vicinity of Greene village. Here Greene Creek, on the east, and Middle Fork of Beaver on the West, have cut through the overlying sandstone, (No. 3,) which is here of a thickness of 50 feet or more, and have exposed coal seams No. 3 and 4. On the west side of the ridge they are opened, and have been considerably worked. On the east side they have not been opened, but doubtless may be at many different points.

At Barnes' mine, west of Greene Village, coal vein No. 3 is actively worked. It is 33 feet in thickness, appears well, and has all the characteristics of the Bruce coal. In the language of the country, it is "strong" coal, and makes a very hot fire, but contains too much sulph. of iron to be liked by smiths.

A few rods up the stream, at a level some 30 feet higher, No. 4, or the "Cannel vein," comes out and has been worked by Mr. D. Wykart for some years. This is here a very bright, pure coal, containing but little sulphur, and is highly esteemed for working iron. It is about 23 feet thick, and is separated from the overlying sand-rock by a few feet of shale, which contains considerable iron, forming a meagre Black-band ore, scarcely rich enough to be worked.

Below the coal, the fire-clay is of unusual thickness; some parts of it are very pure and would make excellent pottery or fire-brick.

Included in this fire-clay is an argillaceo-ferruginous limestone, (a portion of Limestone No. 2, mentioned above,) which is composed of nearly equal parts of clay and lime, with an admixture of iron rendering some portions of it a rich ore.

COAL SEAM NO. FIVE.

In various places in the vicinity of Greene Village, near the top of the hill on which the town stands, is found a thin seam of coal, cropping out perhaps 40 feet above Wykart's coal seam. This is a stratum not found further north, and is the fifth in the series. In all this region it is not more than 13 feet thick, and is not worth working; but southward it becomes one of the most valuable coal seams on the line of the road.

Two miles above Washingtonville, on the farm of General Roller, coal seam No. 4 appears on the bottom of a ravine, but has scarcely been opened sufficiently to test its character. At Roller's mill, the same stratum is exposed in the face of the cliff, about 2 feet in thickness, and of medium quality. Above it the black slate is somewhat ferruginous but of no economical value. Below it the limestone contains much clay and iron, and a rich band of nodular ore is associated with it.

WASHINGTONVILLE.

COAL.

At Washingtonville coal seam No. 4, has been well opened and extensively worked, and exhibits a marked improvement in quality. At Wal

ter's, Roller's, Whistler's and Carsh's mines it presents great similarity of character and nearly equal purity, but perhaps contains least bisulphuret of iron in the immediate vicinity of Washingtonville. It is here the purest coal on the line of the road, and, indeed, contains a less amount of ash than any coal I have examined in Ohio.

The entire thickness of the seam is 24 feet, the lower two feet being the best, and showing scarcely a trace of sulph. iron; the upper six inches. contain more earthly matter and are somewhat slaty. The lower bench furnishes coal of moderate hardness, cubical fracture, a silvery, resinous lustre, and is composed of

Coke 60.18 per cent.-peculiarly hard, brilliant and good.
Gas four cubic feet per pound, of good quality.

Ash light yellowish-brown, aluminous, will not clinker.

Coke is made from this coal by Messrs. Whistler, Roller and Walter, in considerable quantities, and is considered by foundry men who have used it, better than that made from the Pittsburg coal.

Iron Ores.-Above the coal the shale is highly charged with iron, and a stratum of four feet in thickness, forming the roof the coal seam, is black-band ore of fair quality, of which the lower part is richest. According to my analysis it contains from 21 to 28 per cent. metalic iron.

Above the slate ore, and separated from it by a few inches of black slate, lies a bed of nodular ore three to five feet in thickness. The nodules are small but closely set, and the ore is of superior quality. It is finegrained, brownish in color, contains both protoxide and peroxide of iron, has a specific gravity of 3.7547, and yields 49.80 per cent. metalic iron. Below the coal and fireclay the limestone is seen about 14 feet in thickness, highly argillaceous in character, and would make a moderately good water lime. Below this stratum the shale for fifteen feet is set with nodules of kidney ore. It is more arenaceous than that above the coal, but will make good and soft iron.

Its specific gravity is 3.180, and it contains 38.306 per cent. metallic irou.

On the land of Mr. Grimm, near the village, is a bed of bog-ore which, in a region less rich in iron, would be regarded as highly valuable; here it is also of value, but less than the stratified ores.

About Washingtonville, the "Bruce Coal vein" (No. 3.) lies below drainage and has not been tested. West of the town it is opened and

1

exhibits the same general character as Barnes' mine, near Greene village, and Bruce's in Canfield.

The abundance of ore in the vicinity of Washingtonville, and the excellence of the coal, should make this an important point in the business of the road. It is to be regretted that the coal is not of greater thickness, but the coal and the ore overlying it may perhaps be worked advantageously together.

Near Bozzart's mill, south-west of Washingtonville, Coal-seam No. 4 has been opened near the level of the road, and No. 5 is seen cropping out on the hill-side, perhaps fifty feet above. It is here eighteen inches in thickness.

About Franklin Square, Coal-seam No. 4 is found in a great number of localities, and apparently of good quality. It comes out just below the grade of the O. & P. R. R., near the station, also on the river bank at the bridge; and may be found throughout the vicinity, at about the level of 25 feet above the stream.

From Mr. I. Dickson I learned that in the hill east of Franklin Square, at a distance of 80 to 100 feet above No. 4 (and over No. 5), a bed of impure cannel is found six feet in thickness. This is perhaps the equivalent of Coal No. 6, to which I shall soon have occasion to refer. No. 3 here lies below drainage.

