AN ENQUIRY 
 
 CHVMICAL CH.\RACTER AXD PROPERTIES 
 
 RHODE ISLAND ; 
 
 bBSERVATIONS ON THE USEFUL APPLICATION OF 
 IT TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES 
 OF THE EASTERN STATES. 
 
AN ENQUIRY, &e. 
 
 The subject of the following pages is 
 so interesting to the inhabitants of this 
 country, that little apology is requisite for 
 intruding it on the publick. Providence 
 has so bountifully distributed its favours 
 over the continent of America, that few ar¬ 
 ticles are required from other countries, 
 which could not be obtained here by proper 
 industry'and research. 
 
 While the population of America was 
 but limited, and while the forests afforded a 
 sufficient supply of so useful and necessary 
 an article as fuel for the purposes of com¬ 
 mon life, no exertion was .made to discover 
 other substitutes, but as the soil becomes 
 cultivated, and as arts and manufactures in¬ 
 crease, a necessity arises for seeking a sup¬ 
 ply of fuel from other sources than the 
 woods of the country. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell on the advan¬ 
 tages which must result to a country so em¬ 
 inently flourishing as America, from the dis- 
 
4 
 
 covery of Coa] Mines : few who are ac¬ 
 quainted with the rapid increase of the arts 
 
 and manufactures in England, but must at¬ 
 tribute much of their success to the benefit 
 which they derive from their Colliaries. In 
 this respect, I hope to make it appear, that 
 England has no great superiority over this 
 country ; and those who wish well to the 
 manufactures of America, can in no higher 
 degree promote its best interests, than by 
 encouraging researches which so obviously 
 tend to their prosperity. 
 
 The inhabitants of the eastern States, 
 and of Boston in particular,are much indebt¬ 
 ed to the genius and perseverance of one of 
 their own countrymen, for tlie discovery of 
 a Coal Mine at Rhode Island, so eligibly 
 situated in every respect, that a constant 
 and regular supply can be obtained at all 
 times, without di'tficuln'. My object at 
 present/is, to describe its geological situa¬ 
 tion, to give an accurate analysis of the 
 Coal whicli'has been discovered, and to ex¬ 
 plain some of its most obvious qualities; 
 and I am more particularly induced to this 
 attempt, from observing that much igno¬ 
 rance prevails on the subject, and that ma¬ 
 ny of its properties are either unknown, or 
 misrepresented. 
 
5 
 
 In this .description, 1 shall confine my¬ 
 
 self entirely to that part of the Island where 
 
 the Coal Mine is at present situated, and 
 where the indications of Coal V7ere sostrong- 
 ly marked, that it is rather surprising it 
 should have so long escaped general obser¬ 
 vation. 
 
 The fossils which appear on the surface, 
 in the neighbourhood of the Coal Mine, are 
 argillaceous sand stone, abundance of schis- 
 tus, or shale, and white quartz in large de¬ 
 tached masses. When the ground is pene¬ 
 trated a few feet, the appearances are such 
 as to leave no doubt that the stmta consist 
 of what is called the true independant Coal 
 formation. Shale and argillaceous sand 
 stone, abounding with vegetable impres¬ 
 sions,, present themselves first, and immedi¬ 
 ately under the sand stone, Coal is discov¬ 
 ered ; in some places, even wfthin six feet 
 of the surface. 
 
 The position of the bed is here, as is gen¬ 
 erally the case in the independaot Coal 
 formation, not horizontal or vertical, but 
 forming an angle of about 76 , and the veins 
 of coal appear to be separated from each 
 other by various coloured sand stones, 
 which interpose between theseams. Though 
 all these substances belong to what is called 
 
6 
 
 the transition rocks, yet fine specimens of 
 indurated talc and green Asbestos in capella- 
 ry crystals, are also discovered, interspersed 
 through the shale, and immediately covering 
 
 the Coal. Substances, which it is difficult 
 
 to account for, as they have been generally 
 supposed peculiar to primitive rocks. 
 
