Warrior coalfield of northern Alabama. — Eraser. 319 
Assuming its specific gravity to be 1.29 and its average thickness 
as great as the Black Creek coal, this would give to the acre 4, 627 
tons. There are also two smaller coal seams beneath the main 
bed, but separated by slates and sandstones of variable thickness 
and therefore not counted here. It may be assumed, then, that 
there are 4,627 tons of this coal to each acre which it underlies. 
There is a black-band ore which has been discovered in Jeffer- 
son county high above the Jefferson seam, but as it has never 
been successfully worked and as it only reaches about one foot 
four inches in thickness, it may be disregarded. The important 
black-band immediately above the Warrior coal bed in the Ala- 
bama mines i9 a most valuable deposit, but very variable in its 
location, as has previously been said. An analysis of a sample 
which I selected as a fair average has already been given. 
Its specific gravity is 2.31 (mean of 3 determinations), and its 
average thickness (mean of 5 measurements) is 1.25 feet. It 
therefore will average 3,924 tons of 2,000 pounds to the acre, but 
owing to the great change of its position within short distances, it 
would not be safe to count upon more than half of this as availa- 
ble for economical mining at present. 
The Black-band which usually accompanies the Warrior coal 
bed has not been sufficiently studied in Cullman county to enable 
one to predict what its quantity and constancy will be. It is 
likely, however, to become an important factor in any estimation 
of value. 
The black-band ore may be looked for anywhere in the vicinity 
Of the Warrior coal, and may, for aught that is known to the con- 
trary, occur in large quantities, but it is such a variable and fickle 
deposit that, in the absence of any positive information concern- 
ing it in this region, I prefer to omit further mention of it here. 
Note I. 
The system of numbering townships in Alabama is based upon a meridian 
run through Huntsville (general Coffee's line, which is the ordinate for upper Ala- 
bama), and a meridian run through St. Stephen's by general Freeman, which is 
the ordinate for southern Alabama. The latter finished his work first, and ran an 
abscissa on a circle of latitude east and west dividing the state into two pints; a 
northern and a southern. A township is a horizontal slice across the whole state. 
Coffee established twenty-two townships from the northern boundary of Alabama 
to Freeman's line, and they are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.— south. Freeman estab- 
lished twenty-four townships, counting 1, 2, 3, etc.— north from the northern 
boundary of Florida. The "ranges" arc the distances along the northern edge of 
a township six miles long, and are counted 1, 2, 3, etc., east or west of the meri- 
dian from Which they are measured. The number of the sections in each of these 
ranges is begun at the northeastern square mile, and proceeds west to the limit o S 
