A L. 
e o 
7 °5 
Fathoms. Feet. 
3. Whitifh fandftone, Intermixed with mica 4 o 
4, Bituminous clay, mixed with pyrites and 
mica .---------8 o 
5. Coal ° 0 % 
6 . Stony clay, with fand and mica - - 4 o 
7. Coal. ': ~ ° 1 
8. Martial indurated clay, mixed with mica 8 o 
9. Bituminous clay, like No. 4. - - - 4 5 
10. The principal bed of coal - - - - o 4-to 8. 
The principal bed is therefore about thirty-feven fathoms 
deep; but other beds are found Hill lower. 
At Whitehaven. 
1. Clay - -- -- -- -- - 
2. Clay, mixed with fand - - - - 
3. Culm and clay ------ 
4. Indurated clay ------ 
5. Indurated clay, of a ftony liardnefs 
6. Coal of bad quality - - - - - 
7. Martial clay and mica - - - - 
8. Coal ---------- 
9. Brown martial micaceous clay 
10. The fame, but fatter - - - - - 
11. Apyrous or fire-clay, called fill 
12. Clay, mixed with iron ore - - - 
13. Culm --------- 
14. Micaceous fandftone. 
15. Clay, mixed with land and mic* - 
16. Blue clay.- - 
17. Principal bed of coal - - - - - 
Fath. Feet. 
8 4 
4 2 
1 4 
1 3| 
Q 
o if 
2 4 
4 4-| 
6 2 
o 3i 
9 4i 
8 5 
o 2 
Jt_3_ 
59_3| 
The ftrata here extends from north to fouth 5 but their 
inclination, or dip, is from eaft to weft.. 
At Alfreton common, in Derbylhire, the principal bed 
of coal is one hundred and eighty-four feet deep, buried 
under fimilar ftrata 01 argillaceous earths as the preceding, 
with one feam of coal about half way down, only eighteen 
inches thick ; but the ftratum at the bottom is feven feet 
four inches, of exceeding good coal. 
At Hetruvia, in Stafford (hire, the coal lies very near 
the furface. The firft approach is through ratchil, or 
fragments of ftone ; then limeftone about one foot thick; 
a bed of fand, clay, and lime, follows; and then comes 
the ftratum of coal. 
At Bagelt, in North Wales, the mine penetrates through 
fixty-one feet of fand and gravel, fliafe. clay, and (late, 
when it reaches a ftratum of coal fix feet in thrckneis. 
It then finks fifty-three feet deeper, and reaches a learn 
of coal only two feet three inches thick. But, after de¬ 
fending one hundred and five feet further, through fand¬ 
ftone and (late, and two hundred and forty feet from the 
furface, it approaches a ftratum of valuable coal, upwards 
of fifteen feet thick. 
At Litchfield, the mine (inks through black clay, rot- 
ten-llone, marie, thin coal, black-rock,, black-bat, or 
marie, white-rock, grey-rock, &c. until it reaches one 
hundred and fifteen feet under ground, where the great 
and valuable ftratum of coal lies, not lefs than thirty feet 
thick. 
At Colebrook Dale, in Shroplhire, according to Mr. 
Young’s Annals of Agriculture, they obtain four ftrata 
of coal in the fame pit, ranging in the following order: 
brick-clay, s potter’s-clay, fmut, blue-bat, or marie, fand¬ 
ftone, coal four feet thick; potter’s-clay, then the belt 
coal three feet thick; brick-clay, then clod-coal two feet 
fix inches thick; common clay, and then flint-coal four 
feet thick. The utmoft depth of this mine is only eighty- 
two feet. 
In Scotland, at Baldo near Falkirk, the pit finks only 
fifty-two feet under ground, through a thin layer of cl^y, 
then a ledge of (late thirty-three feet thick, then lime¬ 
ftone, (late, and earth, until it reaches a feam of coal 
three feet fix inches thick, 
Vol. IV. No. 231. 
In Ireland, at Drumglafs, the mine is one hundred and 
thirty-two feet deep, palling through clay and rubble- 
lfones, loft argillaceous ftone, indurated clay, a ledge of 
Hate, then the feam of coal four feet five inches thick. 
