April 7, 1916. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 651 Farnham, Quebec, to a line drawn from Battleford to Moose Jaw, and thence to Estevan, Saskatchewan. Although a considerable quantity is used in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, these provinces are also supplied by coal from the Grow’s Nest, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Souris districts. (3) Vancouver Island coal is sold over a very limited area; large quantities are exported to the United States. Oil-burning locomotives are used on the Canadian Pacific Railway from Vancouver to North Bend, and from Kamloops to Field, British Columbia; on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, from Prince Rupert to ■Iasper, Alberta; on the Great Northern throughout the Cascade division; and on the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway on Vancouver Island. Nova Scotia Coal.—Nova Scotia coal is shipped to Montreal by way of the St. Lawrence route, but, on account of the closing of the river during the winter months, shipments cannot be made during this period, consequently large stock piles are made at or near Montreal during the open season. The coal used on locomotives between Montreal and Ottawa is half Nova Scotia and half United States coal—the former is used to coal locomotives leaving Montreal, while the latter is used on those leaving Ottawa. From the above it may be considered that this is the economic limit to which Nova Scotia coal may be used. United States Coal.—On account of its bulk, the chief factor in the economic marketing of coal is low trans- portation charges. As the water transport charges on coal for 600 miles on the Great Lakes is less than | mill per ton mile as against 6’6 mills per ton mile for coal hauled a similar distance from the west eastward, it can be seen that shipment by water of American coal towards the west has >a distinct disadvantage over western coal, in so far as the middle west market is concerned. The following example is a comparison of prices of United States coal and (say) Crow’s Nest coal laid down at Winnipeg. Lois. Price (per ton) of United States coal f.o.b. Cleveland... 2-15 Freight charges to Fort William (per ton) ....... 0-30 Handling (per ton) .............................. 0-30 Duty (per ton) .................................. 0-53 Total cost* at Fort William ................. 3-28 Freight rate from Fort William to Winnipeg .. 2-50 Total cost at Winnipeg .................. 5-78 Cost of Crow’s Nest Coal f.o.b. Crow’s Nest district, say 2-10 Freight rate from Crow’s Nest district to Winnipeg... 4-65 Total cost at Winnipeg,................. 6-75 * At the present time there is an additional war tax of 16c. It will be noted that the freight rate on United States coal from Fort William to Winnipeg, a distance of 428 miles, is 2'50 dols. per ton, while the freight rate on Canadian coal hauled eastward is 2’50 dols. per ton for three-fifths of this distance. The railways, no doubt, have a good reason for charging the higher freight rate, but the fact remains that it favours the marketing in Western Canada of United States coal. Two problems of great importance exist in the Prairie Provinces to-day, and their solution will become a matter of even greater moment in the future. These are : the problem of cheap power and the problem of a domestic fuel supply. In western Manitoba, in Saskatchewan, and in eastern Alberta, water power development costs are, in most instances, high, but these districts are within reach of great deposits of lignite. It is, there- fore, of great importance that something be done with a view to utilising the low grade fuels which underlie the greater portion of Alberta and part of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In order to make the coal transportable and suitable for domestic and power purposes it would be necessary :— (1) That it be of sufficient value to be able to bear the cost of transportation. (2) That it withstand handling and a certain amount of weathering. (3) That it be a suitable fuel for domestic and power purposes. Coal briquettes fulfil these conditions, and it is desir- able that investigations be carried on with a view to determining the suitability of the lignite and low grade coals for the manufacture of briquettes. The Saskatchewan Government has done considerable work along this line. The experience of the United States and Germany has demonstrated that cheap power can be produced in gas engines from lignites inferior to those in the Prairie Provinces, and it is believed that electric energy can, at certain localities in the West, be generated from lignite or sub-bituminous coal and supplied to the market at -a less cost than the power in use at present. Investiga- tions carried on by the Mines Branch of the Canadian Department of Mines have demonstrated the suitability of these low grade coals for use in gas producers. Fuel oil is used to a considerable extent in Western Canada. It is not possible to estimate to what extent fuel oil has replaced coal, but according to “ Railway Statistics,” about 40,655,000 gals, of oil fuel were used in this district. Assuming that 3’86 barrels of oil (42 United States gallons) are equivalent to one ton of coal for steaming purposes, then this figure would represent the replacing of about 114,000 tons of coal. On account of its importance to coal operators in British Columbia and Alberta, a fair understanding of this question is necessary. The development of fuel oil for use on railways and steamships has been brought about by the discovery of large oil fields in California. Oil fuel has many advantages over coal, but its use.or non-use will, of course, depend upon whether it is the most economical fuel to use under the circumstances. In this connection it might be said that the railway com- panies have adopted its use, not on account of any compulsion on the part of the Government, but from business considerations. On account of the ease with which it can be fired, loaded into boats, and that it occupies less space than coal, thereby giving greater freight carrying capacity for steamships, it will be used on this class of traffic some time after its price exceeds the price of its equivalent in coal. Fuel oil has been used to a considerable extent on railways in the United States since its introduction in 1900. The partial exhaustion of oil fields adjacent to some of these lines has caused them to revert to coal. The change back to coal will be still more evident as the increasing prices