 The veins of coal run nearly in the direc¬ 
 tion of east and west, and th&^tratum which 
 is worked at present, appears to be about 14 
 feet wide ; so little change has as yet taken 
 place in the course of the vein, that there is 
 every appearance of its improving, as they 
 proceed farther from the surface : with only 
 fifteen workmen, they can raise at present, 
 from ten to twelve chaldron of coal per dayj 
 besides keeping the mine free from water, 
 from which they suffer little inconvenience. 
 
 The character of Pihode Island Coal, is 
 as follows : 
 
 Its colour is black, or greyish black, 
 with a metallick lustre, it soils the fingers ; 
 its fracture is slaty, but its cross fracture is 
 conchoidal, and the sides of its natural divi¬ 
 sions are sometimes covered with a ferrugi¬ 
 nous earth. It burns slowly, producing an 
 intense heat, without smoke, and with a ve¬ 
 ry light lambent flame ; but emits no sul¬ 
 phureous or bituminous vapour, and, when 
 
■7 
 
 perfectly burnt, leaves a very small quanli-' 
 ty of grey ashes. The unconsumed particles 
 of it, retain their original colour and lustre. , 
 Specifick gravity from l,4o0 to 1,750 
 From the above description, little doubt 
 
 can remain of the true character of this Coal; 
 but in order to ascertain with precision the 
 quantity of ingredients which it contained, I 
 examined it according to the rules so ably 
 laid down by Kirwan, and as my object was 
 principally to determine the proportion of 
 carbon which it contained, as the substance 
 upon which all its good qualities, depend, I 
 repeatedly deflagrated it with certain propor¬ 
 tions of nitre, and uniformly found, when the 
 experiment was made with proper attention, 
 that 100 parts of coal,contained from 90 to 94 
 of carbon ; and in order to compare it in this 
 respect, with the charcoal in common use 
 here, 1 found that it required more charcoal 
 to saturate a given proportion of nitre, than 
 it did of Rhode Island Coal. These exper- 
 imeqts were also confirmed by submitting 
 100 grains of the Coal loan intense heat in 
 a crucible, which, after five hours, were re¬ 
 duced to six grains of ashes ; those ashes, 
 which consisted, perhaps, of an oxyd of iron 
 and an earth 1 had not leisure to examine; 
 nor was it of much consequence in the main 
 object which 1 had in view, which was, to 
 
8 
 
 ascertain the qualities of the coal, as an arti¬ 
 cle of fuel. 
 
 The follo_wiDg table of the relative pro¬ 
 portion of carbon, which it bears to some 
 other mineral coals,maynot be unacceptable. 
 
 loo parts of Carbon. 
 
 Bitumen. 
 
 Ashes. 
 
 Sp. Grav. 
 
 Swansea, 
 
 74 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 1, 357 
 
 SVhitehaven, | 
 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 1, 257 
 
 Newcastle, 
 Rhode Island, 
 
 58 
 
 40 
 
 2 
 
 1, 71 
 
 94 
 
 — ' 
 
 6 
 
 1, 7d0 
 
 Kilkenny 1 
 
 97 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 
 1, 526 
 
 Anthracite 7 I 
 of Hauy 5 j 
 
 64 
 
 - 
 
 36 
 
 1, SOO 
 
 Thus it appears that this coal is nearly a 
 pure natural carbon or charcoal, resembling, 
 in many of its properties,the Anthracite of Ha- 
 and approaching as nearly as possible to 
 the description of Kilkenny Coal, but superi- 
 our to the former, as containing vastly more 
 carbon, and much to be preferred to the lat¬ 
 ter, as it contains neither pyrites or sul¬ 
 phur, substances which render that coal pe¬ 
 culiarly disagreeable fordomestick purposes. 
 
