FUELS AND THEIR UTILIZATION. 59 



and are associated with vast'quantities of very fine iron ore. The abundan ce 

 and accessibility of these materials give promise that, now a method of util- 

 izing them is offered, only a short while will elapse before manufacturing the 

 ores and products of our State will add to the wealth of the same." 



It will be noticed that even at that early date the outlines of the lignite re- 

 gion of Texas were correctly described, the conditions of a prosperous manu- 

 facture of the raw material into briquettes were conclusively shown, and the 

 importance of the occurrence of the lignites in association with the East Texas 

 iron ores was fully set forth. The test, made with a large amount of ma- 

 terial of the lowest grade, by French manufacturers is of the highest import- 

 ance, and the results obtained must remove every doubt from the mind of the 

 greatest sceptic that Texas lignites can be used with advantage in the manu- 

 facture of briquettes. A careful comparison of the coal used in European 

 countries for the manufacture of coke and othei derivates of the lignites with 

 the brown coal found and examined in Texas can leave no doubt that the 

 State possesses a material far superior in quality for the manufacture of the 

 named commercial articles. 



Notwithstanding their inferiority, notwithstanding the near vicinity of ex- 

 tensive coal fields containing the very best stone coal, and notwithstanding 

 that the most of them can be obtained only by deep mining, that immense for- 

 est tracts are cultivated with the utmost care, that almost every tree cut is re- 

 planted as quickly as removed, millions of dollars have been advantageously 

 invested in European lignites. Their manufacture sustains a large and skilled 

 population, and exerts the most important influence upon the prosperity and 

 wealth of the countries in which the coal beds are located. 



How much higher will be the results obtained in our State by a judicious 

 working of the immense quantity of coals of the very finest quality. Though 

 it is true that we luckily have also large fields containing stone coal, and that 

 still large tracts of piny woods cover the eastern part of the lignite region of 

 Texas, the experience gained in Europe shows conclusively that neither the 

 forest constantly replaced, which even in this Southern clime can not be done 

 in less than twenty years, nor the vicinity of stone coal will retard the devel- 

 opment of this independent industry, even under the most unfavorable con- 

 ditions. To use the coals advantageously the most costly experiments had to 

 be made; experience had to be gained in the construction of ovens, furnaces, 

 engines, etc. Nothing was known, and yet a steady advance and a progress 

 in the mining and manufacture of the lignites can be noticed, going side by 

 side with the progress in forest culture and a more rational mining of stone 

 coals and their manufacture. 



In North Germany alone the briquette manufacture has increased since 

 1875 from twenty-nine presses, with a working capacity of half a million 



