COAL MINES OF JACKSON COUNTY. 1027 
As to the Lucas coal, Mr. Roy describes it as a homogeneous bed, 
varying from four to six feet in thickness, melting in burning and thus 
making a hollow fire. It is a bright coal, of excellent appearance, and 
certainly deserves more attention than it has yet received. This seam, 
as will be borne in mind, is everywhere found in local basins, some of 
which constitute very valuable coal fields of themselves. Such a basin, 
as yet undeveloped, is known to exist in Gallia county, in the vicinity 
of Waterloo, and the well-known Bayley’s Run seam, of Athens 
county, occupies another basin. A considerable area of coal, as thick 
and good as the Ferry and the Lucas banks, would add largely to the 
value of this field. The region in which it is to be looked for is some- 
what inaccessible, and has not as yet received even the ordinary 
development of a country coal field. : 
The Lower Freeport seam, which ranges from 60 to 90 feet 
above the Ferriferous limestone, does not, so far as known, exhibit 
promise of supporting mines. 
The Middle Kittanning Coal. 
The Middle Kittanning seam, No. 6, of Newberry, is known 
in Jackson county by its southern name, viz., the Sheridan coal. 
It is also known as the Washington Furnace seam. It les 35 
to 60 feet above the Ferriferous limestone. It is almost everywhere 
present, but its thickness often falls below fairly mineable proportions. 
It has as little value in Jackson county as in any county of the State 
that is traversed by it. It generally consists here of two benches, 
separated by a foot of fire-clay. This mark is characteristic for this 
region, as was first pointed out by the late Dr. L. W. Baker, to whose 
investigations a large part of our knowledge of this field is due. The 
benches of the coal seem to represent the middle and upper benches 
of the Nelsonville and Carbondale seam, the lower bench having en- 
tirely disappeared. Generally, the upper bench is not marketable 
coal, and thus it often results that only the middle bench of the seam 
is taken out. The poor quality of the upper bench is altogether what 
_ would be expected from the character of the seam as.traced through a 
half dozen counties. The middle bench has a thickness ranging 
between 2 and 3 feet, and it is, in almost all instances, of excellent 
quality. . 
Mr. Roy furnishes a section taken on the Keystone Furnace lands 
