70 GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY OF ALABAMA. 



benches ; about two-thirds of it above the parting, and one- 

 third below. 



Other openings made presumably on the same seam, in 

 gaps through Straight Mountain, yet farther to the south- 

 west, show a still thicker parting with slightly less coal. 



The character of this coal where first opened is peculiar. 

 It is massive, rather dull in color, cokes imperfectly, and 

 yields a rather copious red ash. Farther to the. southwest 

 the quality of the coal is somewhat improved, but yet it re- 

 tains all of its distinctive features. 



The unsettled questions about this seam are, what is its 

 true position in this field, and what relation does it bear to 

 the other seams? These questions being unsettled, it is not 

 included by name in the GENERAL SECTION of this field, 

 though it may be included in fact 



That section was constructed by measuring across all the 

 knoivn out-crops of seams, on the longest slope of the field, 

 from southeast to northwest. If it is not included in that 

 section, then its southeastern outcrop has not yet been dis- 

 covered, and it must be in one of those wide spaces of meas- 

 ures which have hitherto seemed barren of coal. If it is 

 included, then the character and appearance of the seam, and 

 the quality of its coal, are materially different at its south- 

 eastern and northwestern out-crops. One or the other of 

 these propositions is apparently true. 



Of the first proposition, it may be said that it seems im- 

 probable that in the many streams descending from the top 

 of Blount Mountain toward the river, a coal seam of the 

 size of this one should not have been cut and exposed, if it 

 existed in that space. And yet coal seams undiscovered may 

 exist, as has been heretofore suggested, in that wide space 

 that exists between Nos. 3 and 4, and also between Nos. 4 

 and 5 of the General Section. 



That the Cowden Seam could not crop out between seams 

 3 and 4 may be considered demonstrated by its greaten dis- 

 tance than No. 4, above the second conglomerate. Seam 

 No. 4 is about 300 feet above that conglomerate, while this 

 seam is over 600 feet above that rock, as shown by the ex- 



