156 
Transactions of the Society. 
A good specimen of this class is composed almost completely of 
the small round bodies about which, as yet, no definite opinion 
seems to have been formed. If the coal section is thin enough, 
the small round bodies are a bright yellow with a black centre. 
These black centres are most probably holes which have been 
filled in with carbonized material. Such a coal is quite non- 
coking, the residue being pulverulent. In thicker sections the 
small round bodies become more orange-coloured. Lomax, in one 
of his earliest papers (Lomax : “ The Microscopical Examination 
of Coal,” etc., Trans. Inst, of Mining Engineers, Yol. 42), states that 
the microspores form the bulk of cannels. This statement is of 
interest to me, because from examination of these bodies in other 
types of coal, I lean to the opinion that they are a variety of spore. 
Of course, these classes are not sharp and distinct, but run into 
one another. There are humic coals which contain more and more 
spores ; some coals are mostly spore, while others become cannel- 
lized as the yellow bodies merge with the spores. Some cannels 
contain many megaspore fragments, but others, as already stated, 
are almost wholly composed of yellow bodies. Cuticle from 
leaves and twigs, etc., is a constituent common to all types, but is 
more common in the humic to spore types. 
Lomax, after studying a number of coal seams and cutting 
numerous sections, which when joined together made a thin slice 
of the coal, practically from floor to roof, comes to the following 
conclusions. That, in general, coal seams are composed as follows : 
First, there are the remains of ferns and horsetails ; then come the 
Gymnosperms containing many cordiate leaves ; the remains of 
the Lycopodsecia follow, forming the bulk of the coal. The spores 
from these trees become more and more numerous the higher up 
the seam one gets, microspores often occurring first. Cannels are 
found next, and then towards the top there is often a return to 
the remains of Gymnosperms and horsetails. (Lomax : “ The 
Formation of Coal Seams,” T.I.M.E., Yol. 50). 
This arrangement will account for the three types of coal 
found, and the gradual transition from one type to another. 
EXPLANATION OP PLATE VII. 
N umbers. 
9 & 10. — Humic coals which swell very considerably x 75. Town’s gas manu- 
facture and house coal. 
11. — Humic coal with very fine structure x 50. Suitable for coking. Right 
angles to bedding plane. 
12 & 13. — Spore coals, suitable for producer gas working, x 25. Parallel with 
and at right angles to the bedding plane respectively. 
14. — Similar coal to above, but more cannellized, x 15. Parallel with 
bedding plane. 
15 & 16. — Hard coal almost completely “ cannellized ” x 50. The round bodies 
are orange-coloured, due to the section beiDg somewhat thick. 
Parallel with and at right angles to the bedding plane respectively. 
