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 1 2 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
11 '»'! 
 
/ 
 
 REVIEW 
 
 or 
 
 " REPORTS ON THE OIEOLOGJCAL RELATIONS, CHE- 
 MICAL ANALYSIS, AND MICROSCOPIC EXAMINA- 1 
 TION OF THE COAL OF THE ALBERT COAL 
 MINING COMPANY. SITUATED IN HILLSfiORO', \ 
 ALBERT COUNTY, NEW BRUNSWICK," 
 
 V t 
 CIIAKLFaS T. JACKSON, M.l)., 
 
 a /pIIoui of \\)t iroliigiriil §m\\] of loiibon; 
 
 Corrcfiyiiidhiff Mimhir iif the Itoijril Geological Society of Curmrall ; 
 
 Member of the Liurnry ami Historical Soiitty of Quebec ; 
 
 CurrcspondiiiL' MnnUn- of ihv Acadnnu nf Natural Sciences of rhiladelphin, (yc. tfC. 
 
 
 ///.;y 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 C. VINT EN. PRINTER, 
 
 J 852. 
 
 
 
 ao c6=ir:j 9 
 
 ;c v__-« fi«c 
 
 X"^' '^"■'^' ^' a' 'ii"i*"i'"'^ ^ 
 
 
 
' M 
 
 The EDITH and LORNE PIERCE 
 COLLECTION o/CANADIANA 
 
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Ma^ . iffri^iirK 
 
 GLOLCf^lCAL AND MINING MAP 
 
 oftbe 
 
 Asphaltuin ^e of Hillgl)oro\ Wev Brunswick, 
 
 'f,nd tht adjacent County, 
 Caf* l^fitld and Joitph Sinitk,Esq; 
 
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 at (rtindstont Island Sot^'th'SOf 
 
 C. Vi-nn >i. Ltth ICO Araistiu^ Sf N.Y. 
 
Section of ^<yck9, hfn^e ASF^UTi/l^r miH^ orBmsboro' New 
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 0/JMSors ToFlorr nnh and xfohnston, Oaf* ^ Ba^vfieid and Joseph^ ti 
 
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RKCOXIVOrsSASCK M/IP Avo DlAffJlAMS ' 
 
 of the 
 
 ASPHALTUM MINE OF FREOpi'CK'S BBOOK, 
 
 /// Mr i"(tiHsh of Hillaboroiii)h & Count)- of AUrrt, i^the^J'nniMeafXimMrmniimti: 
 
 from rtctnt olistrvatiotu ijf 
 
 Ihrchestir, Mav29^mi 
 
 Richard C. Tqylor, FhiUtitlphMi 
 
 James Rohb, Frtd»ricton,N^ 
 
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REVIEW 
 
 or 
 
 REPORTS ON THE GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS, CHE- 
 MICAL ANALYSIS, AND MICROSCOPIC EXAMINA- 
 TION OF THE COAL OF THE ALBERT COAL 
 MINING COMPANY. SITUATED IN HILLSBORO', 
 ALBERT COUNTY, NEW BRUNSWICK," 
 
 AB WRITTBU AND OOMPIMD BT 
 
 CHARLES T. JACKSON, M.D., 
 
 OF BOSTON. 
 
 I 33q a /ellom nf \^/ (Seologiral lotietq d Xanbaii; 
 
 I Corresponding Member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall ; 
 
 \ Member of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec ; 
 
 1 Correiponding Member of the Academy of Natural Sciencet of Philadelphia, ifC, Ife. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 0. VINTEN. PRINTER, 
 
 18.'..,. 
 
Lf" 
 
 h'lcni, /£Gs /^4C-f- 
 
 i 
 

 A REVIEW. 
 
 
 <A 
 
 A Review on tlie Reports of the Coal of the Albert Coal Mining 
 Company, situated in Hillsboro', New Brunswick, by Dr. Jackson, 
 would be uncalled for, did not those Reports present some remarkable 
 features, descriptions, and declarations, seldom, if ever before, paraded 
 under the pretensions of science. 
 
 It is not uncommon for authors to publish whole volumes in 
 defence of their opinions, or the facts they have discovered by 
 experiment or demonstration ; but in the present instance. Dr. Jack- 
 son, the author and compiler of the Reports referred to, has put forth 
 a pamphlet of nearly fifty pages, to prove that all his former state- 
 ments upon the subject he has treated of are untrue ; and to declare 
 that no confidence whatever can be placed in them, or all that he had 
 before written on the Asphaltum or Coal of Hillsboro' in the British 
 province of New Brunswick. To assist him in denying the veracity 
 of his own declarations, descriptions, and analysis, he has called in 
 the aid of his friends, that the work may lack nothing essential to 
 win the price of his prevarication. It would, perhaps be unfair to 
 charge the doctor with imbecility. He has evidently acted under 
 strong temptation ; but the feelings and objects he has failed to 
 conceal in his Reports, will appear in a stronger light, when they 
 are calmly and candidly scrutinized. 
 
 Few men professing a love of the objects of nature have ever 
 been found willing to sacrifice science and character to mercenary 
 gain ; to merge their philosophy into mining speculations, and bury 
 their reputation in the rubbish of a mine of either asphaltum or coal. 
 Our author's j)aper dedicates the " Albert Coal Mining Company." 
 His remarks nevertheless, are not addressed to the president, secre- 
 tary, or any member of that body, but to Edward Allison, there 
 being no such company incorporated, known, or recognised, unless 
 it bo in the minds of IVIessrs Cook & Smith, and a few other specu- 
 lators with whom tlie Doctor has acknowledged an association. 
 
