i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

A RADICALLY NEW THEORY
ON THE FORMATION OF COAL.
The following paper, prepared by D. S. Prentice,
of Winchester, Ind., presents a radically new
theory on the formation of coal. The arguments
would at least appear specious to the layman and
they are of so original a nature as to be worthy
of perusal as a curiosity in contributory mining
literature, if for no other reason:
Whoever has visited the coal fields in this country
and has seen coal strata varying in thickness
from one or two inches to many feet, and separated
by slate strata, itself saturated, where in
contact with the coal, with the same substance
as the coal itself; if he has stopped to think at
all on the subject, must certainly, to some extent,
have lost faith in the theory that the great trees
or other products of vast primeval forests, could
possibly have gotten into such strata as is now
found in the coal formation.
That stratified rock is always the result of a
fluid deposit, there is no dispute; hence both the
coal and the slate must have been the result of
fluid deposit. Certainly, any scientist who should
undertake to describe any natural process whereby
great forest trees might be reduced to such forms
as the coal strata now occupy, would find an impossible
task. Only rotten wood could be reduced
to strata and rotten wood could not possibly form
coal. But all difficulties immediately disappear
when the investigation conceives these strata of
coal to have been formed from natural oil. He
will then be able to fully account for every fact
which he finds in connection with these deposits,
as well as for all the conditions and constituents
of the coal itself.
This fact alone would seem to be a sufficient
evidence of the oil origin of the coal formations,
for it is conceded by scientists and philosophers
always, unless the concession be barred by a conservative
deference to established educational dogma,
that a theory that will fully explain all the
phenomena connected with any material substance,
must be the true theory, for it has never
been found that two separate and distinct theories
relating to the same subject were each, separately,
capable of explaining all the facts relating.
Ihe writer might here readily show that the
theory of a vegetable, or forest origin for coal
does not at all furnish even a fairly reasonable
explanation of the condition of the coal beds, or of
the character of the coal itself; but in showing how
perfectly the theory of the oil origin of the coal
beds explains all the varied phenomena connected
therewith, the failure of the theory so long
generally accepted, to do so will become so apparent
as to need no farther refutation. The
writer will first undertake to show that we have
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 37
now, within the range of human observation, every
process of change and every grade of condition of
such changes as takes place between the crude oil,
as now found in nearly all parts of the world, and
the coal of commerce. The commercial grades
of this remarkable natural product are natural
gas, crude oil, refined oil, gasoline, benzine, coal
or gas tar, asphalt, soft coal, many grades, and
anthracite coal. The Island of Trinidad contains
an asphaltic lake of about 100 acres area, of unknown
depth, i-i which there are four oil springs
in constant flow and the asphalt of commerce
furnished by this lake is, unquestionably, formed
from this oil. from the springs shoreward is
found every grade of density from crude oil at
the spring to the hard asphaltum of commerce
near the shore. This change in the oil has evidently
been produced by the sun's rays evaporating
the more volatile parts and leaving the denser
particles of the oil produced at the springs.
So far then there can be no question or dispute,
asphaltum is the product of natural oil. Let us
follow the process of change towards coal still
farther. In the mountainous regions of Nevada
there are several asphaltic mines, differing only
from the asphalt of Trinidad lake in being freer
of dirt and somewhat drier or harder. There are
mines, both of the black and red, the former, if
old enough, would form coal, the latter lignite.
This asphalt is used commercially, after smelting
and thinning with oil, as paints for boilers, smoke
stacks and roofs, and wherever a cheap paint is
wanted. Near the same region a very soft coal
is mined and used as fuel, it melts down, in the
process of combustion, so much as to be very
troublesome, but is too hard to be easily melted
in a kettle, hence is not easily disposed of as
asphaltum and has to go as a cheap soft coal. The
next grade is the ordinary soft coal of commerce.
This also melts to some extent—so as to become
sticky—in the process of combustion. Next the
cannel coal. It was from this coal that the first
kerosene oil was distilled and called coal oil, a
name which still adheres to kerosene. It was
identical in its properties with that distilled from
oil, except the odor was less pronounced.
None of this oil can be found in any known
wood, or wood fiber. How then is it possible that
the coal from which it was first distilled could
have been formed from wood or its residuum?
The nearest substance obtainable from forests
is the spirits of turpentine and this is not from
wood or wood fiber, but is from the pitchy deposit
of the pine, which, when hardened, becomes
rosin and not coal. Anthracite is probably a formation
resulting from a much higher temperature
than is produced by the direct action of the sun's
rays. It is unnecessary to attempt to theorize on