Vol. LXVI. No. 2998. 
NEW YORK, JULY 13, 1907. 
WEEKLY, il.OU PKU YEAR. 
A COUNTRY COAL MINE. 
Cheap Fuel for West Virginia Farmers. 
Those who are familiar with the workings of the im¬ 
mense coal mines of modern times, with their steel tip¬ 
ples, huge fans, heavy machinery and electric appliances, 
as well as those who have never had the opportunity 
to inspect a coal mine of any sort, will be interested 
in the picture of a country coal mine shown in Fig. 
261. this mine is about a half mile south of Mason 
and Dixon’s Line in Monogalia County, West Virginia. 
The output of this mine is not shipped by rail, or by 
water, or manufactured into coke, but is used by the 
farmers in that vicinity for heating their homes during 
the Winter months. That section is supplied with sev- 
must be left for this purpose. After being mined the 
coal is screened with a fork, and as there is no market 
for the fine or slack coal, it is either thrown away or 
burned for fertilizer. The diggers are paid 75 cents 
per ton for the coal mined by them, and at that rate are 
able to earn from $40 to $80 per month. 
From 50,000 to 60,000 bushels were mined last year, 
and the amount this year will reach 75,000. This is 
sold by weight on a Jones scale at five cents a bushel, 
or $1.25 per ton. During the Spring and Summer months 
the amount of coal ready for market is constantly in¬ 
creasing, until about the first of September there is a 
heap of 30,000 bushels, or 1,200 tons in the coal yard. 
Then the hauling commences. Everybody is anxious 
to have his Winter’s supply of coal laid in before the 
soil is of a sandy nature a stone crusher is almost a 
necessity, and when the farmer awakes to the realiza¬ 
tion of just what this implement can do for him he will 
favor an appropriation for one almost immediately. 
A very bad piece of road in this section was put into 
fine shape last Summer by the addition of a dressing of 
crushed stone and clay. The stone was obtained at a 
small expense from a large building which was being 
torn down; crushed, and after the roadbed was scraped 
down to the depth of about 18 inches, applied heavily 
and thoroughly clayed; then the sand was replaced and 
graded down smoothly at the sides to allow the water 
to drain off. This Spring, after an application of the 
steam roller and a little more grading, the piece of road 
which has been a terror for years, is in ideal condition. 
A BUSY DAY AT A COUNTRY COAL M'INE IN WEST VIRGINIA. Fig. 261. 
cral veins of coal, the vein which is operated being 
known as the Waynesburg vein. It runs from seven to 
eight feet in thickness, and can be conveniently oper¬ 
ated where it crops out. It is considered an excellent 
steam coal, lhe mine has been operated for a number 
of years and now extends about 800 feet back under the 
lull, with enough of a slope toward the opening to allow 
the water to drain away. Three diggers are employed 
throughout the year, and th^ coal is hauled out with an 
ordinary one-horse dump cart, one-half ton to the load. 
Twenty years ago all the coal was brought out in a 
wheelbarrow. Later a push cart was used, and then 
the dump cart. 
A peculiar feature is that no lumber is used in the 
mine, either for track or supports. Instead of being 
lined with pit posts or props, enough coal is left to sup¬ 
port the overlying strata. About one-fourth of the goal 
weather and roads become bad and so September, Oc¬ 
tober and November are busy months. Two horses will 
haul from 20 to 70 bushels at a load, and during the 
busy season as high as 50 loads are hauled in a day, some 
of this coal being hauled as far as 10 miles. It is an 
interesting sight to see the teams in line, while some of 
the wagons are being loaded and others are waiting their 
turn. At such times the men are as jolly as if they 
were at a picnic. Some sections have their husking 
bees, others have their chopping bees, but this section 
has an annual coal-hauling bee. c. w. 
TREATING SANDY ROADS. 
Probably no other theme has been so universally dis¬ 
cussed as that of good roads, and it certainly is one 
which deserves the uttermost consideration from the 
agricultural world, especially. In sections where thg 
Fig. 262 shows how a trom,.esome sand hill was dis¬ 
posed of, and a new road opened up last Fall. The cut 
was made' about November 1, and was about 15 rods 
long and five or six feet deep. An appropriation of 
$50 from the town and about $50 or $60 in road work 
was applied, and although the hill is improved con¬ 
siderably it is still in bad condition on account of the 
loose sand constantly drifting down the sides and filling 
the road. The work was done with two-wheel scrapers, 
one leveler and four wagons. The scrapers were used 
only on the short hauls, and none of the sand was 
hauled more than 30 feet each way. If a right of way 
around the hill could have been procured the cutting 
would have been unnecessary, as it simply needed level¬ 
ing, as shown at right of Fig. 263, and the grade would 
have been about 10 feet lower. But a right of way was 
unobtainable, even at the rate of $200 per acre, for com- 
