stone.]  THE  ELDERS  RIDGE  COAL  FIELD,   PENNSYLVANIA,  323 
The  Ashbaugh  analysis,  published  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago, 
is  from  a  sample  of  the  coal  taken  at  Ashbaugh's  steam  mill  on  Har- 
per Run,  1  mile  above  Clarksburg.  The  lower  bench  of  the  bed  has 
a  cannel  appearance  and  is  very  rich  in  hydrocarbons,  which  prob- 
ably accounts  for  the  high  percentage  of  volatile  matter.  The  loca- 
tion is  very  near  the  new  mine  of  the  Pittsburg  Gas  Coal  Company, 
but  the  analyses  of  the  coal  at  the  two  points  differ  considerably.  The 
Ashbaugh  analysis  shows  next  the  highest  amount  of  combustible 
matter  of  any  locality  in  the  field. 
The  coal  of  the  Ewing  bank  in  all  the  different  benches  is  slaty  and 
poor.  Some  of  it  is  overloaded  with  iron  pyrites,  and  none  of  it  in 
its  raw  state  could  be  considered  marketable  fuel,  except  for  local 
supply.  Although  not  the  lowest  in  total  amount  of  combustible  mat- 
ter, it  is  the  lowest  in  fuel  ratio,  and  carries  so  high  a  percentage  of 
sulphur  as  to  make  it  unsalable  for  many  purposes. 
At  the  mill  of  Mr.  J.  Evans,  close  to  West  Lebanon,  the  Pittsburg 
coal  was  mined  many  years  ago.  The  bed  is  somewhat  slaty  and 
more  pyritous  than  at  most  other  localities.  Mr.  McCreath  analyzed 
a  specimen  representing  about  the  average  run  of  the  main  benches, 
and  the  results  are  given  in  the  accompanying  table  as  Evans  1.  One 
bench  (that  next  to  the  lowest)  in  this  bank  assumes  a  cannel  appear- 
ance and  Evans  2  is  an  analysis  of  the  same. 
The  coal  in  the  Holsten  bank  (No.  1)  takes  third  place  in  the  list  for 
total  amount  of  combustible  matter,  stands  high  in  fuel  ratio  and  coke 
per  cent,  and  it  is  also  high  in  sulphur.  The  analysis  of  the  coal  at 
this  bank  was  made  by  the  Survey  chemists  from  a  sample  collected 
b}'  the  writer  at  a  fresh  breast. 
On  the  basis  of  the  analyses  which  give  the  coal  in  the  Avonmore 
mine  first  place,  there  would  be  difficulty  in  making  a  second  choice. 
The  coal  at  the  Holsten  and  Arnold  pits  is  no  better  than  that  on 
Harper  Run. 
COKE. 
There  are  no  coke  ovens  in  the  Elders  Ridge  field  at  present.  The 
coke  percentage,  which  is  the  sum  of  the  fixed  carbon,  ash,  and  sul- 
phur, is  highest  in  the  Arnold  and  Iselin  analyses.  The  analyses  sug- 
gest, however,  only  the  strength  and  purity,  a,nd  fail  to  indicate  the 
essential  qualities  of  a  good  coking  coal.  The  coking  and  noncoking 
properties  of  the  soft  coals  are  not  yet  clearly  understood. 
The  only  sure  method  for  determining  the  adaptibilit}^  of  coal  for 
coking  is  to  have  a  quantity  of  it  tested  in  a  coke  oven  and  then  to 
make  a  careful  study  of  the  physical  and  chemical  properties  of  the 
product. 
