682 Chronicles of Science. [Oct., 



VII. MINING, MINEEALOGY, AND METALLUEGY. 



Mining. 



The ' Mineral Statistics for 1864 ' have been recently published. 

 This National return may be regarded as the balanced ledger of the 

 mining interests, and we look to it annually for the purpose of 

 learning the progress of several of our most important industries. 

 The way in which the transmuting power of the human mind has 

 been brought to bear, with greater or less force, by the peoples of 

 different countries, is a curious and instructive study. This has been 

 in nearly all cases determined by the abundance of one or the other 

 of the great divisions of the natural kingdom. The products of the 

 vegetable world become the objects of manufacture to one country ; 

 those of the animal especially claim the attention of another ; while 

 the mineral stores receive the attention of the inhabitants of those 

 lands which are, like our own, especially marked by the variety of 

 rock formations, and, consequently, by the abundance and diversity 

 of its minerals. 



We are essentially a manufacturing people, but every branch of 

 manufacture which we have made especially our own, depends upon 

 the vast mineral resources which we possess. Without our coal and 

 our iron, we should fail to maintain our position amongst nations, 

 and although we do not depend so directly on our other metalliferous 

 minerals, yet much of our prosperity and commerical power is to be 

 traced to our mines of tin, of copper, of lead, and of other ores. 

 With a view of showing this, we have made the following careful 

 abstract from the ' Mineral Statistics ' for last year. The quantity of 

 coal produced from 3,268 colleries reached the enormous amount of 

 92,787,873 tons, which is valued at the pit's mouth, — that is, before 

 any cost of carriage is incurred, at 23,196,968Z. Of this we ex- 

 ported to foreign countries about eight million tons and a half. 

 There is — owing we suppose to the different dates to which the 

 respective returns have been made up — some discrepancy in the state- 

 ment of the exports given in this book. 



Tons. 



The Parliamentary Return gives 8,809,908 



The Board of Trade 8,800,420 



The General Summary of Exports to all countries, as given in detail . 8,063,846 



Whichever return, however, is adopted, there is, in comparison 

 with the returns of the previous year (1863), an increase of rather 

 more than 500,000 tons in our coal exports. From this we learn 

 that our manufactures, our steam engines on land, our steam vessels 

 at sea, our locomotives, and our domestic foes consumed no less than 

 83,900,000 tons of coal during last year : verily, this is a serious drain 

 upon our stores. Nothing has been published which can be regarded 

 as satisfactory on the question of the duration of our coal fields. We 

 must not, therefore, accept any of the conclusions which have been 

 arrived at as strictly reliable. At the same time, the fact should not 

 be lost sight of, that we are each year increasing the engineering 



