CHARACTER AND VALUE AS FUEL 503 



In some specimens pyrite is present, and of course these are likely to 

 crumble. 



When thrown out of doors, however, most of the lignite soon breaks 

 up into angular fragments and finally becomes a soft, muddy mass. 



The fossils are less liable to decomposition and are often well preserved 

 long after the surrounding material has been reduced to a shapeless mass. 



When first taken out, the lignite is usually in small pieces, from those 

 as large as one's two fists down to mere bits. The largest piece of which 

 I have knowledge is one sent many years ago to Doctor Hitchcock, who 

 placed it in the Amherst museum, where it still may be seen. This piece, 

 to which Doctor Hitchcock has referred in his account of the locality, is 

 19 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. In the museums at 

 Burlington and Montpelier there are 2 or 3 pieces which are smaller than 

 the above, but still large. 



Use and Value as Fuel 



Soon after its discovery the lignite was used as fuel, though only at 

 long separated intervals and in small quantities. The attempts to sub- 

 stitute it for coal or wood were never successful, and after a brief trial it 

 was abandoned as impracticable. During the coal famine which occurred 

 in the fall of 1902, the lignite was brought into use much more exten- 

 sively than before. At this time over a hundred and fifty tons were dug 

 and sold in and about Brandon. Some of the housekeepers who used 

 it in cook-stoves spoke highly of it, while others found it very trouble- 

 some and not at all satisfactory. The fact that all who had been using 

 the lignite were very glad to return to coal, although it was then sold 

 at a high price, is sufficient proof of the inferiority of the lignite. Still 

 it has been abundantly proved that it will burn, and that in case of need 

 it can be substituted for wood or coal. It burns readily with a yellow 

 flame and gives off a peculiar though not unpleasant odor. It leaves a 

 large* amount of ash, is soon exhausted, and even at its best does not 

 produce as much heat as coal. 



Botanical Character 



Investigation shows that some of the lignite was formed from dicoty- 

 ledonous and some from coniferous wood. It is also very probable that 

 some of it is from endogenous wood, but this has not yet been determined. 



In 1853 Doctor Hitchcock wrote : 



11 With perhaps one or two exceptions, all the lignite of this deposit belongs to 

 the exogenous class of plants. The bark is often quite distinct. I have been in- 

 clined to refer some of the wood to the maple, yet probably a good deal of it ia 

 coniferous." 