 Though coal is so profusely distributed in 
 different parts of the earth, yet there is no 
 substance which differs more in its nature 
 and qualities, a knowledge therefore of the 
 ingredients which each species contains, is 
 
9 
 
 necessary, in order to appiy it to the pur¬ 
 poses for which it is best adapted.. In such 
 a country as this, where the inhabitants are 
 so, long accustomed to the use of wood for 
 fuel, it is not surprising that much ignorance 
 should prevail on this subject, and that pre¬ 
 judice in favour of what they have been ac¬ 
 customed to, should operate strongly against 
 the introduction of a more oscononiical, and, 
 in many respects, a more convenient substi¬ 
 tute. To point out therefore, in this place, 
 the distinctions between the different spe¬ 
 cies of coals, the various uses for tvhich 
 each of them are designed, and the particu- 
 .lar purposes to which Rhode Island Coal 
 may be applied with advantage, will not, I 
 hope, be generally unacceptable. 
 
 The two points which are principally to 
 be considered with respect to Pit Coal, are, 
 first the intensity of the heat which it emits, 
 and secondly, the duration of its combus¬ 
 tion. Coals which .abound in bitumen, 
 maltha, or petrolium, such as Whitehar’en, 
 Newcastle, and some of the Virginia Coal, 
 burn quickly and briskly \vitb considerable' 
 flame and smoke. They may generally be 
 distinguished by their low specifick gravity’, 
 and when bitumen or maltha prevails, a sort 
 of semifusion occurs, which causes them to 
 cake and swell, producing a cohesion on 
 
10 
 
 their surface ; this interrupts a free circula¬ 
 tion of the air, and renders it necessary that 
 the substance should be broken in order to 
 keep up the combustion. 
 
 Common bituminous Coal is certainly 
 what is generally used in England. It usu- 
 ally contains from 30 to 40 per cent, of nap¬ 
 tha or bitumen ; but though the presence 
 of these volatile substances does not injure 
 the qualities of the coal for domestick life, 
 yet they render it unfit for use, when in its 
 natural state, for many purposes where sul¬ 
 phureous or bituminous vapour would be 
 injurious, and where its tendency to caking 
 or cohering, would interrupt'the current of 
 air, and create great irregularity in the tem¬ 
 perature of. the fire. 
 
 I.i order, therefore, to deprive it of these 
 volatile ingredients, it is first charred, and by 
 this means converted into Coak, a substance 
 resembling charcoal in manj' of its properties 
 and in every respect nearly similar to Rhode 
 Island Coal. In this state, Coak gives a ve¬ 
 ry intense and durable heat without flame, 
 and is in general use for blast or wind fur¬ 
 naces ; but it is much less pure than char¬ 
 coal-; it requires a greater draft of air, and 
 is more apt to vitrify; though in one respect, 
 this, as well as Rhode Island Coal is to be 
 
11 
 
 preferred ; as it bears the blast better, andj 
 when urged by a strong blast, is not so easi¬ 
 ly blown away, nor does it consume so rap¬ 
 idly. 
 
 I have thus given a short view of the 
 different species of Coals. It is the business 
 of th?artist or the manufacturer to inform 
 himself of their qualities, before he can 
 adapt them to their different uses. For all 
 general useful purposes, it will appear, that 
 Coals which contain the most carbon, and 
 the least sulphur or bitumen, which burn 
 slowly, and produce an intense heat, leaving 
 but a small residuum, are the most valuable 
 and OBConomical. From the above descrip¬ 
 tion and analysis of Rhode Island Coal, it 
 will be seen, that it comes nearer to the 
 properties of pure carbon or charcoal, than 
 most others, and of course that, for most 
 purposes in which charcoal is used, it is 
 equally applicable, and, for many, it is great¬ 
 ly superiour. I shall now endeavour to point 
 out concisely, and without prejudice or par¬ 
 tiality, the various purposes to which Rhode 
 Island Coal may be applied, as well as those 
 to which it appears to be inapplicable, con¬ 
 cluding with some observations on the most 
 eligible method of using it. 
 
