272 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



duly appreciated, the advantages would f)e as manifest 

 as they are in other countries. The improvements that 

 have been made in this art, within the last few years, 

 have been prodigious, amounting almost to a revolution: 

 w^e allude more particularly to the use of bituminous 

 coal without having been previously coked, and the in- 

 troduction of heated air into furnaces. Some of our finest 

 ores are neglected because too rich, at other times too 

 poor, &c. Art takes no hand in changing the proportions 

 of constituents ; every thing is left to nature. 



In order to justify the above remarks, we bave the 

 honour to submit to the Society the results of the chemi- 

 cal investigation of the following substances. 



Coal from Portage Railroad^ presented to Geol. Soc. by 

 E. Miller. Marked Mo. 12. 



This coal is of a brilliant black. Its structure is foli- 

 ated in two senses, and conchoidal or uneven in another. 

 Very fragile. The pieces assume a pseud o regular or 

 trapezoidal appearance. The whole mass is zoned, and 

 sometimes divided by thin layers of a fibrous black coal 

 resembling charcoal. Its lustre is resplendent, with an 

 occasional tinge of iridescence; in a cross sense it is black, 

 velvety and dead. Its powder is black, inclined to brown. 

 It ignites with facility, and burns with a bright, long, 

 fuliginous flame, giving much smoke. Is very fat, and 

 by distillation furnishes a light voluminous coke, much 

 bitumen, water and gas, tiie latter product free from 

 ammonia. 



Composition per cent. 



Volatile matter (bitumen, water and gas), . 15 

 Ashes (argillaceous, with oxide of iron), . . 8 

 Carbon, 77 



100 



