THE VICINITY OF THE HAVANA. 195 



takes a polish like certain resinous substances. It burns with much 

 flame and smoke; melts, and gives a light voluminous cake, which, 

 when incinerated, leaves comparatively a small proportion of cinders or 

 ashes. 



The following analysis, which was made by one of us, gave, per 

 cent, as follows : 



Volatile matter (gas, &c.), . . . . . 63-00 



Carbon, . . 34-97 



Ashes, . . . . . . . . . 2-03 



100.00 



The foregoing examination of this bituminous coal, fixes definitively 

 the respective proportions of its component parts; consequently, it de- 

 termines the applications to which that combustible would be the best 

 adapted. Its quality of burning with a long, licking flame, gives it 

 many advantages for evaporating, heating surfaces, &c., over many 

 combustibles which contain a smaller quantity of volatile matter. 



For the generating of steam power, for the boiling or concentrating 

 the juice of the sugar cane, or for the manufacture of gas, this coal is 

 singularly well adapted. As it contains no sulphuret of iron, the gas 

 manufactured would be free from that very deleterious portion or ad- 

 mixture, which it is so difficult to separate from those gases usually 

 manufactured from bituminous coals containing sulphur. It might 

 also be employed with advantage in manufacturing lamp black (noir 

 de fumee). 



Quantity. 



As we have no knowledge of coal being ever before found in forma- 

 tions similar to those in which the mine of Casualidad occurs, no op- 

 portunity is offered us of reasoning from analogy, and from the expe- 

 rience derived from similar deposites. It will therefore be admitted 

 that, whatever observations we might be induced to hazard, concern- 

 ing the extent of carbonaceous matter existing here, they would ne^ 

 cessarily be founded more or less upon conjecture. 



VI. — 2 Y 



