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speculative theories, aims at ascertaining the elements of things, and rendering all 
nature tributary to the wants of man, achieved, if we look at results, a greater tri¬ 
umph, nor been crowned with more complete success. This instrument, so simple 
in its construction, yet so admirably adapted to its purpose, serves as a striking il¬ 
lustration of the value of science, and the mastery which high intellect may obtain 
over inanimate matter. Thus that difficult problem, which had for centuries baf¬ 
fled th e prnc'ical wisdom of the world, was solved in a few hours by the philoso¬ 
pher in his laboratory. The coal mines of England may be justly regarded as the 
basis of her prosperity, and without them her rich ores would lie valueless in the 
bowels of the earth, her manufactories would be deserted, her commerce annihilated, 
and the skill and energy of her operations be paralyzed. Yet, until this discovery 
by Davy, the most frightful explosions, attended by a lamentable loss of life and 
property, were most frequent; but now they need never happen, and rarely take 
place, and when they do occur arc always the result of carelessness. It was thought 
by some persons, that free hydrogen gas existed in the atmosphere of coal mines, but 
this notion is now, I believe, exploded without doing much injury. The subjects 
of fire damp I may return to again more in detail, when visiting the bituminous 
Coal mines of New-Castle-on-Tyne, as it is becoming every day more important 
that we should be well acquainted in the United States with its nature, and th© 
best means of rendering it harmless. 
The coal in this mine is usually worked by picks and wedges, but sometimes 
is blasted in large masses. Many irregular seams run through it, affording great 
facilities for mining. The surfaces where the seams or joints occur, are perfectly 
smooth and glistening, as if they had been polished by attrition. Above the coal 
is shale, with vegetable impressions; below it, sandstone, with small nodules of 
iron ore. One stratum of coal is called the Brass vein , on account of the pres¬ 
ence of iron pyrites —‘‘strong indications of a brass mine ,” as an engineer once 
wrote in his field book ! The strata are often disturbed, and occasionally much 
distorted; at one place it is seen suddenly to strike upwards, and, in a few rod© 
further on, it descends again to its regular dip, having been thrown up by a dyke, 
which had not, however, disturbed it to any great extent. The Welsh anthracite 
is said to be inferior to ours. Some parts of the drifts are sustained by the natural 
roof of rock; other portions are arched, and others again supported by timbers. 
Train railways are carried through the different galleries, and the workmen load 
the cars as they quarry the coal, and these cars convey the mineral directly to the 
canal boats. 
After leaving the colliery, visited Mr. Crane’s anthracite iron works, at Ynsce- 
dyn. He claims to be the inventor of this process of smelting iron ore, and 
seems to succeed with it perfectly well. From 25 to 35 cwt. of coal, with about 
15 cwt. of limestone, produce one ton of good pig iron. The furnaces, in which 
anthracite is exclusively used, are small, not being more than nine feet across the 
boshes; but, he says, they may be built twelve feet wide. Another furnace, fif¬ 
teen feet across the boshes, is worked with a mixture of anthracite and coke. This 
is called by the workmen physicking the anthracite , Mr. Crane, in all cases, 
