1867.] COLLINGWOOD — EASTERN COAL-FIELDS. 101 



tlemcnt ; and the coal is worked by the convicts, and used by the 

 llussians solely for their own men-of-war. 



This coal is small, but of excellent quality, and presents longitudi- 

 nally a conchoidal and transversely cubic fracture, similar in cha- 

 racter to Welsh coal, and produces when burnt a moderately dense 

 dark-brown smoke. Mr. James Gillies, chief engineer of H.M.S. 

 * Scylla,' informs me that its steaming qualities are equal to New- 

 castle coal, and he believes that, owing to its caking-qualities, it would 

 burn very well mixed with any small Welsh coal which would be too 

 small to burn by itself. It cakes readily after having been in the 

 furnace for a few minutes, and on being lifted with the poker it 

 breaks up into large pieces of coke which throw out an intense 

 heat. It burns very quickly, and if under easy steam leaves very 

 little ash. Amount of ash, cinder, and soot in Dui coal 20 per cent. 



The Possiette coal presents a vitreous fracture, more resembling 

 that of Enghsh cannel coal. It is very bituminous, and burns 

 quickly. But though it is of fair quality, it leaves a large residue 

 of whitish-brown ash, with a moderate quantity of clinker. The 

 deposit of soot in the tubes is very much greater than is produced 

 by Newcastle coal — ash, cHnker, and soot together amounting to from 

 24 to 28 per cent. Mr. Gillies, however, tells me that, owing to the 

 small quantity of this coal which he took on board, and to its having 

 been partially mixed with Welsh coal, the percentage of ash can 

 only be regarded as an ajpproximation. The Dui coal appears to be 

 a lignite. 



Japan also produces several kinds of coal, concerning which very 

 little is known. Owing to the small quantities produced, the Dai- 

 mios will not let them be sold for public use ; and it is therefore 

 difficult to test their qualities. Opportunities of examination have, 

 however, been made use of by the engineers in H.M. navy ; and the 

 following results have been obtained by Mr. John Rice, chief-engi- 

 neer. Royal Navy. There are five distinct kinds, known under the 

 names of Gorio, H.irado, Korkora, Emakbodkh, and Korgah, which 

 appear to possess good qualities, — and several others, respectively 

 designated Miki, Omura, Yanagana, Ani, Suki, Karats, Cho-fu, and 

 Cho-siu, most of which are very inferior, forming an immense quan- 

 tity of clinker, and unfit for steaming-purposes, though they are no 

 doubt valuable for domestic uses. 



Korkora coal is of two qualities — one an inferior dirty brown 

 substance, showing thin red layers when broken, and, like aU those 

 just referred to, conchoidal in fracture. The better kind of Korkora 

 is bright, clean, and hard, liable to form clinker, so that it has been 

 found desirable to increase the apertures between the fire-bars in 

 the ordinary tubular boilers ; it resembles Sydney coal in appear- 

 ance, and appears to have a waste, consisting of ash, soot, and 

 clinker, amounting to 30 per cent. 



Korgah coal, very recently brought to Nagasaki, is very similar 

 to it in appearance and quality. 



Emakbodkh coal shows also clayey layers, and conchoidal lami- 

 nations of a white calcareous substance, either carbonate or sul- 



i2 



