1860. 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



295 



WILL THE COAL BEDS LAST? 



A ■svritei' in the New York Commercial Adver- 

 tiser, a few days since, after presenting some rath- 

 er startling statistics in regard to the rapid in- 

 crease in the consumption of coal, Avent on to 

 draw a lugubrious picture of the results that 

 would ensue if the supply of coal should become 

 exhausted. Steamships would be seen rotting in 

 their docks, the busy hum of manufactories would 

 cease, grass would grow over railway tracks, and 

 the world generally \vould go back to the "slow- 

 coach" system of a hundred years ago. He seemed 

 to have overlooked the great fact that human in- 

 vention keeps pace with human necessities, and 

 if the supply of coal should happen ever to give 

 out, its place in the economy of the world would 

 doubtless be supplied by some new and equally 

 efficient agent. The article seems to have had 

 the effect, however, of causing an investigation 

 into the actual carbonaceous resources of our 

 planet, and we are happy to say that the prospect 

 is that there will be an ample supply of coal for 

 all ordinary purposes for the next ten thousand 

 years. Beyond that it is hardly necessary to bor- 

 row trouble. Prof. Rogers, in his "Description 

 of the Coal Fields of North America and Great 

 Britain," annexed to the "Government Survey of 

 the Geology of Pennsylvania," makes the fol- 

 lowing estimate of the quantities of coal in the 

 principal coal fields of the world : 



Tons. 



Belgium 36,000,000,000 



France 59,000,000,000 



British Islands 190,000,000,000 



Pennsylvania 316,400,000,000 



Great Apalacliian coal field, (this name Is given 

 to the bituminous coal field which extends 

 through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken- 

 tucky, Tennessee and Virginia) 1,387,500,000,000 



Indiana, Illinois and Western Kentucky 1,277,500,000,000 



Missouri and Arkansas Basin 729,000,000,000 



All the productive coal fields of N. America... 4,000,000,000,000 



Upon these figures the Philadelphia Ledger 

 makes the subjoined calculations : 



"It will be seen that at the present rate of con- 

 sumption, 100,000,000 of tons per annum, the 

 coal fields of Pennsylvania alone would meet the 

 demand for 31G-1 years. If this consumption vrere 

 doubled, viz : 200,000,000 tons, the great Apa- 

 lachian field vi'ould meet the strain for 6937 years. 

 If it were quadrupled, viz : 400,000,000, the pro- 

 ductive coal fields of North America would sufiice 

 for the world's supply for 10,000 years to come. 

 To this we must add the consideration that new 

 coal fields are brought to light as exploration be- 

 comes more extensive and exact. Dr. Nordens- 

 kion, a learned Flemish traveler, who has just re- 

 turned from a visit to the Arctic regions, announ- 

 ces that he discovered anthracite coal as far north 

 as Spitzbergen. One of the most remarkable 

 features of the coal system of the globe is its lib- 

 eral distribution over the northern hemisphere, 

 where it is most needed. And it will probably be 

 found in the still unexplored regions of Central 

 and Northern Asia." 



size may cost twenty-five per cent, more than the 

 poorest and lightest, but in the end they are a 

 hundred per cent, the best. Nails made of poor 

 iron will rust out a great deal quicker than nails 

 made of good tough malleable iron, like that 

 known as old sal^Ie. — Scientific American. 



Cheap Nails. — The cheapest nails are not the 

 lovrest priced ones. Cut nails made of iron of 

 good quality will outlast such as can be bought at 

 the lowest rates about two to one. Never use nails 

 for siding or shingles that break very easy ; and 

 be sure not to allow your carpenter to use nails of 

 very light weight. First rate cut nails of suitable 



Fur the New England Farmer. 

 BEMEDY FOR THE EOKER. 



Deak Sir : — Having found the borer to be a 

 great depredator on my fruit and shade trees, 

 such as the ajiplc, plum, locust and the mountain 

 ash, and having resorted to the usual remedies 

 with little success, I concluded to test the virtue 

 of soft soap, and have had universal success. 

 Many of my trees, from four to six inches in di- 

 ameter, were seriously injured, and some of them 

 entirely girdled and destroyed by this insect. I 

 used this prescription two years ago, last fall, and 

 also in the spring following, and no effects of the 

 borer were discovered on said trees that year. But 

 discovering one tree affected by it the succeeding 

 year, I again a])plied it, and no new damage has 

 appeared. I neglected, however, to apply it to my 

 small plum, and other trees, or sprouts, which I 

 had saved for transplanting, and both last spring 

 and this, they are rendered useless by its depreda- 

 tions. 



These I call decided tests, and the application 

 is easier and more sure than that of boiling Avater, 

 or of paper or bark, which guards the body, but 

 not the roots of the tree. The soap is reduced by 

 water just so as to follow the paint brush freely, 

 and (the grass or weeds being first removed from 

 the tree) is freely applied to the trunk for the 

 height or two feet, and also to the roots near the 

 body, and two or three brushfulls are generally 

 sufficient. A slight discoloration of the bark suc- 

 ceeds and continues, which, together with the of- 

 fensive oily and alkaline properties, is very un- 

 grateful to the insect, though not injurious to the 

 tree. It should be applied immediately, in order 

 to destroy the yearly increase of the insect. 



ShoreJiam, Vt., 1860. Kittredge Haven. 



LOOK OUT FOR THE HEWS. 

 See that the hens are constantly supplied with 

 lime in the form of old mortar, or pounded oyster 

 or clam shells, gravel, bones, and vieat. Charcoal 

 is also a valuable article to have about the coop. 

 It is said that cooked food should never be fed to 

 hens or other domestic fowls when the Aveather is 

 sufficiently cold to freeze it in the crop and destroy 

 them ! A person once informed us, that this fre- 

 quently occurs. We think hens should have a 

 place provided for them that will not freeze the 

 food, even if it is out of their crops. This advice 

 may be useful, however, where foAvls have the 

 range of the barn, and no warmer place to go to. 

 In such situations, hens often do very well if they 

 are fed liberally Avith grain, and once a day Avith 

 hot, mashed potatoes and meal mixed AAith scraps. 

 There is no place they like so well as among the 

 hay and straAv in the barn, and to pick up the hay 



