Iff 



480 ON THE COAL-FORMATION* 



tipon the south by the river Forth, which divide! 

 the county from Stirlingshire ;• on the west by the 

 Carse of Stirling ; and on the east by strata of the 

 coal- formation, extending through the county of 

 Fife to the river Eden, near St Andrew's. 



North of the Ochils no mines of coal have been 

 seen, nor any to the west of the Clackmanan- 

 shire coal-field, north of the Forth. But coal- 

 mines are found in abundance both to the south 

 and east. 



The Wood Hill of Alva, the property of James 

 Johnston, Esq; may be considered as the base of 

 the coal-field now to be described. 



I. Alluvial Rocks. 



From the summit of the Wood Hill to the bot- 

 tom of the face, where the Alva House court of 

 offices are built, there is little cover of soil ; there 

 being much naked rock, and small, loose angular 

 stones broken from the hill strata. At the bottom 

 of the face a great bank commences, composed, to 

 a certain depth, of earth and stones, apparently 

 formed from the mountain face ; this bank conti- 

 nues southward till it join the recent alluvial soil 

 formed by the river Devon ; which soil extends 

 to very near the Devon Iron-works. 



This alluvial soil is very fertile, and is known 

 in Scotland by the name of Haugh-ground. It is 