At Ballycaftle, the other Iriflt mine, the (earn of coal at 
prelent worked is five feet thick, but lies, two hundred 
and forty-two feet under ground, palling through ftrata 
of bafaltes, (late, yellow free-ftone, fluty coal, and ninety 
feet of hard grey free-ftone. This mine, notfvithftand- 
ing, is worked with great fpirit. 
In France, a quick-burning volatile coal has been dis¬ 
covered and worked for many centuries. The bed are 
found in Forez, Bourbonnois, and Auvergne. It lies at 
conliderable depths, and generally in heaps, not ip feams, 
on the fides of hills, and is therefore eafily extruded. 
In Germany, the ftrata of coal is very thin, and found 
at a confiderable depth ; yet that indefatigable people 
find it their intereft to work luch thin learns of coal as in 
England are defpiled. In the Sophia lhaft or pit, at Wet- 
ten, in the duchy of Magdebourg, the principal bed of 
coal is only one foot thick, and lies one hundred and 
eighty-feven feet below the furface, under immenfe rocks 
of flute, fand-ftone, flint, and fhillus. In the Dorothia 
mine at Lobegin, the leam of coal is four feet five inches 
thick, and lies one hundred and eighteen feet below the 
furface, furmounted by yellow clay mixed with calcareous 
earth, grey micaceous (late, foap-rock mixed with quartz 
and flint, and bituminous fhiftus. In the country of Liege, 
the coal is conftantly lurmounted by a hard argillaceous 
grit or fand-ftone, and lies in the form of a horle-lhoe. 
The coal-mine of Kiadraw, in Bohemia, is but fix fathoms 
under the turf, and covered wholly with a white micaceous 
land. 
In Sweden, the coal is very thin, but generally eafy to 
work. At Bofcrup, in Scania, the mine is fifty feet deep, 
with a bed of pyritous coal at the bottom, two feet thick. 
It has, alfo, a little more than half way down, a feam of 
coal one foot thick, which is carefully wrought. The fu- 
perincumbent matters are moftly land-ftone, with argilla¬ 
ceous earths, quartz, and iron ore. The mine near Kel- 
finburg has a leam of coal two feet thick, and only thirty- 
fix feet below the furface; and, about eighteen feet fur¬ 
ther down, it has another feam of coal one foot thick. 
Thefe ftrata are principally furmounted by argillaceous 
Hate and land-ftone. 
In Italy there are no coal-mines ; the great line of this 
valuable fuel appearing to fweep away round the globe 
from north-ealt to louth-weft; not ranging at a diltance 
even from the fouth-eallerly parts of our own ifland.ashath 
been generally imagined, but actually vifiting Brabant and 
France, and yet avoiding Italy. 
The moll remarkable coal-work ever known, was that 
wrought at Burrowltounnefs, under the fea. The ftrata 
of coal were found to continue under the bed of the fea 
in this piace, and the colliers had the courage to work 
the leam near half way over; there being a mote half a 
mile from the Ihore, where there was an entry that went 
down into the coal-pit, under the fea. This was made 
into a round key or mote, built fo as to keep out the fea, 
which flowed there twelve feet. Here the coals were laid, 
and a (hip, of that draught of water, could lay her fide to 
the mote, and take in her lading. This famous colliery 
belonged to the earl of Kincardine’s family. The frelh 
water which fprung from the bottom and fides of the coal¬ 
pit, was always drawn out upon the Ihore by an engine 
moved by water, that drew it forty fathoms. This coal¬ 
pit continued to be wrought many years, to the great pro¬ 
fit of the owners, and the wonder of all that law it; but, 
at laft, an unexpected high tide drowned the whole at 
once: the labourers had not time to efcape, but perilhed 
in it. 
In working coal-mines, their regularity is frequently 
interrupted, and the ftrata broken, by chafms, breaches, 
or fiflures, which are differently denominated according 
to their various dimenfions, and the matters with which 
2 R they 
