had a furnace and a steam jet to produce the ventilation, but the explosions occurred from the gas igniting the furnace. The most judicious and circumspect use of the safety lamp could not therefore have prevented the catastrophe, and some other mode must consesequently be devised of averting the recurrence of so frightful a calamity in those cases of apprehended danger, to which the safety lamp is inapplicable.” Mr. Herbert Francis Mackworth, another Government Inspector of Mines, was also examined before the committee on the two points to which we have principally referred. There is something consolatory in his statements that, taking the number of lives lost in the coal mines of his district in 1851 and 1852, he found a considerable diminution in accidents in shafts, and in the number of explosions. In accidents from explosions there was, however, a considerable increase in the number of deaths, owing to sixty-five lives having been lost by one explosion at Middle Dyffryn. He further explained that the considerable increase in the number of deaths from "miscellaneous" accidents, was owing to an irruption of water at the Gwendreath Colliery, by which twenty-six lives were lost, and this accident occurred on the same day as the great explosion at Dyffryn, 10th May, 1852. We read in a recent number of London Mining Journal of a frightful colliery explosion at the Arley Mine of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company, near Wigan, Lancashire, in which 89 unfortunate miners perished. "During the last five years, it appears that 164 lives have been lost in this colliery by explosions, viz. in March, 1849,-12; in Feb. 1850,-4; in March, 1853,-59; and in Feb. 1854,-89." "We trust, for the cause of humanity, the government of Great Britain will take up the subject, and that some measures will be acted on to secure a better supervision as to the state of the mines. As from the examination it is clear that the government plan of inspection is quite inefficient, as it imposes duties on a public officer which it is impossible for one human being to perform.' We also refer the reader to the valuable report of Mr. Kenyon Blackwell, Government Inspector, in the London Mining Journal. We must again take the liberty of quoting from the London Mining Journal, May 13, 1854, an account of a meeting held in London of coal proprietors, to inquire into the lamentable subject of accidents in coal mines-a subject which is equally interesting to all connected with collieries in this country as in England. "The document presented to the conference which led to most discussion, was the printed 'Rules and Regulations for the Safety of Coal Mines and of the Workmen employed therein.' They embrace a code of coal mining laws under the following heads: 1. Responsible charge of the mine; 2. Working-places; 3. Waste; 4. Goaves; 5. Wagon-ways and tram-ways; 6. Timbering and props; 7. Machinery; 8. Shafts; 9. Ventilation; 10. Stoppings; 11. Brattice; 12. Doors; * March 11, 1854. 13. Furnaces; 14. Fire-damp; 15. Safety lamps in fire-damp mines; 16. General instructions; 17. Penalties. It will at once strike our readers that the foregoing topics are quite sufficient to include every kind of management, and every possible contingency; and it is but justice to those from whom these resolutions have emanated, to acknowledge that they have been framed with perfect fairness, and that they do not exhibit the slightest disposition to screen either proprietors, managers or workmen from responsibility. They are particularly stringent in their directions as to the use and management of the safety lamp, and in prohibiting that of tobacco in any part of the colliery in which safety lamps are employed; and they expressly forbid that lucifer matches, or other self-igniting apparatus, under any pretext whatever, be taken down the pit by workmen and boys. They also propose to restrict the use of ale or any other intoxicating liquors in mines. "The last fatal explosion at the Ince Hall Collieries, at Wigan, has necessarily furnished matter for further inquiry, but apparently without throwing any further light on that distressing event. "The evidence of Mr. James Darlington, who is himself not only a coal proprietor, but also manager of those extensive coal and cannel works, occupies a large space in the publication. He considers the practice, which prevails in many districts, of leaving pits open as waste pits, very dangerous, and recommends that it should be made compulsory by law on all colliery proprietors, that they should be either arched over or fenced round with rails or walls. With regard to the taking off the tops of safety lamps, he tells us the magistrates at Wigan will invariably convict, where the rules are clearly proved to have been read over to the men; but in other districts the magistrates say they have no power, and seem surprised that the magistrates at