The manufacture of iron has become so 
 general and extensive over the continent of 
 America, that it has, perhaps, more than any 
 other circumstance, contributed to raise tlie 
 price of fuel ; and, should it continue to in¬ 
 crease, the woods of the country cannot long 
 afford a sufficient supply, in situations where 
 such works can be carried on with the great¬ 
 est advantage. Many of the most valuable 
 mines must therefore be neglected ; in the 
 neighbourhood of Rhode Island in particu¬ 
 lar, this has already been the case; and, 
 though abounding in iroh ore, the scarcity 
 of fuel on the spot has discouraged the man¬ 
 ufacture of it. 
 
 It therefore requires but little argument 
 to shew the advantage that may be taken of 
 this discovery. The Rhode Island Coal is 
 peculiarly calculated for the smelting of iron 
 ore ; it bears the blast remarkably well, 
 and, having no tendency to vitrify in the 
 furnace, besides producing an intense heat, 
 it may be applied with more oeconomical 
 views to this purpose, than charcoal. And 
 as the arts progress in this country, and iron 
 from "its crude state is manufactured into 
 steel, this coal may be used to advantage, as 
 it seems to possess the peculiar qualities ne¬ 
 cessary for the manufacture of this article. 
 
13 
 
 Steel being nothing more than bar iron, im¬ 
 pregnated with a large proportion of carbon, 
 either by fusion or cementation, it naturally 
 follows that this coal, which consists princi¬ 
 pally of carbon, is as well calculated as pos¬ 
 sible, for the conversion of crude iron into 
 so. useful an article. 
 
 :ror the burning of lime, Rhode Island 
 Coal will also be found an useful substitute 
 for-wood. The steady and uniform heat 
 which it gives, renders it superiour to wood 
 for this purpose, as when properly applied, 
 all parts of the: kiln will receive equal de¬ 
 grees of heat, and the lime will, of course, 
 be burnt equally, without subjecting some 
 parts of it to vitrification, while others are 
 not affected by the heat, which is often the 
 case in the general method of using wood 
 for the purpose. 
 
 In all those processes which require a 
 slow and uniform degree of temperature, 
 such as evaporation, this species of coal is 
 to be preferred, and I cannot, at present, 
 -point out one to which it is more applicable, 
 than the- manufacture of salt, an article of 
 the.first necessity, and to which, America 
 will, at some future period, find it necessa¬ 
 ry to pay more attention. 
 
in general, for every species of furnace but 
 the reverbatory, this Coal is well qualified, 
 ,provided the grates are so constructed as to 
 give a sufficient draft of air, without 
 which it cannot be properly ignited. This, 
 however, with the knowledge which we 
 possess here, of the principles of combustion, 
 is a matter of little difficulty; and the cir¬ 
 cumstance of its never caking, or adhering 
 in cohesive masses, as well as its affording 
 so little ashes to choak the grates, renders it 
 extremely convenient and ceconomical, 
 when once it is perfectly ignited, the fire is 
 more durable than any other coal, and it re¬ 
 quires less attention. 
 
 With these qualities, it is obvious that 
 it is well calculated for breweries and distil¬ 
 leries ; for the purpose of drying and pre¬ 
 paring malt, no other species of coal will an¬ 
 swer so well, as almost all others contain so 
 much sulphur, or other volatile substances, 
 that they cannot be used without destroy¬ 
 ing its flavour. This fact is so well under¬ 
 stood, that the malsters, even of America, 
 have hitherto found it necessary to import 
 Kilkenny Coal, at a prodigious expense, for 
 no other purpose but the use of the malt 
 iiJn. 
 
15 
 
 The smith will find considerable saving 
 when he becomes accustomed to the use of 
 Rhode island Coal. I am perfectly aware 
 that it is not calculated for every purpose of 
 the forge, and that, as it cannot be brought 
 to cake or adhere, it will not answer on 
 those occasions, where what is called by the 
 smith a hollow fire, is required ; but still, 
 
 for small work, and all the common purpos¬ 
 es of the forge, it will be found sufficiently 
 well adapted, and it has already been used 
 with success by many of the smiths in the 
 neighbourhood. I cannot at the same time 
 omit stating, that the brazier, the bell found¬ 
 er, and those who are engaged in the cast¬ 
 ing of metals, will perceive the great supe¬ 
 riority which this Coal has over others. The 
 intense and durable heat which it affords, 
 renders it an article peculiarly valuable to 
 artists of this description. 
 
