Mr. F. Forster's Observations on the South Welsh Coal Basin. 107 



Town Hill and Kilvey Hill, behind Swansea, and are, I believe, considered 

 to be the same seams that are now worked at Llansamlet Colliery. Im- 

 mediately to the westward of the line of section they enter the Llwchor 

 or Burry River, and are lost in Carmarthen Bay. 



The south-crop seams in this division (including the 5-Feet seam at 

 Llwchor Colliery not shewn on the section) are eleven in number, and 

 their total thickness will be 5% feet ; they are all of a binding quahty, and 

 the gradual increase of bitumen which takes place in passing from north 

 to south, will be seen by referring to the table at the end of this paper. 

 The Genwen seams, the Llwchor 5-Feet seam, and the Dunraven 

 Pit Yard seam, are overlaid by beds of Sandstone ; the remainder are 

 imbedded in Shale, occasionally containing beds and nodules of Iron- 

 sljone, portions of the Shale being sometimes of a deep red colour, ap- 

 parently from a mixture of Oxide of Iron. The Dunraven Pit, 110 fa- 

 thoms deep, 107 of which is below the level of high-water mark, was 

 sunk under my direction, in the year 1 827, and, what is rather an un- 

 usual occurrence, without the assistance of a pumping engine, the quan- 

 tity of water not exceeding 600 gallons an hour. This may be attributed 

 to the impervious nature of the Shale through which the pit was sunk, 

 and to the probable existence of a Dyke to the south, communicating 

 with two others, one on the east and one on the west side, already 

 known, and which, acting as dams, insulate the strata for a considerable 

 distance round the pit. 



Division, No. 3. commences at the termination of No. 2, and proceeds 

 in the direction of full rise to the south-crop of the Limestone, at a point 

 upwards of a mile and a half to the N. W. of the village of Ilston, in the 

 district of Gower. Not having surveyed this division, the line of surface 

 is drawn from recollection, and from a general knowledge of the district. 

 For a list of the greater part of the seams of Coal v/hich it contains, and 

 of their respective thicknesses and distance from each other, I am in- 

 debted to a friend now residing in the neighbourhood. The first work- 

 able seam in this division is the Sluice Pill 5-Feet Seam, it is, I believe, 

 of very excellent quality, and has a strong Sandstone roof The Hendy 

 Seam, S^ feet, and the Big Seam, 5 feet, have been partially worked at 



