Revieius — The Coal Resources of the World. 23 



mention of a few of the more interesting and striking features, is all 

 that can be attempted. 



Tables giving the Actual, Probable, and Possible Resources for the 

 individual countries and districts naturally occupy a prominent place, 

 but generally they are accompanied by a geological description, 

 amounting in some cases to a thesis on the subject, and containing 

 much new matter of great interest to the geologist. To ensure 

 uniformity the different types of coal are entered in several classes, 

 which correspond roughly to (A) anthracite and dry coals, (B and C) 

 bituminous coals, (D) sub -bituminous coals, brown coals, and 

 lignite. 



The tables of production show at a glance the scale on which 

 individual countries are at present engaged in the industry, the 

 United States easily heading the list, seconded by Great Britain, but 

 followed very closely by Germany. In all these the annual pro- 

 duction reaches hundreds of millions of tons, while none of the 

 remaining coixutries reach an output of forty millions of tons. 



A useful summary and digest of the Reports is given, a task which 

 must have seriously taxed the editors, as some of the contributions 

 did not reach them until the middle of May, 1913. For this reason 

 " the latest reports, being longer than anticipated, had to be hurriedly 

 condensed, and many illustrations and maps not adapted for direct 

 reproduction in the form in which they were received had to be 

 omitted". It would be obviously unfaii", therefore, to criticize the 

 character of the text-illustrations and of the plates given in the atlas, 

 but a great divergence in colouring and execution is noticeable. 

 The omissions, however, are not serious. 



The coal resources of the world are given as 7,397,553 millions of 

 metric tons, and the annual production as 1,143'38 million tons. 

 A worldwide shortage of fuel evidently lies a long way off, though 

 a considerable reduction in this colossal amount of coal must be 

 allowed for loss in mining, for seams not at present mineable, and, 

 what is more important, for seams mineable but not at a profit. 

 Individual estimates also differ so enormously that some are openly 

 little more than guesswork. 



The world's supply is at present largely drawn from the later 

 Palaeozoic formations, but it is well to be reminded that equally rich 

 and valuable seams occur in the Mesozoic and Tertiary formations, 

 both in the Old World and in the New. 



Taking the separate countries in the order in which they are 

 dealt with in the volumes; — 



The account of Oceania is given in much detail, and includes the 

 new coal-fields of Antarctica. 



In Asia, besides accounts of the lesser coal-fields, we liave the latest 

 information about Japan and China. The latter, true to tradition, has 

 mined coal for several thousands of years, but so slowlj' does she 

 advance tliat out of 38,765,000,000 tons of probable, in addition to 

 'enormous' possible reserves, she extracts, mostly due to foreign 

 enterprise, only 18 million tons per annum. It is evident that many 

 geological problems still await solution, as the following extract 

 (vol. i, p. 210) will show: "In Ssu-ch'uan-sheng, Ivuei-chow-sheng, 



