ii 4 



NA TURE 



[Dfxkmber 16, 1922 



formation of the coal, and hence clearly within my 

 terms of reference. 



In the Memoir of the Geological Survey on the 

 Coals of South Wales, it is pointed out that the 

 anthracite condition, instead of being accompanied 

 by a high ash-content — which is what might be 

 expected if the ash ratio were determined simply by 

 the reduction in the non-ash — is shown statistically 

 to bear the reverse relationship. That is, the more 

 anthracitic the coal, the lower the ash. From this 

 it is argued that the anthracites of South Wales were 

 formed of plant-constituents different from those con- 

 tributing to the steam and house coals. This proposi- 

 tion jains no support from the study of the plants 

 found in the associated measures, nor does it explain 

 why the coals of other fields, composed in their various 

 parts of very diverse constituents, do not exhibit the 

 anthracite phase. But the ash question needs to be 

 approached from another point of view. The ash 

 of coal may, as I have shown elsewhere, be composed 

 of three entirely distinct and chemically different 

 materials. There may be (1) the mineral substances 

 belonging to the plant-tissues ; then (2) any detrital 

 mineral substances washed or blown into the area 

 of growing peat ; and, finally, the sparry minerals 

 located in the lumen of the cleat. 



As to the first, I have long considered that the coal 

 was in large measure deprived by leaching of much 

 of its mineral substances ; it is otherwise difficult to 

 account for the almost total absence of potash. The 

 second — detrital matter — is probably present in some 

 though not in all coals ; the high percentage of alu- 

 minium silicate is probably of this origin. But the 

 third constituent — the sparry matter — may, both on 

 a -priori grounds and upon direct evidence, be assigned 

 a very important role in the production of the ashes 

 in most coals. When a coal with a strongly developed 

 cleat is examined in large masses it is at once seen 

 that the cleat spaces are of quite sensible width, and 



that they are occupied most commonly by a white 

 crystalline deposit which may consist of either carbonate 

 of iron or carbonate of lime, and there are also in many 

 seams crystals of iron sulphide — either pyrites or 

 marcasite. These sparry veins may be as much as 

 Y5-th of an inch, or even more, in thickness, and they 

 clearly constitute the principal contributors to the 

 ash. It has been suggested that they are true com- 

 ponents of the original peat, a proposition to which 

 no botanist would assent, and it appears certain that 

 the veins consist of material introduced by percolation 

 from the overlying measures, subsequent to the 

 production of the cleat. If that be so, it then will 

 follow that the amount of the material present in 

 coal must be in some direct proportion to the available 

 cleat space, and if there is no cleat neither will there 

 be any vein-stuff to contribute to the ash. It should 

 be pointed out that ordinary bituminous coal broken 

 into minute dice and washed so as to remove any 

 heavy mineral particles is found to contain a percentage 

 of ash quite comparable with that of an average 

 anthracite. It is to be concluded, therefore, that the 

 variations of the ash contents of a coal are no indication 

 of the plant-constituent of the coal. 



I have sought to show how the concept of the Coal 

 Measures with their sandstones, shales, and coal-seams 

 accords entirely with what we know of modern swamps 

 and deltas, and that just as each Coal Measure fact 

 finds its illustration in modern conditions, so we may, 

 inverting the method of inquiry, say that no note- 

 worthy features of the modern swamps fail to find 

 their exemplification in the ancient. 



Even what may seem the most daring of my proposi- 

 tions — the seismic origin of abnormal " wash-outs " 

 — finds, I cannot doubt, a full justification in what 

 has been seen in the Sylhet region by Mr. Oldham, and 

 in the Mississippi valley by Mr. Fuller, or in what can 

 be inferred as a necessary subterranean accompaniment 

 of these surface signs of great earthquake convulsions. 



The Royal College of Science for Ireland. 



THE scientific public cannot but feel grave con- 

 cern that the Royal College of Science for 

 Ireland is at present closed, and its students are 

 scattered in temporary accommodation. All interested 

 in applied science will realise that this is a serious 

 state of affairs, both as regards Ireland's industrial 

 prosperity and scientific progress. 



The College was founded nearly sixty years ago. It 

 came into existence in 1865 as the result of aTreasury 

 Minute of that year, which converted an existing 

 institution — the Museum of Irish Industry and Govern- 

 ment School of Science applied to Mining and the 

 Arts — into the Royal College of Science. Sir Robert 

 Kane — well known as the author of " The Industrial 

 Resources of Ireland " — was appointed its firsl Dean. 



The College was at first housed in premises in St. 

 Stephen's Green, and as early as 1869 it had earned 

 considerable reputation for itself as a school of science. 

 Thus, the Commission on Science and Art in Ireland, 

 of which Huxley and Ilaughton were members. 

 reported in that year, that — "In the Royal College 

 of Science, Ireland possesses an institution which in the 



NO. 2772, VOL. I io] 



number of its professorships and general course of study 

 is more complete as a pure school of science than any- 

 thing of the kind existing in England or Scotland." 



In its earlier years the College was under the 

 administration of the Department of Science and 

 Art ; but in 1900 it was placed under the control 

 of the newly created Department of Agriculture 

 and Technical Instruction, a department which was 

 largely the outcome of what was known as the Recess 

 Committee, of which Sir Horace Plunkett was chairman 

 and Mr. T. P. Gill secretary. 



Under the enlightened administration of this Depart- 

 ment, the College was greatly developed and extended, 

 particularly in rendering it of more direct service to 

 the industries and needs of the country. In the early 

 days of the College, chief attention was devoted to 

 such subjects as chemistry, physics, mathematics, 

 geology, mining, engineering, and manufactures. 

 L'nder the Department, however, not only were these 

 activities extended, but also considerable develop- 

 ments were made in connexion with agriculture, which 

 is the staple industry of the country. 



