1873-1874J 9 



Hardman, Esq., one of Professor Hull's staff, who has been survey- 

 ing the district for a considerable period, has, in anticipation of 

 the official memoir, published his views in a valuable paper read 

 before the Royal Dublin Society. 



This mass of undisputed testimony demonstrates that the Tyrone 

 coal-field contains nine or ten beds of true coal, varying in thick- 

 ness from two to nine feet ! and so distributed over an area 

 of about six or seven thousand acres as to be capable of yield- 

 ing something like thirty-two million tons of coal — no mere sub- 

 stitute, but genuine coal — which, as to origin, geological age, or 

 mineral character, is identical with the coals of Scotland or 

 England. 



On arrival of the members of the Club at Dungannon they were 

 met by Thos. A. Dixon, Esq., M.P., who most courteously enter- 

 tained the party, and accompanied them on their trip, giving them 

 the fullest information in relation to the nature and extent of the 

 collieries, and explaining the contemplated improvements. 



The coal-field extends from near Dungannon to some distance 

 beyond Coalisland, the coal-beds being here interstratified with beds 

 of shale, fire-clay, and sandstone, which unite to make up a thick- 

 ness of, say, 1,000 feet, constituting the " coal measures ;" filling a 

 depression in the limestone, and dipping towards the north-east, 

 where they are covered by the new red sandstone. 



Unfortunately, the extraction of the coal is rendered difficult and 

 costly from the disturbed nature of the strata. If the beds lay one 

 over another in continuous sheets for the whole extent of the field, 

 their being tilted would facilitate the working of the coal ; but the 

 area they occupy is cut up by faults, dislocations, and other dis- 

 turbances, so that continuity of the coal is frequently broken. Many 

 coal seams run up near the surface, and these offer tempting op- 

 portunities for shallow-workings — a grievous evil in Tyrone. From 

 these shallow and often extremely rude workings, millions of tons 

 of coal have been removed by the colliers from time to time for the 

 last 100 years; their history being one of bungling mismanage- 

 ment, and consequent failure, notwithstanding the engineering skill 



