COAL. 
467 
dance of fiery sparks emitted, the miners are en- 
abled to carry on their work in places where the 
flame of a lamp or candle would occasion dreadful 
explosions. Without some invention of this sort, 
the working of these mines would long ago have 
been impracticable, so greatly are they annoyed by 
these inflammable damps. Fewer mines, however, 
have been ruined by fire than by inundations ; and 
here that noble piece of mechanism the steam- 
engine displays its beneficial effects. When the 
four engines belonging to this colliery are all at 
work, they discharge 1228 gallons of water every 
minute, at thirteen strokes; and, after the same rate, 
1,7^8,320 gallons every twenty-four hours.” 
The road from the Whitehaven coal-mines to 
the water-side is mostly on a gentle descent, and 
provided with an iron rail-way : this, by removing 
much of the friction, exceedingly facilitates the car- 
riage of the coals to the shipping, which are laid 
along-side of the quay to receive them. When the 
waggons are loaded, they run without any assistance 
on the rail-way till they arrive at the quay, where the 
bottom striking out, the waggon discharges its con- 
tents into a large fleue, or, as the workmen term it, a 
hurry , through which it rattles into the hold of the 
vessel with a noise like thunder. A man is placed 
in each waggon to guide it, who checks its progress, 
if necessary, by pressing down one of the wheels 
with a piece of wood provided for the purpose. 
W hen the waggons are unloaded they are carried 
2 11 2 