Wigan should commit the men under the circumstances; and he added that he had heard it stated that there was no law to authorize a conviction. Mr. Darlington, although a coal proprietor, admitted that he was favourable to a system of inspection for the satisfaction of the public, and to prevent, if possible, the recurrence of accidents; but he emphatically declared that he considered the present to be no inspection at all, because the extent of the districts is such, that the present inspectors are unable to visit the mines, which are in consequence only inspected at intervals of two, three, four, or five years, according to the number of pits in the district." One of the witnesses examined, Mr. George Elliott, agent to the extensive collieries of the Marquis of Londonderry, stated, that he thought it would be wise in the present Committee to recommend the furnace system of ventilation to be made general, except under very special circumstances; and he further mentioned, that he had tried experiments with the view of ascertaining whether coal could be brought down by any process of explosion, without generating fire. We give the result in his own words; "A very painful accident happened at Usworth Colliery, of which I was the owner and manager, some time since, and which arose from the fire of shot; and since that Mr. Lee Pattinson, a practical chemist, and myself, have been endeavoring to ascertain whether we could invent some power to bring down the coal without an explosive mixture, such as gunpowder; and I am sorry to say that no very successful result has yet been arrived at; but up to the present time, I am afraid, notwithstanding gunpowder is a very old chemical invention, that very little progress has been made since it was first used, and that we are in ignorance of any substitute for it of equal power." He subsequently added that "if public attention were called to it, perhaps science might discover some substitute. And as this journal had previously solicited public notice to the subject, we again repeat that the researches of chemical and electrical discovery, which have in our times produced such marvellous results, could not be devoted to a nobler object of scientific ambition." MEDICAL TREATMENT AFTER EXPLOSION. The report of the South Shields committee, previously referred to, goes at considerable length into an explanation of the condition in which miners meet their death by explosions; the proportionate quantities of the gases, which create them, and the nature of the after-damp. This after-damp is formed of 8 parts of nitrogen having a specific gravity of 0.9722. 1 part of carbonic acid gas, specific gravity, 1.5277. The latter takes its place towards the bottom of the passages, and, probably, extends little more than six inches high. Hence it is inferred that when the men, after explosion, if not struck down at once by it, attempt to leave the mine through an atmosphere of afterdamp, they are at first rendered partially insensible by the nitrogen, which has been substituted for atmospheric air, and then, falling, they come in contact with a still more deleterious gas, a positive poison, [the carbonic acid gas], which having inhaled to a small extent, they pass rapidly into a state of asphyxia, owing to the state to which their systems have been previously reduced. Two practical inferences are thus deduced 1. Where carbonic acid gas is abundant, the lights are instantaneously extinguished, and burn with a dull red flame as they approach it; on these indications the miner is warned to retire, as here flame is extinguished before life; but when there is a large admixture of nitrogen, the lamp continues to burn, as in sulphuretted hydrogen, even when the miner has been struck down-life in this case being extinguished before flame. 2d. That asphyxia, arising from nitrogen, and completed by carbonic acid gas, might probably indicate a different system of medical treatment from that hitherto pursued. The symptoms of asphyxia,always easy to be known, are the sudden cessation of respiration; of the pulsation of the heart, and of the action of all sensitive functions; the countenance is swollen and marked with reddish spots; the eyes become protruded, the features discomposed, and the face often livid. It is necessary to succour an asphyxed person with the utmost promptitude, and to continue the remedies with perseverance until it is certain that life is completely extinguished. The following general remedies should be adopted: immediate removal into fresh air; undress and dash the body with cold water; endeavour to make the patient swallow water slightly acidulated with vinegar; clysters of two-thirds water and one-third vinegar, to be followed by others of a strong solution of common salt, or of senna and epsom salts; introduce air into the lungs by blowing with a nozzle of a bellows, into one of the nostrils and compressing the