for oil offset its advantages. The use of fuel oil in place of coal in Western Canada depends upon the low price of crude oil from California or from other States bordering on the Pacific and from Mexico. It is a significant fact that in 1915 the number of producing wells w’ere increased, but the average yield per well per day dropped from 47 barrels in 1914 to 39 barrels in 1915. Although the petroleum business in California during 1915 was poor, and the price of oil 1| cents per barrel less, this has been due largely to the effects of the war. For the reasons given above, the price will increase, and there will be; a greater demand for it for steamship use incident to the placing in full operation of the Panama Canal. The writer is of the opinion that, in so far as Canadian railways are concerned, the economic advan- tages of fuel oil for locomotive use over that of Canadian coal is more favourable now than will be the ease in the future. COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES.* By Marius R. Campbell. The coal fields of the United States are estimated to have originally contained 3,500,000,000,000 short tons of coal. Some of this has been mined and wasted, some is not suitable for export, and some is not favourably situated for that purpose. Deducting these various classes, there still remain 800,000,000,000 tons avail- able for export trade. ' '.i-- ■ CMS ... • ’ <• . . < ■ ' to. :■ ' ' • r. • AJO* Fig. 1.—Ten-foot Bar Ironclad Unloading from Self-propelling Truck. The coal fields of the Appalachian region will doubtless be the first to feel the demand of foreign countries. The coal is suitable for most purposes to which a fuel may be put. That from the eastern part of this region is mostly shipped to the Atlantic seaboard, that from the southern extremity might reach either the Atlantic or Gulf ports, and that from the north-wes.em part might reach the Gulf by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The coal fields of Illinois, Indiana and Western Kentucky contain lower rank coal; still it is a good fuel for general purposes, and could readily be transported by water to New Orleans. The coals of Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma are of higher rank. At present only a small quantity of coal from these States reaches the Gulf coast, but a larger tonnage could be supplied were a market Assured, The coal fields of the Rocky Moun- tains are more difficult of access than any heretofore described. They contain a variety of coals, some of which ■may eventually reach tidewater and be available for export trade. The coal fields of Washington are favour- ably situated on or near tidewater, but the coal is not of good enough quality to compete with the coals from British Columbia, Australia, and Japan. The paper concludes with a table of analyses, showing the composition of many of the coals of the United States. * Abstract of paper on the “Coal Fields of the United States, Considered as Sources of Supply for the Western Hemisphere,” read at the Second Pan-American Scientific Congress. DEEP MINING WITH IRONCLAD COAL-CUTTERS.* By R. A. Lowry. The use of mining machines as a substitute for under- cutting coal with a hand pick, or as an alternative to “ shooting off the solid,” will be acknowledged as one of the most important elements making for success in the coal industry. The compressed air pick machine, the chain breast machine, and now the continuous cutting chain type, electrically- or air-driven, have rendered mining more successful, in safety, in rapidity of production, and in economy. Another step in advance, that promises an increased factor of success, is the employment of cutter bars of greater length than hitherto considered practical. It used to be an accepted theory that coal of average height could not be shot successfully to the back of the cut, when this was more than 1J the height of the face, or, in the case of thick seams, when cut to a depth greater than the height of the face. A standard maxi- mum length for chain machine cutter bars has been, for several years past, 6| ft. About two years ago Col. E. O’Toole, of the United States Coal and Coke Company, at Gary, West Virginia, came to the conclusion that with clean coal, free from sulphur and other impurities that hinder shooting, strong roof, and even bottom,, such as are; found at Gary, coal could be mined and shot successfully to considerably greater depths,. At his request the Sullivan Machinery Company made up Ironclad coal cutters with bars 8 ft. 6 in. long, and then, as these proved successful, machines with bars 10 ft. 4 in. in length. The performance of these machines at Gary was watched by the management with great interest. After a thorough test, the following results were evident :— Comparing the 10 ft. 4 in. bar with the 6| ft. bar, the longer bar cut 64 per cent, more coal in the same places, cost, only about one-third more for labour and power, required fewer repairs per ton, produced a larger per- centage of lump coal, and required less powder per ton. Moreover, the development progress is materially increased by the long bar machines. An average advance of 160 ft. was made with 6) ft. bars per month working single shift, while 250 ft. is an average for the 10 ft. 4 in. bar during the same period. The accompanying illustrations show the long cutter bar Ironclad in use at the mines of the Clinchfield Coal Corporation, at Dante, Virginia, mining the Upper Banner and Lower Banner seams. The Upper Banner is a woody, friable coal, with com- paratively well pronounced faces and butts, averaging 5 ft. in thickness. The top is sand rock, and the bottom comparatively hard fireclay. The Lower Banner seam will average not over 3 ft. 6 in. high, and is more blocky, with a1 slate top and fireclay bottom. These mines had been equipped with machines of several makes; but Mr. Lee Long, the general superin- tendent, became convinced that his coal was adapted to deep mining. He gave the Sullivan Ironclad with 10 ft. 4 in. bar a thorough trial, and was so pleased with the increase in. over-all efficiency and economy shown that he has since replaced many of his older machines with these long bar Ironclads. Fig. 1 shows the long bar Ironclad being unloaded at a room face, under its own power. In fig. 2, the cutter bar is shown partly under the coal, sumping on a.sump- ing bar at the left rib. In fig. 3, the machine is partly across the face, moving under its own power on its cutter chain from left to right, i.e., towards the front * Mine and Quarry.