520 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
without the aid of machinery, and the mode of working coal through vertical- 
shafts, which may be considered as the second stage in the art of mining, 
appears little known. In this respect, as in almost every other, the Chinese 
are far behind their neighbours the Japanese. Probably, if an inhabitant of the 
Celestial empire were shown some of the largest collieries of Newcastle or 
Wigan, he would scarcely deign to look at them, or would gravely inform you 
that they had similar or better machinery, and deeper mines, in " Pekin side." 
Mr. Oliphant, in his narrative of Lord Elgin's mission, states that coal is 
procured from a mine about five miles distant from the important city of 
** Wliang-sheh-Kang," or " Yellow Stone," on the river Yang-tse-Kiang, about 
four hundred miles from its mouth. He also states that coal is raised in 
Japan somewhat extensively, but as a government monopoly. " One mine, at 
a place called Wakamoto, in the interior of the main island of Niphon, was 
visited by some of the Dutch mission. They describe the mine as being well 
and judiciously worked, and the coal as bituminous in its natui-e, and made 
into coke for use. That the coal is worked by means of vertical shafts, appears- 
from the fact that the Prince of Fizen once ordered a steam-engine from 
Europe for pumping the water out of his mines ; but, through the native 
jealousy of the presence of foreigners in the country, refused to allow the 
Dutch engineer to erect the machineiy upon the spot. The Japanese, how- 
ever, are quite independent of Earopean aid for such an object, as they 
thoroughly understand the construction and management of the steam-engine. 
Ksempfer, in his 'History of Japan,' also refers to the abundance of this, 
mineral, stating that it is dug in great quantity in the province of Tsekusen, 
and in most of the northern provinces. The rich and productive empire also 
yields abundance of gold, silver, copper, and iron, and the Japanese armourers 
excel the Europeans, and perhaps any other nation, in tempering steel." 
Short and brief as are these references, and introduced more even as matters 
of curiosity than anything else, and brief as is the chapter on the Coal-fields of 
the World, we are still glad that there is even this little mark of attention 
shown to the subject of foreign coal-fields, for hereafter will it not be only the 
question of how long our coal-fields will last, but we shall have to consider, as 
our coal-mines get deeper^ how far foreign countries can compete with us in 
setting their cost of carriage against our cost of uplift and deep-mine draining ; 
whether they will bring their coal-produce to our market, or carry it to 
other markets where material and machinery can be worked together. 
We must not, however, consider that we have anything like a perfect know- 
ledge of the stores of fossil fuel laid up in the crust of the earth. The con- 
stant finding of coals and lignites, usable as fuel, of other ages than the car- 
boniferous, leads us to conceive the idea that future discoveries of most 
valuable beds may from time to time be made in deposits of various ages, 
although none of these are likely to equal the veritable coal-seams of the car- ' 
boniferous age. 
