April 13, 1882] 
NATURE 
555 
As to the quality of the coal of Peninsular India, it is 
not easy to write in general terms. It may be described 
as a laminated bituminous coal, in which bright and dull 
layers alternate ; much of it does not coke easily. Notrue 
anthracite has as yet been discovered. In the coal from 
the Raniganj field, the proportion of fixed carbon is under 
55 per cent., which is about ro per cent. under that from the 
Karharbari field. The amount of moisture varies a good 
deal in the coal] from the different fields, being as high as 
14 per cent. in the coal from the Godavari field, and not 
more than 5 per cent. in that from the Raniganj field. The 
quantity of sulphur and phosphorus present varies also 
considerably, but coal, sufficiently free from these impurities 
as to be available for the manufacture of steel, is to be 
found. Ina table showing the amount of coal imported 
into, and raised in India, for the yeas from 1852 to 1880, 
we find, that of a probable total amount of mineral fuel 
consumed in India during 1880-81, of 1,500,000 tons, one 
million was raised in the country, and half a million was 
imported. While the price of European coal at Indian 
ports varies, the average value at present per ton is about 
30s., and English coal has been sold within the last ten 
years, in Calcutta, for as small a sum as 15s. a ton. 
At the pit’s mouth at the Raniganj field the value of 
the best coal is about 5s. a ton, but the same coal in 
Madras costs from 305. to 325. a ton, the difference being 
the cost of transit. On many of the railways in Upper 
India, wood is largely used as fuel, being much cheaper 
than coal. 
The largest and most important of the areas in which 
coal is worked in India is that of the Raniganj field. It 
is situated on the rocky frontier of Western Bengal, at a 
distance of 120 miles from Calcutta. The available coal 
was calculated in round numbers by the late Dr. Oldham 
to be 14,000 millions of tons. Its proximity to the main 
line of railway, and also to the port of Calcutta, give it an 
advantage over all other coal areas in India. Coal was 
known to occur there in 1774, and so long since as 1777 
was actually worked. There are now five European 
companies engaged in the extraction of the coal, besides 
many smaller firms, and one native company. At one 
time a good deal of the coal was obtained by open quarry- 
ing, now mining is adopted on the pillar and stall plan. 
None of the mines are of great depth; and there isa 
perfect freedom from fire and choke-damp. Some of the 
seams are nearly forty feet in thickness, but as a rule the 
very thick seams do not contain the best quality of coal. 
The Lieut.-Governor of Bengal reported for the year 
1878-79, that ‘‘the year was a prosperous one for the coal 
companies of Raniganj. There was a large demand, and 
production was greatly stimulated. The output is esti- 
mated to have been 523,097 tons, against 467,924 tons, 
the average of the three previous years. The number of 
persons employed was 388,931 men, 194,647 women, and 
27,277 children.”’ 
The coal-supply of India is a subject of vast interest, one 
full with a great future for India, and one which though 
slowly, is steadily coming to be properly understood. 
Into the subject of “Peat in India” the space at our 
disposal does not allow us to enter ; and that of ‘ Petro- 
leum” can only be glanced at. So far as is at present 
known, petroleum has not been met with within the limits 
of Peninsular India. In the extra-peninsular countries 
there are several regions where the strata yield more or 
less abundant supplies of petroleum. The most impor- 
tant of these are in Burma. In British Burma the work- 
ing of the oil springs is but in its infancy. But in Upper 
Burma, the exportation of the rock oils is said to have 
been in progress during the last 2000 years. The oil of 
Upper Burma, commonly known as Rangoon oil, is a 
valuable article of export, taking its name from the port 
from which it is shipped to Europe and America. 
In intimate connection with the Coal of India is the 
abundance in extent of the Iron ores of the same region. 
| what unequally distributed, always present. 
In the peninsular area, magnetite occurs in beds or in 
veins of greater or less extent in most of the regions where 
metamorphic rocks occur. In some places, as in the 
Salem district in the Madras Presidency, the develop- 
ment of this ore is on a scale of extraordinary and un- 
paralleled magnitude, whole hills and ranges being formed 
of the purest forms of it; and in many cases these de- 
posits are not lodes, but beds as truly such as those of 
gneissose and schistose rocks, with which they are ac- 
companied. To the abundance and wide-spread distri- 
bution of these ores in the oldest rocks is no doubt to be 
attributed the fact of the frequent recurrence of consider- 
able deposits of the general dissemination of ferruginous 
matter, which more or less characterise the sedimentary 
rocks of all subsequent periods. In some localities bedded 
magnetite is known to occur in sub-metamorphic or tran- 
sition rocks. Thus the rich ores of Central India are 
principally found as hematites in the Bijawar or lower 
transition series of rocks. : 
The prevailing red and brown tints characterising the 
great Vindhyan formation are owing to the presence of 
iron ores in veins. The Talchir group of the Gondwana 
system—supposed to have been deposited from floating 
ice—is notable for the absence in it of iron matter. The 
next group Barakar is also almost free, but with some re- 
markable exceptions, as, for example, in the vicinity of 
the Aurunga coal-field at Palamow. The third group of 
the system is one of iron-stone shales; while in the 
succeeding members of the group iron is, though some- 
The Laterite of India is peculiarly rich in iron ores, 
and these have been worked by the native smelters time 
out of mind. Practical men have sometimes spoken ot 
the native furnaces and methods of working in a very 
contemptuous manner, or have regarded them as merely 
objects of curios‘ty, but ought this to beso? Does not 
such a work as the famous iron pillar at the Kutab, 
near Delhi, indicate an amount of skill in the manipulation 
of a large mass of wrought iron, which has ever been a 
marvel to all who have studied it. But a few years ago, 
what iron foundry in Europe could have produced the like, 
and even now how many are there that would turn out 
such amass? Of a total length of 23 feet 8 inches, just 
22 feet thereof stands exposed over the ground. Over 
16 feet in diameter at the base it tapers to a little over a 
foot just below its capital, which is 35 feet high. Its total 
weight is over six tons. Mr. Ferguson, in his “ History 
of India,” believes from the letters on the inscription that 
it dates from A.D. 400; if so, then it has stood exposed 
to wind and weather for nearly 1500 years, showing no 
signs of rust; a most complete testimony to the skill and 
art of the Indian iron-workers of the period. 
Even in quite recent days Indian steel was in consider- 
able demand in England. Its production was the cause 
of much wonderment, and was accounted for by various 
theories. The famous Damascus biades had long attained 
a reputation for pliability, strength, and beauty, ere it was 
known that the material from which they were made was 
the product ofan obscure Indian village, and it is probably 
not very generally known that a large quantity of the 
excellent iron used in the construction of the Menai 
Suspension and the Britannia Tubular Bridges, was from 
the Porto Nevo Works in South Arcot in Salem district. 
The competition with European iron has practically 
thrown the production of native ore into the deepest 
shade. Unless, indeed, the Indian iron factories should 
succeed in producing iron at so low a rate as to defy 
competition, the import of European iron must continue 
with the result of leaving no margin for profitable work- 
ing. In England, too, it will be remembered that the 
demand for skilled labour has brought forth an abundant 
supply. In India the loss of a life, or a stoppage of 
machinery may be productive of serious and prolonged 
delay, causing numerous embarrassments. 