 For the burning of bricks, and the man¬ 
 ufacture of earthen ware and all sorts- of 
 pottery, such Coal as this is particularly 
 convenient. The total absence of all smoke 
 or vapour, renders it an article of conse¬ 
 quence, in particular for the finer kind of 
 ware. 
 
 But the same circumstances that make 
 it most eligible for such manufactures, ren-. 
 
16 
 
 der it unfit for the reverbatory furnace, 
 which is used in refining a variety of metals, 
 as well as for other purposes. No fuel be¬ 
 ing adapted for such furnaces, but those 
 which produce considerable flame and 
 smoke, such as the Virginia Coal, or \vood, 
 as the principles upon Which these furnaces 
 are erected, requires that the flame only 
 should traverse the surface of the metal, 
 without any part of the fuel being in coti- 
 tact with it. 
 
 Having no doubt myself of the benefit 
 tVhich this country may derive froni the 
 more general use of an article so well adapt¬ 
 ed to the purposes wdiich I have hinted at, 
 
 I can, without hesitation, recomrnend it to 
 the serious attention of artists and manufac¬ 
 turers, particularly to those vvbo are situat-, 
 ed in the neighbourhood of large cities, 
 where wood is gradually becoming aii arti¬ 
 cle of considerable e.^rpense, and I cannot 
 conclude this part of the subject, Without 
 expressing my most decided conviction, 
 that those who will give this Coal a fair tri¬ 
 al for culinary purposes and doraestick use, 
 Will be forced to acknowledge that it has 
 many advantages. 
 
 ' 1 am perfectly aware, that such a propo¬ 
 sal will meet with many objections. The 
 
IT 
 
 prejudice arising Trom long and eal'ly habits, 
 it takes some time to remove." So deeply- 
 rooted even are these, that 1 have heard it 
 doubted by many, whether it was possible 
 to make such a fire with Coal, as would an¬ 
 swer the purpose of cooking. Such preju¬ 
 dices are not confined to any country ; the 
 Englishman has the same doubts with re¬ 
 spect to the qualities of wood. But as 
 these doubts arise from perfect ignorance of 
 the true mode of using either of diese arti¬ 
 cles, so are they removed, when each party 
 obtains a more correct knowledge of what 
 the other has discovered by experience. 
 
 Those, who are at length persuaded 
 that this, or any Coal, can be made to burn 
 in common grates, will ne.xt inquire, what 
 are its advantages over wood, before they 
 resign an article to which they are accus¬ 
 tomed, and with which they are perfectly 
 satisfied ; to this 1 shall concisely reply, as 
 follows ; and upon this answer I rest its 
 merits. 
 
 First: Such Coal as this, when proper¬ 
 ly ignited, gives a more steady, intense and 
 durable heat. 
 
 Secondly : It is more ceconomicai, pro¬ 
 duces no disagreeable efiluvja, and requires 
 none of that attention to the frequent re- 
 b2 
 
18 
 
 newal of the fire, which is so necessary in 
 ihe use of wood ; arid, 
 
 Thirdly, from its emitting rid sparks, and 
 from the manner in which it burns, produc¬ 
 ing neither flame or smoke, rnany of those 
 accidents arising from fire, to vvhich chim- 
 nies, stores, and dwelling'houses are liable 
 from the general use of wood in large citieS, 
 would by this means be avoided. 
 