Along the line of the railroad from Franklin Square to Long's Mill, coal may be mined at any point. The most accessible seam is No. 4, though the upper beds are contained in the hills, as yet unopened.

At Long's Mill we found Coal-seam No. 4 just in the grade of the road, about 3 feet in thickness, and apparently of good quality.

The shales lying above and below it are charge with iron, and will probably have some economical value.

At this point the upper seams of coal are seen cropping out on the road to New Lisbon, but are more fully exposed just below, on the

SHELTON AND ARTER FARMS.

These farms, somewhat famous in the vicinity for their mineral resources, exhibit an unusual concentration of iron ore, coal and limestone, and deserve the distinction they enjoy; yet it is true that the whole adjacent country for many miles in every direction, is scarcely less rich in valuable minerals.

On the Shelton farm we find Coal-seam No. 4 near the level of the creek, and the shales above it extremely rich in iron in the form of nodules of from 10 to 100 lbs. weight, and of good quality. Above this, perhaps 50 feet, is Coal-seam No. 5, apparently some two feet in thickness, but scarcely opened sufficiently to determine its thickness or quality.

Limestone No. 3.-A few feet above the Coal-seam lies a stratum of limestone which is a conspicuous feature of the geology of Columbiana county. It is the third limestone in the ascending series, and is found as far north as Poland, in Mahoning county, thence southward to and beyond the Ohio, wherever the land is high enough to include it.

On the railroad it is first found on the south line of Canfield, its lower portion capping the extreme summit of a high point south of the steam saw-mill on the Plank Road. It is doubtless contained in the hills about Franklin Square, but from the fact that, like other limestones, it is readily dissolved and removed by atmospheric influences, its out-crop is covered and concealed.

The upper portion of this bed, and sometimes its entire thickness, is of a light dove color, weathering yellowish-white. The lower portion is frequently darker and more argillaceous, and sometimes nodular and cherty It is nearly destitute of fossils and, when burned, makes a lime of great purity and more nearly white than that from any other limestone of the coal measures.

From its quality, association and distribution, it is an important element in the mineral resources of the region where it occurs. For the purpose of identification I shall call it the White Limestone.

COAL SEAM NO. SIX.-"THE BIG VEIN."

A few feet above the white limestone is found on the Shelton farm Coalseam No. 6—or, as it is called for the sake of distinction, the "Big Vein." This stratum is probably identical with the "Big Vein" on Yellow Creek, and is traceable over an immense area in Ohio and Virginia. As its name implies, it is a coal stratum of unusual thickness; in this respect excelling all others in the Ohio portion of the Alleghany coal field. On the farm of Mr. Shelton it is opened in several places, but nowhere penetrated to such a depth as to have passed the influence of the external air, and to permit me to obtain a fair sample of its quality. For this reason I have made no analysis of it. Its thickness over the Shelton farm is 7 feet 3 inches.

From what I know of this Coal-seam elsewhere, as well as from what its out-crop here indicates, I infer that it will furnish a coal of but mod erate hardness and highly coking in character. Where containing but little sulph. iron it makes an excellent coke, and in that form is now much used for the reduction of iron ores.

Sandstone No. 4.-Above the "Big Vein" is a stratum of shale of some 5 feet in thickness, upon which lies a bed of sandstone, here rather slaty, and not of great thickness, but toward the Ohio it becomes thicker and more massive, and is recognizable over a large area.

COAL SEAM NO. SEVEN.

Over this bed of sandstone, at a distance not greater than 40 feet from the "Big Vein," comes in Coal Seam No. 7, the highest on the line of the Railroad. It is here about two to two and a half feet in thickness, -quality not determinable. This seam, on Yellow Creek, as well as on the Little Beaver, nearer the Ohio, becomes thicker and more valuable. Iron Ore.-Lying upon this Coal Seam is a deposit of iron, which may always be found wherever the coal crops out, though subject to great variation of thickness and value. The overlying shale is usually charged with iron, generally diffused through its substance, producing black-band ore; but it is sometimes also collected in nodules and lenticular masses. On the Arter farm, and on the farm of Wm. Teagarden, this ore-bed is largely developed, and of great value.

On the Shelton farm, the "Big Vein" lies just on the grade of the Railroad. On the Arter farm adjoining, it lies much higher, rising faster than the grade of the Road. Above it on the hill, the uppermost vein is fully exposed, 2 feet in thickness, and having nearly five feet of black-band ore over it. Crossing the hill, in a ravine where the coal crops out, we find the upper vein covered by black-band, in which are lenticular masses of kidney ore.

The black-band ore of the Arter farm contains a large amount of carbonaceous matter (25 pr. ct.,) and in its raw state 23.081 pr. ct. of metallic iron.

The kidney ore is fine-grained and dark gray in color; has a specific gravity of 3.4135, and contains 42.976 of metallic iron.

On the farm of Mr. Teagarden, still farther south, the "Big Vein," where it has opened, has decreased in thickness to four feet. Above it, the upper vein crops out in several places, and over this the iron ore, principally in heavy nodules. These are somewhat more sandy than those of the Arter farm, have a specific gravity of 3.311, and contain 41.06 pr. ct. metallic iron.

Below the "Big Vein," on the Teagarden property, is a bed of shale several feet in thickness, apparently forming the roof of Coal Seam No. 5, which contains iron, perhaps in sufficient quantity to pay for working.

From the farm of Mr. Arter to New Lisbon, the surface gradually declines, and it is probable that the upper seams of coal and iron will not be found in that interval. The "Big Vein" and the white limestone crop out, however, at several points on the Salem road, and may be worked over a large surface. The Railroad follows down the valley of the Middle Fork, which cuts deeply into the strata, exposing all the rocks between Coal Seams No. 6 and No. 3.