344  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1903.  [bull.225. 
If  three  such  tests  show  the  coal  to  be  thin  and  badly  crushed,  it  is 
probable  that  the  basin  as  a  whole  has  little  or  no  commercial  value  at 
the  present  time.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  test  holes  show  a  good 
body  of  coal  with  little  or  no  disturbance,  then  mines  could  readily  be 
established  near  the  axial  line  of  the  basin,  presumably  at  its  northern 
extremit}r,  and  the  coal  could  reach  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway 
over  a  short  road  down  Meadow  Branch  and  Sleepy  Creek.  An 
inspection  of  the  topographic  map  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  such  a 
road  could  be  constructed  down  Meadow  Branch  to  the  northern 
extremit}7  of  the  mountain,  where  the  grade  could  be  kept  well  above 
creek  level,  and,  passing  over  the  low  summit  at  the  right  of  Meadow 
Branch,  it  could  descend  the  next  small  stream  to  the  east,  reaching 
Sleepy  Creek  at  a  point  about  3  miles  above  the  river. 
The  coal  field  also  can  be  reached  by  a  branch  road  up  Cherry  Run, 
but  in  this  case  the  development  would  necessarily  take  place  along 
the  overturned  limb  of  the  syncline,  and  mining  would  have  to  be  car- 
ried on  by  means  of  shafts.  This  would  necessitate  the  raising,  not 
only  of  the  coal,  but  also  of  the  water,  which  necessarily  would  be  a 
considerable  item.  The  plan  for  development  in  the  interior  of  the 
syncline  is  much  more  feasible,  so  far  as  the  lay  of  the  coal  is  con- 
cerned, and,  presumably,  the  cost  of  a  branch  road  into  the  field  would 
be  no  greater  than  it  would  be  along  Cherry  Run. 