other with the finger. Should these means not produce the desired effect, and the body still retain its natural warmth, recourse must be had to blood-letting, the necessity of which will be clearly indicated by the red face, swollen lips, and eyes protruding. If blood fails to flow from the jugular vein, an attempt should be made on the foot; the last effort which can be made is to make an opening in the trachea, and introduce air to the lungs by means of a small pipe and a pair of bellows. These various remedies should be applied with the greatest promptness. The absence of the beating of the pulse, and the want of respiration are not certain signs of death, nor should all be regarded as dead whose breath or pulmonary transpiration does not bedim the brightness of glass; nor those whose members appear stiff and insensible. In giving these brief instructions, the committee hope that some of them may be judiciously practised, instead of the injurious plans sometimes adopted, until the arrival of a medical practitioner, who will thus find the patient prepared, uninjured for his professional skill, and his object facilitated, not obstructed, by the previous treatment he has received. DRAINAGE OF COAL MINES. In the mines which are situated in hilly or mountainous countries, it is generally easy to intersect the beds by galleries which commence at the lower part of some valleys; the galleries furnish a natural outlet for the waters of all the works which are above their level, and on this account are called in France galeries d'écoulement, or drainage galleries; in England, Wales and the United States, adits, or adit levels, and occasionally drifts and tunnels: but the word adit is the most distinctive of its object and uses. The advantages of these adits are numerous, and have often decided the undertaking of long and expensive works. In fact they are not only preferable to mechanical means of drainage, because when once made they require very little management or attention, but in giving issue to the upper waters, they also create a moving power which can be employed in the service of extraction, or in the draining of the lower works; finally, they furnish the most economical means for the other services of the mine, such as the forced ventilation, or the extraction of the substances mined. An adit level can often be so arranged as to serve, at the same time, the working of several veins. On account of all these united advantages, there has been undertaken in the district of Schemnitz, in Hungary, a gallery of 20,000 yards in length, or about 111⁄2 miles, designed for the use of the principal mines of the district, under the double service of draining the waters, of the carriage or gangway, and the creation of mechanical powers; it has been, besides, directed with a view to explore the ground for the discovery of new veins. At the Hartz, the great "galerie d'écoulement" of the mines of Clausthal, which is 13,000 yards in length, serves equally for a great number of mines, in different branches of the service. The use of these galleries is common in the countries where the mines are numerous and near together. In relation to pumps, and the varieties of hydraulic machines employed in mines, for the purpose of drainage, we must refer to the various authorities who have written either in England or on the continent of Europe on this important subject, and which, moreover, would require the aid of numerous illustrations to render any description intelligible. In the third volume of the Mining Review, p. 302, our readers will find a description of the pumps used in the deep mines of Cornwall, by Mr. John Taylor. The machinery brought to such perfection, and operating with so much economy and simplicity, is celebrated throughout the world. At the period of this communication, the steam engines of the district performed the work of 44,000 horses. TRACING OF COAL BEDS IN THE ANTHRACITE DISTRICTS OF PENNSYL VANIA. In these basins, where the outcrops of the coal seams almost always present themselves at a very high angle, they are in general readily traced, by the subordinate depressions which may be observed ranging longitudinally along the sloping side of the mountain ridges; pursuing, of course, the direction or strike of the strata. These depressions are obviously formed by the removal of the decomposable and soft materials of the coal seams; that is to say, the shales, the under-clay, and the coal itself, and they are conspicuously in contrast with the rocky siliceous beds which flank them, and which being composed of less destructible materials, have longer resisted the atmospheric agencies. Thus, in numberless instances, these longitudinal grooves afford an unerring clue to the subjacent beds of anthracite. In the great bituminous coal region of the Alleghany mountains, where the strata closely approximate to a horizontal state, such guides as |