~2 7 



represented the bone, sinew, and utility of the family. The lec- 

 turer here gave a very excellent description of the various uses of 

 coal, and went on to say that there were three periods in its his- 

 tory — viz., the period of its origin ; the period that has elapsed 

 since ; and the period of its utility. It has been calculated that 

 one foot of coal represents fifty generations of plants, each one 

 of which represents a period of ten years, so that ten feet of coal 

 represents five hundred years ; but the united beds of coal existing 

 in any coal field rarely measure more than fifty or sixty feet, 

 whereas the other beds of the system frequently make up a gross 

 thickness of from 9 to 12,000 feet. This gives some faint idea of 

 the time it must have taken to accumulate the Carboniferous 

 system. Since then — that is, since the coal formation — not beds 

 merely, but whole systems of rocks have been formed, making up 

 a gross thickness of 25,000 feet or more, all having been accumu- 

 lated as sedimentary deposits in ancient seas, lakes, &c. From 

 that calculation, coal must have been in existence for more than a 

 period of very many millions of years. Then came the period of 

 its use : In early times coal was used only by smiths, &c. The 

 first grant for the winning of coal was a charter of 1239. At the 

 close of the 14th century it was introduced into London, but the 

 citizens rose against its use in consequence of its fumes, just as 

 the Belfast people now protest against the Blackstaff. It was 

 hated so much that ladies would not go to any place where it was 

 used, lest it should spoil their complexion, and persons refused to 

 eat meat cooked with it. Since then the consumption of coal has 

 increased to an enormous amount, being now over three and 

 a-half tons per annum for every person in Britain. A great ques- 

 tion of the day was, Would the coal supply now existing last for a 

 long time, considering the demand ? And it is ascertained that, 

 if the consumption increases to double its present consumption, 

 the coal will be exhausted in 600 years ; and within the last fifty 

 years it has more than doubled. 



The lecturer then introduced the question of the existence ol 

 coal in the vicinity of Belfast, and first illustrated the different 

 strata of the earth, to show how coal occurs, and where it is to be 



