﻿6 
  

  

  part 
  of 
  the 
  nineteenth 
  century 
  this 
  industry 
  began 
  to 
  grow 
  rapidly. 
  In 
  

   1849 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  blast 
  furnaces 
  using 
  charcoal 
  or 
  coal, 
  charcoal 
  

   forges, 
  and 
  rolling 
  mills 
  in 
  Pennsylvania 
  was 
  504. 
  a 
  The 
  estimated 
  

   amount 
  of 
  wood 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  charcoal 
  in 
  1847 
  was 
  nearly 
  

   1,500,000 
  cords 
  for 
  the 
  whole 
  State. 
  Probably 
  one-third 
  of 
  this 
  was 
  

   consumed 
  in 
  western 
  Pennsylvania. 
  Great 
  areas 
  of 
  even-aged 
  forest 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  State 
  testify 
  to-day 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  clear 
  cutting 
  

   during 
  this 
  period 
  for 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  charcoal 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  iron 
  

   industry. 
  

  

  In 
  1838 
  anthracite 
  coal 
  began 
  to 
  be 
  used 
  as 
  fuel 
  for 
  the 
  blast 
  fur- 
  

   naces, 
  and 
  by 
  1855 
  had 
  largely 
  replaced 
  charcoal. 
  Anthracite 
  in 
  

   turn 
  was 
  replaced, 
  about 
  1875, 
  by 
  coke, 
  a 
  product 
  made 
  from 
  bitumi- 
  

   nous 
  coal. 
  The 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  coke 
  industry 
  meant, 
  however, 
  a 
  

   larger 
  demand 
  upon 
  the 
  forest 
  again, 
  as 
  coal 
  mining 
  increased. 
  In 
  

   the 
  Appalachian 
  coal 
  field 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  coal 
  for 
  all 
  purposes 
  rose 
  

   from 
  1,000,000 
  tons 
  in 
  1847 
  to 
  nearly 
  80,000,000 
  tons 
  in 
  1900. 
  This 
  

   represents 
  an 
  enormous 
  drain 
  on 
  forest 
  resources 
  to 
  furnish 
  the 
  sup- 
  

   ply 
  of 
  pit 
  props, 
  mine 
  ties, 
  and 
  other 
  materials 
  necessary 
  to 
  mining 
  

   operations. 
  

  

  ' 
  Thus 
  the 
  forest 
  of 
  eastern 
  Ohio 
  and 
  western 
  Pennsylvania 
  has 
  been 
  

   reduced 
  principally 
  to 
  isolated 
  woodlots 
  of 
  small 
  extent, 
  the 
  aggregate 
  

   amount 
  of 
  which 
  grows 
  less 
  each 
  year 
  as 
  the 
  stands 
  are 
  cut 
  for 
  lumber 
  

   and 
  mine 
  props. 
  Land 
  thus 
  cleared 
  of 
  its 
  forest 
  growth 
  is 
  usually 
  put 
  

   under 
  cultivation 
  or 
  into 
  pasture, 
  excepting 
  steep 
  ridges 
  or 
  the 
  sharp 
  

   slopes 
  bordering 
  rivers; 
  hence 
  there 
  is 
  less 
  and 
  less 
  productive 
  forest 
  

   land. 
  

  

  A 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  coal 
  fields 
  and 
  the 
  character 
  and 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  

   mining 
  industry 
  reveals 
  the 
  necessity 
  for 
  forest 
  extension 
  in 
  this 
  

   region. 
  

  

  CO.AX 
  MINING 
  AND 
  ITS 
  EFFECTS. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  important 
  bituminous 
  coal 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   is 
  the 
  Appalachian 
  coal 
  field. 
  It 
  extends 
  from 
  the 
  northern 
  bound- 
  

   ary 
  of 
  Pennsylvania 
  southwestward, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  800 
  miles, 
  to 
  

   central 
  Alabama. 
  Near 
  the 
  northern 
  end 
  it 
  is 
  180 
  miles 
  wide, 
  nar- 
  

   rowing 
  southward 
  to 
  less 
  than 
  20 
  miles 
  in 
  Tennessee 
  and 
  expanding 
  

   to 
  about 
  80 
  miles 
  in 
  Alabama. 
  

  

  The 
  geologic 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  Appalachian 
  coal 
  field 
  is 
  simple, 
  and 
  

   consists 
  of 
  a 
  canoe-shaped 
  basin 
  or 
  trough. 
  The 
  deepest 
  portion 
  

   lies 
  along 
  a 
  line 
  extending 
  from 
  Pittsburg, 
  Pa., 
  through 
  West 
  Vir- 
  

   ginia 
  to 
  Huntington, 
  on 
  the 
  Ohio 
  River. 
  The 
  rocks 
  dip 
  from 
  either 
  

   side 
  toward 
  this 
  line. 
  At 
  the 
  northern 
  end 
  they 
  outcrop 
  in 
  an 
  

   irregular 
  semicircle, 
  dipping 
  toward 
  the 
  deepest 
  part, 
  which 
  in 
  

   Pennsylvania 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  southwestern 
  portion 
  of 
  Greene 
  County. 
  

  

  a 
  Report 
  of 
  committee 
  on 
  statistics 
  — 
  Convention 
  of 
  Iron 
  Masters 
  of 
  Pennsylvania, 
  1849. 
  

  

  