740 Transactions of the American Institute. 



some semi-bituminous, but with him my six feet vein of rich coking 

 coal is only five and one-half feet thick. He makes a sample of this 

 coal analysis : Moisture, ' 82 ; volatile matter, 33.40 ; carbon, 64.00 ; 

 sulphur, trace ; ash, 1.60. 



Prof. Mallett, formerly of the State University, at Tuscaloosa, 

 makes the vein near that place richer in volatile matter and poorer in 

 carbon. The coals examined by him in the Cahawba coal field are also 

 all of them rich bituminous coals. Prof. Tait states the seams 

 observed by him to be five, in thickness as follows : Thirty inches, 

 thirty-six, forty-eight, fifty-two and sixty-six inches, clear of shale. 

 The area of the Warrior coal field is about 4,000 square miles of 

 available coal, though it is contended that an accurate geological sur- 

 vey will increase this area 1,000 square miles. It stretches along the 

 A. & C. railroad from Tuscaloosa to seven miles above Birmingham, 

 at no point distant more than five miles. At the point stated, above 

 Birmingham, the Red Mountain intervenes, and the coal is thrown a 

 little farther of, but above Attala coal is found on both sides of the 

 road in the Raccoon and Lookout Mountains. 



Just two miles south of Birmingham, on the South and North road, 

 is the cut of that road through the Red Mountain, there showing dis- 

 tinctly the immense thickness of the vein of fossiliferous iron ore. I 

 have constantly called this ore the red fossiliferous, as that is its com- 

 mon name. It is sometimes called "lenticular argillaceous," and 

 Prof. Tait insists that it be called " pisolitic." The common country 

 name is dyestone, as crushed in water it yields a rich red dye. This ore 

 does not require any wasting. In Tennessee it makes a cold short 

 iron with raw coal, and also with charcoal. The iron made from it in 

 Alabama, with charcoal, is not cold short. This may be due to differ- 

 ence in the ores, as that of Alabama has but little phosphorus, while 

 all, so far used in Tennessee, has very considerable quantities. Prof. 

 Tait's analysis of that at Grade's Gap-, the point stated on S. and ~N. 

 R. R., makes it yield : Moisture, 2.88 ; sesquioxide of iron, 60.31 ; 

 alumina, 8.34 ; carbonate of lime, 9.21 ; phosphoric acid, .21 ; sul- 

 phur, .16 ; insoluble p, 18.95 ; metallic iron, 42.02. 



Prof. Mallett gives several analyses of this ore from various points : 



One. Two. Three. 



Peroxide of iron 88.02 82.67 61.87 



Silica 11.59 13.44 37.58 



Alumina .07 3.09 .26 



Lime .05 Trac>. .<3 



Phos. Acid .09 .06 .03 



