Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/78

 COLLIERY but this pit was sunk before the invention of gunpowder, when blasting was performed with lime, or the rocks were cut with picks and gads or "feather and wedges," and when mining science had made little progress and the best methods of ventilation were not under- stood. A Belgian coal pit has been sunk 3,411 ft., and one of the largest English collieries is in successful operation at 2,445 ft. The dan- gers, diseases, and hardships of the collier's life are not the result of deep mining, but of the rude and barbarous character of the mines, and the system of working. Even at the present day nine tenths of the mines of the world, whether of coal or of metals, are not only dangerously imperfect, but unworthy the scien- tific attainments of the age. In mines which are provided with proper means of ingress and egress, and are well ventilated and drained, the collier's employment is not remarkably dangerous or unhealthy ; but this is the excep- tion and the reverse is the rule. The following table of comparisons shows the relative econ- omy of production, and the ratio of danger be- tween the different systems of mining during a period of three years ending 1869 : S i %i . 2 c 5 1 i !i ji 'III il Ii I! I DISTRICTS. SYSTEM OF MINING. j* !i 1 ii Is !! i i ll s | o "3 o| III i! H fc ta A i H 1. Northumberland, Durham, and Cumber- i land, England Bord and pillar 4,738,471 1 522 400 7 249 80 979 352,863 519000 133,810 163698 100-00 32-12 67-98 387 100-00 887 2 South Durham 3. Manchester Longwall * 574,194 86 218 284,897 94,821 12-11 45-25 271 4. Yorkshire.. . . Mixed chiefly post and stall 78180 871 KQK 273,632 48,746 1'65 52-72 '269, 5. West Lancashire and North Wales Mixed 124,739 192 ;521 157,565 45,969 2-68 30-36 287 6. Midland District 1 908 250 12 189 805 870 125 818 40-27 58-82 97^ 7. N. Staffordshire (Potteries) 8. 8. Staffordshire (special for 80 ft. coal). . 9. Southwestern district, including Coal- Bord and pillar Longwall 104166 870,514 168 35 316 324 265,150 179,274 55,379 94,037 2-19 18-58 51-08 34-53 233 858 brookdale Mixed 1 438 461 18 213 154545 87,798 30-35 29-77 OOQ 10. South Wales Post and stalls 135983 202 588 166477 51536 2-86 32-07 810- 11 East Scotland Longwall & bord & pillar Longwall & bord & pillar Breast and pillar 1.320,791 2,302,136 200,000 17 8 25 135 120 101 380,567 259,395 55,000 166,821 153,475 50,000 27-87 48-58 5-00 73-72 291 49-98 |285 10-00 250 12. West Scotland 18. Schuylkill Regions, Pa. (one year, 1871). The production of coal in Great Britain du- ring 1871 was 117,439,251 tons, by 370,881 men and boys. In producing this large amount there were 826 accidents and 1,075 deaths; and 109,246 tons of coal were raised for each death, and one life lost to every 345 persons employed. TABLE OF ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS IN THE BKITI8H MINES FOE TWO YEARS. Aocn ENT8. DEA TH8. 1870. 1871. 1870. 1871. Explosions of gas 56 52 185 269 Falls of coal, rock, &c 402 426 411 485 Ascending and descending pits. . Accidents about pits. . . 87 81 39 79 47 82 41 82 Miscellaneous underground acci- dents, explosions of powder, &c. Miscellaneous surface accidents. 174 80 161 69 186 80 176 72 Total 880 826 991 1 075 In the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania the number of deaths from all kinds of mining accidents during 1871 was 274, and the num- ber of tons of coal mined per death 64,500. There were 52,227 men and boys employed in and about the mines, and one life was lost for every 190 employed. This great excess of fa- tality in the Pennsylvania anthracite regions is partly owing to the large size of the coal beds ; but the chief defect is in the bad system of mining, and recklessness in regard to life. In South Wales (No. 10 of the preceding table) similar methods are employed and similar re- sults observed, though the coal beds are not much if any larger than those of the New- castle district (No. 1), and not as thik as the coal beds of Scotland (Nos. 11 and 12). Where the longwall and bord and pillar sys- tems of mining are used, the best results are obtained; and where the post and stall and breast and pillar methods are in use, the worst results follow; though in the Staffordshire dis- tricts, where iron ores and fire clays or the thick coals are mined, the dangers are greatly increased, whatever system is used. There are no data for comparing the mining casualties of the present with those of the past, in propor- tion to the number of employees or the annual production ; but it is gratifying to observe that the ratio of deaths and accidents is constantly diminishing at the collieries of the great pro- ducing districts, notwithstanding that the mines are constantly becoming deeper. Moreover, the many causes of disease incident to the old- er mining communities, resulting from defec- tive ventilation and the poisonous vapors of the mines, carbonic acid (black damp), carbonic oxide (sweet or white damp), sulphurous acid (powder, smoke, &c.), soot, dust, and a general deficiency of pure air, are gradually disappear- ing. The pay of colliers differs so greatly that it is not possible to give any regular price. In the anthracite regions laborers in 1871 were
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