MINING. 119 
rection of the gangway, unless the rate of dip is less than 
four degrees, in that case the rooms may be driven “square 
up the pitch.” For seams of from sixty to twenty-five de- 
grees and from ten degrees to flat or level, the Anthracite 
and Monongahela methods suit very well, but for seams 
having a rate of dip of from ten to twenty-five degrees, they 
entail an additional expense in getting the coal to the gang- 
way ready for hoisting; for convenience we shall name this 
rate of dip the “medium dip.” 
It has been hitherto our practice to adopt the “Mononga- 
hela Method” with ton trams, where the rate of dip is from 
ten to seventeen degrees, driving the rooms diagonally from 
the gangway, and have the miners bring their loaded cars 
down to the gangway, go back empty handed and have the 
trammer to take the empty cars up to the room breast by 
mule power; or else have the miner to go through the heavy 
strain of pushing the empty car up by hand. The mule 
power method, though necessitating two journeys along the 
room road, to accomplish the output of one car of coal, is 
the most satisfactory to the miner and most economical to 
the mine proprietor; in making a fair count of the cost of 
each method, the man power is certain to cost the most. 
In mining thin seams, small light cars are often used, that 
can be pushed up the room by man power with less strain 
to the miner than when using the one ton car. I have often 
used this method myself, and in all probability the Monte- 
vallo Coal & Transportation Co., are now using it, still it is 
glaringly evident, that man power applied to its utmost 
strength, is the costliest method of moving coal from the 
“room breast” to daylight. 
In mining seams of from seventeen to twenty-five de- 
grees rate of dip, it has generally been our practice to adopt 
the “Anthracite Method,” and either plank the bottom and 
lower part of the sides of the “shute,” or plank and sheet 
iron the bottom. In this case, even with these aids, the 
coal will not run of its own accord, consequently it requires 
to be pushed down the length of the shute by the miner or 
the assistant trammer. When the room is worked upa con- 
siderable distance from the gangway, this becomes a costly 
method of moving the coal from the “room breast” to day- 