 I shall add but one bifcumstarice more, 
 which should, perhaps, have some weight ih 
 this country, though the fact riVay be re'ceiv- 
 ed with, hesitation by the gehefality of 
 readers,'yet it has been asserted by medical 
 men arid philosophers, that the Use of this 
 article for fuel iri England, has contribute'd 
 to check that tendency to contagious dis¬ 
 eases, which was at one time so prevalent 
 in their large cities; and Dr. Mitchell, a 
 celebrated philosopher and senator of'Ariier- 
 ica, has endeavoured to explain it, ori prin¬ 
 ciples connected with established theories 
 in chymistry. 
 
 It now only remains for me to rnake a 
 few observations on the best method of us¬ 
 ing this Coal ; and I must confess, that I 
 have heard so many difficulties started on 
 this subject which have no grounds Whatev- 
 
19 
 
 Ter, that it is with some hesitatioa I attempt 
 to remove theni. 
 
 Well informed and enlightened men 
 will easily underStahdi that such coal,as 
 ibis-, when properly ignited, must possess 
 all the qualities of carbon. To such per¬ 
 sons 1 cannot always appeal, and as the dif¬ 
 ficulty of igniting this substance is much 
 greater than that of charcoal, liiany are dis¬ 
 posed to doubt that it has any advaiitage; 
 all, hovVever, that is' required, is, that the 
 furnace or grate should have a strong draft, 
 and that a little niore patience is bestowed 
 in kindling the fire, than is usually afforded 
 by thoSe, who are accustomed to the burning 
 of wood. The coal should be broke into 
 small pieces, and a proportion of charcoal 
 placed under it; when this is set fire to, 
 the draft of the flue should be increased by 
 proper 'management of the door or register 
 of the furnace, or by blowers applied to the 
 chimney. In a Short time the whole is ig¬ 
 nited ; it never requires stirring, and no fur¬ 
 ther trouble is neceseary but to keep the 
 lower bars of the grate free from ashes, or 
 any substance that would interrupt the free 
 circulation of air. A fire made in this man¬ 
 ner, will continue to produce considerable 
 heat for six or eight hours without a renew- 
 
£0 
 
 al i)i f. , ...,! ■ Gii!y an occasional atten¬ 
 tion to k-'.-;. iij'.'lie draft of the flue. 
 
 I have tiius bt-en lead into a more de¬ 
 tailed view of thesid>jcct of this Essay, than 
 I originally.intended. Conscious that it af¬ 
 fords a field for a much abler pen, 1 should, 
 perhaps stop here, but my excuse must be 
 found in an anxiety to direct the attention 
 to the encouragement of those manufac¬ 
 tures, for which the present state of this 
 country is peculiarly calculated. I should 
 pay but an ill compliment, indeed, to the 
 American character, were 1 not freely to ac¬ 
 knowledge, that for talents and genius there 
 can be none superiour. The same spirit of 
 enterprise which has led th^m to the suc¬ 
 cessful pursuit of commerce, will naturally 
 induce them, at a proper season, to turn 
 their attention to those arts and manufac¬ 
 tures, which are best suited to the skill of 
 the inhabitants, and are most intimately 
 connected with the necessities of the 
 country. 
 
 It will readily be allowed, that the dif¬ 
 ferent branches of manufacture which are 
 pointed out in these pages, are objects of 
 the first consequence. The materials are 
 obtained in abundance, and no greater pro¬ 
 portion of labour is required, than in the 
 
21 
 
 present state of population can be spared 
 from other pursuits; they have also this ad* 
 vantage, that they have already been tried 
 and succeeded. 
 
 Premature attempts to divert thechan- 
 nels of commerce, as well as to excite a ri- 
 valship in manufactures, however plausible 
 they may appear in the reasoning of a phi¬ 
 losopher, experience has shown them to be 
 erroneous in theory,, and dangerous in 
 practice. 
 
 That species of industry, which has.al- 
 ready succeeded, which has contributed to the 
 wealth and prosperity of the country, which 
 encourages a spirit of literature, and pro¬ 
 motes the diffusion of knowledge, should 
 not be rashly abandoned, for speculations, 
 founded on false views of the real interests 
 of the nation.