, are approaching a state of exhaustion, whilst in those of the Don basin, only at a depth 

 of 100 fathoms, 1,200,000 million poods of coal lie waiting to be worked. 



