hayes.]       IKON    AND    NONMETALLIFEROUS    ECONOMIC    MINERALS.         29 
In  response  to  urgent  local  demands  Mr.  Eckel  made  a  hurried 
examination  of  the  iron-ore  deposits  of  several  counties  of  northeast 
Texas.  A  preliminary  report  on  the  region  appears  in  this  volume. 
Detailed  work  must  necessarily  await  the  completion  of  the  topo- 
graphic mapping. 
The  monographic  study  of  the  Birmingham  district,  begun  dur- 
ing the  past  year  in  cooperation  with  the  State  survey  of  Alabama, 
involves  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  red  hematite  or  Clinton  ore 
in  the  region  of  its  greatest  development.  One  important  result  of 
this  work  has  been  the  extension  of  the  ore  beyond  its  supposed 
southern  limit.  A  brief  paper  by  Mr.  Burchard  describing  this 
occurrence  appears  in  this  volume. 
FUELS. 
The  fuel  resources  of  the  country  have  received  a  larger  share 
)f  attention  during  the  past  year  than  at  any  previous  time  since  the 
organization  of  the  Survey.  In  the  Appalachian  region  field  work 
las  been  carried  on  by  Messrs.  Griswold,  Clapp,  and  De  Wolf  in 
Pennsylvania,  by  Messrs.  Ashley  and  Phalen  in  West  Virginia,  and 
3y  Messrs.  Butts,  Burchard,  and  Gale  in  Alabama.  About  3,000 
square  miles  of  coal-bearing  territory  has  been  mapped  in  great 
letail,  and  the  exact  extent,  position,  and  structure  of  the  coal  beds 
vill  be  shown  in  the  geologic  folios  now  being  prepared.  The  intro- 
luction  of  economical  methods  of  coal  mining,  rendered  possible  by 
his  work,  while  of  more  immediate  benefit  to  the  owners  and  oper- 
ators, should  in  the  end  cheapen  the  fuel,  and  so  directly  benefit  all 
vho  are  dependent  on  this  field. 
Mr.  Campbell  has  remained  in  charge  of  the  Appalachian  coal 
\7ork,  though  most  of  his  time  has  been  taken  up  by  his  duties  as  a 
nember  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  Survey  coal-testing  plant 
t  St.  Louis.  This  work,  however,  has  enabled  him  to  come  into  close 
ouch  with  the  coal  industry  of  the  entire  country  and  to  gain  infor- 
uation  of  great  value  in  planning  for  future  work,  particularly  in 
onnection  with  the  low-grade  coals  of  the  West. 
The  mapping  of  the  Indian  Territory  coal  fields  has  been  continued 
urirg  the  past  year  by  Mr.  Taff  and  assistants.  Mr.  Taff  has  pre- 
pared detailed  maps  and  descriptions  of  these  coal  fields  for  the  use  of 
fjhe  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  selling  the  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Indians,  as  provided  by  law.  He  has  also  prepared  a  summary 
•eport  for  this  volume. 
A  little-known  coal  field  in  the  Olympic  Peninsula  of  Washington 
Us  examined  by  Mr.  Arnold,  in  connection  with  other  work.  As 
tidicated  by  the  brief  report  in  this  volume,  the  field,  while  not  of 
