526 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



mine agents, and members of the Society was held, under the presi- 

 dency of Mr. W. Matthews, and was numerously attended. Papers 

 were read " On the Working of the Ten-yard Coal ;" and " On the Dis- 

 covery of Cannel Coal in North Wales." We shall refer to these 

 papers presently. It was considered desirable to have a series of 

 elementary lectures on Geology as part of the proceedings at the ordi- 

 nary monthly meetings ; and at the request of the Committee, Mr. H. 

 Beckett, F.G.S., Vice-president, undertook to deliver a course. The 

 first two lectures appear in the ' Transactions ;' one, " On the General 

 Principles of Geology ;" and the other, " On the Coal Formation." 

 They appear to have been well adapted to their intended object, but 

 we must take exception to Mr. Beckett's chemical geology, especially 

 with regard to his views on the nature, source, and distribution of 

 alumina. Lastly, we notice that five field meetings are announced for 

 the present year, in addition to three others to which dates are not 

 assigned. We may now refer to three of the papers which appear in 

 the ' Transactions.' 



Tlie Ten-yard Coal. — As before mentioned, at a conference of 

 mine owners, &c, a paper was read by Mr. Rupert Kettle, Vice- 

 president, " On the Yield of the Ten-yard Coal and the Best Mode of 

 increasing it, having regard to the Safety and Economy of the Work- 

 ing." The method of working this magnificent seam is almost 

 universally that known as " square work," or working by " ribs and 

 pillars." According to Mr. Kettle's calculations, each acre contains 

 48,4.00 tons of coal as it lies untouched, whilst the average yield by 

 " square work " may be taken at not more than 24,500 tons, leaving a 

 deficiency of 23,900 tons. To do away with so much of this enormous 

 waste, left partly in pillars and partly as slack, Mr. Kettle strongly 

 urges the adoption of the " long wall " method of working. Here the 

 seam is worked at two different periods, the upper half being first 

 extracted, and after an interval, the lower half. No pillars are left, 

 and the yield is increased according to various estimates from 6,000 

 to 15,000 tons per acre. In addition to this, it was maintained that 

 the safety to the men in long-wall working is very much greater than 

 by the ordinary method, whilst the ventilation is far more easily 

 rendered efficient. 



Tlie Recent Discovery of Cannel Coal in North Wales.- — This paper, 

 by Mr. H. Beckett, F.G.S., may be considered as supplementary to 

 the information respecting the Flintshire and Denbighshire coal- 

 field, given by Mr. Hull, in his ' Coal Fields of Great Britain.' That 

 geologist states that " the strata of the Flintshire coal-field rarely 

 attain a great depth, and that the greater portion of the coal, being 

 placed so near the surface, has already been exhausted." When these 

 statements were made, however, and until within a late period, the 

 main coal was the lowest seam generally wrought in Flintshire. At 

 Mr. Beckett's recommendation, Messrs. Jones sank below this seam 

 at Leeswood Green. Here the main coal was 154 ft. from the sur- 

 face ; below it several workable seams of coal were passed through ; 

 and at about 93 yards below the main coal, a 'bed of cannel was 

 reached. This seam, known as the Leeswood Cannel, was four feet 



