PORTAGE COUNTY. 141 



good reason for believing that a somewhat extensive basin, or series of 

 basins, of the Briar Hill coal exists in and about Palmyra, but years of 

 exploration will be required before it will be known what the connection, 

 limits, and value of this coal field are. 



From the shaft in Palmyra the coal extends west and south to an un- 

 known distance, and possibly reaches under much of the central and 

 southern parts of the county. Since the place of Coal No. 1 is from two 

 hundred to two hundred and fifty feet below the surface over a consider- 

 able part of the higher land, it is apparent that most of the boring yet 

 done has formed no test of its presence or absence. 



In the valley of the Mahoning, in Deerfield, an outcrop of coal may be 

 seen which was supposed by Mr. Read, who examined it, to be the Briar 

 Hill coal. It is, however, only about a foot in thickness, and it is prob- 

 able that it is the next seam above. A boring of limited depth would 

 decide the question. In Brimfield and Suffield there is a large amount 

 of territory which deserves more careful exploration than it has yet re- 

 ceived. Here the land rises to one hundred and fifty feet above the level 

 of the coal, but the surface is generally occupied by Drift. Little is 

 known of the nature of the underlying rocks, but from the relation 

 which this district holds to the coal basins of Tallmadge and Springfield, 

 in Summit, there is great probability that sooner or later good deposits 

 of coal will be found here. It should be borne in mind, however, that 

 from the circumstances which I have fully explained in the report on 

 the geology of Summit, the lower coal is oftener absent than present in 

 the place where it belongs, and it is, therefore, to be expected that a 

 large part of the trials which may be made here will result in disap- 

 pointment. 



At Limaville, on the southern line of the county. Coal No. 1 has been 

 struck in borings by Dr. J. A. Dales, at the depth of about one hundred 

 and seventy feet, or less than three hundred and fifty feet above the Lake. 

 According to the reports by Dr. Dales, the coal has here a thickness of 

 over four feet. Analyses prove that it has the purity and physical char- 

 ater of the Mahoning Valley coal. Should a considerable area in this 

 vicinity be found to be underlain by Coal No. 1, it would be difficult to 

 exaggerate the importance it would assume among the wealth-producing 

 elements of the county, and it is sincerely to be hoped that the examina- 

 tions begun here will be carried through the townships lying north, 

 until this important question shall be definitely settled. 



Coals Nos. 3 and 4. — By reference to the general section of the rocks of 

 the county (page — ) it will be seen that at a distance from the lower 

 coal — generally from fifty to seventy-five feet — a thin seam occurs. This 



