14 H GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP CANADA. 



Coals— 5. — This specimen of coal was received through Dr. Gr. M. Dawson 



oontf e from Mr. Hankin, of Skeena Forks, who stated that the locality 



of its occurrence was about eighteen miles up the Watsonquah 

 River, British Columbia. The sample was a very small one. 



Very compact, homogeneous, hard, brittle. Does not soil the 

 fingers Colour black, but not pure black, having a just percep- 

 tible brownish tinge. Lustre dull resinous. Fracture conchoidal. 

 Takes fire in a lamp flame, burning with a bright flame (which, 

 however, soon dies out on removal from the source of heat), emis- 

 sion of smoke and a slight empyreumatic odour. Heated in a 

 covered crucible it produces a very large amount of flame. In the 

 closed tube yields a considerable quantity of tarry product. Its 

 powder did not impart the slightest colouration to a boiling solution 

 of caustic potassa. 



An analysis, by fast coking, gave the following results : 



Volatile matter 40.52 



Fixed carbon 57.51 



Ash 1.97 



100. 



A determination of the water gave 0.85 per cent., as however, 

 owing to lack of material, no control was made, the amount of 

 this constituent is included in the number indicating volatile mat- 

 ter. Rapid heating gave a firm coke. The ash, which was some- 

 what bulky, had a light reddish-brown colour and agglutinated 

 slightly at a bright red heat. 



This is an excellent coal and closely resembles a coal of the true 

 Coal measures. Its geological position, according to Dr. G. M. 

 Dawson, is Mesozoic, most probably Cretaceous. 



IEON ORBS. 

 Nos. 5 and 6 were analysed by Mr. Frank D. Adams. 



Iron ores— !• — -A- magnetic iron ore, from Harriet Harbour, Skincuttle Inlet, 

 analyses of, Q ueen charlotte Islands, British Columbia. 



Dr. Gr. M. Dawson, from whom the specimen was received, 

 informs me that this ore there constitutes a very considerable 

 deposit. There were two samples, here designated as A. and B., 

 both from the same locality : A. may be said to represent a pretty 

 fair average of a large bulk of the ore, B. on the other hand must 

 be regarded as a picked specimen. 