 By reference to authentic records, it appears that as long ago as 
 1840, and during his geological survey of New Brunswick, Dr. 
 Abraham (lesner discovered an extensive bituminous distiict, a part 
 of which extends into the parish of Hillsboro' in that provmce. 
 Some of the rocks were represented as being bituminous, and others 
 as a variety of cannel coal ; and as early as the above period they 
 were recommended by Dr. Gesner for the manufacture of gas. 
 Some years afterwards. Prof. Johnston, who made an agricultural 
 
 * Gesner's Geological Kepoits of New Bmiiswick, 1810, p. (i7. 
 
 1 -S^O-f 5 b 
 
 <-j 
 
rtiirvoy of the same province, do^nibea tlio rock as " u hard bilumi- 
 iious^ shale, containirifr lrat?moiil.s of bitumen," and the asphaltum 
 itself lie denominated solid UitnmtMi * 
 
 According to official docinnents in the Patent Office at Wash- 
 ington.t Dr. GeHtier invented a mode of converting asphaltum of all 
 kinds into giis, und a patent was granted to him therefor, in 
 January, 1S;jU. Up to that peri(jd, the asphaltum of New Brunswick 
 had remained unnoticed and unworked, a fact that is established by 
 a decision of the Master of the Rolls in that province; but after hia 
 discovery was made public, a licence to work mines at Hillsboro' 
 vvas granted by the Government, and a deposit of the asphalte has 
 since been opened, and shipments of the article have commenced. 
 In the provinces the old feudal system continues to lay its burdens 
 upon the people, and besides the precious metals, coal, and even pine 
 trees hr ve been reserved to the Crov/n. As the bitumen or asphaltum 
 was not reserved, it passed by the grant of the land to the owners of 
 the soil. To evade the liberty given to the farmer by the non- 
 reservation of asphaltum, the holders of the Government license at 
 once called the asphaltum — coal; and they have spared no pains nor 
 expense to maintain the new name, to strengthen their untenable 
 position ; and although Dr. Jackson had analysed, and proved the 
 substance to be Asphaltum, they now enlist him in their cause, and 
 he declares it to be Coal. The Gas Company at Halifax also unite 
 in the evasion ; iov if the asphaltum upon which Dr. Gesner's patents 
 rest can be employed under the name of coal, the material, as they 
 suppose, can be used by them for gas without reference to his inven- 
 tion, or the protection afibrded him by law. The interests of the 
 owners of the soil are therefore blended with those of the inventor or 
 patentee; and they are based upon the fact, that the material in 
 question is truly asphaltum, and that the changing of its name from 
 Asphaltum to Coal, for the purpose of divesting them of their rights 
 of property, is unjust, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Actions at 
 law have been brought by those claiming the right of property 
 under the grants of land from the Crown, against those holding 
 possession under an imperfect mining license, and under a false name 
 of the substance known to be bitumen or asphaltum. As it has 
 already been decided by the Supreme Court of the Province, that 
 there is " no right of entry" under such licences, it is very obvious 
 upon whom the cost must fall ; and if the granters of the land have 
 no claim to the asphaltum, neither have they any right to the soil of 
 the fields they cultivate, and for which they paid to the Sovereign an 
 ample price. 
 
 It is in this position of affairs the " Reports" of Dr. Jackson 
 appear. Before the claims of the patentee were published, disputes 
 had arisen, or any lawsuits had been instituted. Dr. Jackson examines 
 and analyses the substance, and proclaims it " a beautiful variety of 
 aspkaltum ; but after law proceedings are commenced, and while 
 
 * Nolos oil iNorlli Aiueiicii, hy J. !•' \V. .lohiiBtou, f.o.s., &,c. BoBton, 1851 
 Vol. ii. p. !)(;. 
 
 t See rmeiit Office Iteiioits for 1850. 
 
L hard bitumi- 
 lie asphaltum 
 
 ice at Waah- 
 
 haltum of all 
 
 therefor, in 
 
 !W Brunswick 
 
 established by 
 
 but after his 
 
 at Hillsboro' 
 
 asphalte has 
 
 commenced. 
 
 y its burdens 
 
 ind even pine 
 
 or asphaltum 
 
 he owners of 
 
 by the non- 
 
 ent license at 
 
 no pains nor 
 
 eir untenable 
 
 d proved the 
 
 eir cause, and 
 
 fax also unite 
 
 sner's patents 
 
 terial, as they 
 
 ! to his inven- 
 
 terests of the 
 
 le inventor or 
 
 e material in 
 
 s name from 
 
 if their rights 
 
 Actions at 
 
 of property 
 
 those holding 
 
 r a false name 
 
 1. As it has 
 
 !*rovince, that 
 
 very obvious 
 
 the land have 
 
 to the soil of 
 
 Sovereign an 
 
 Dr. Jackson 
 shed, disputes 
 ;son examines 
 ful variety of 
 id, and while 
 
 :. Boston, 1851 
 
 and 
 man 
 
 IS 
 
 they are pending, he becomes intimate with the speculators 
 holders of the licence, and announces that it is Coal ! To the 
 of science the material is asphaltum ; to the hungry schemist it 
 changed first into Asphaltic Coal, and then into Coal itself. 
 
 The truth and correctness of Dr. Jackson's present statements 
 are denied by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, tlie 
 Polytechnic Institution of London, the late llichard C. Taylor, Dr. 
 Ure, and many more of the most eminent scientific men of the age. 
 The decision of those public bodies, and a number of certificates from 
 distinguished individuals, will appear at the close of this Review. 
 
 We therefore turn to Dr. Jackson's Reports in the spirit ot candid 
 examination, to inquire how far he has supplied any reason for his 
 extraordinary vacillancy ; but no motive can be found for his self- 
 condemning paper, except one, which will be as well understood as 
 if it had been expressed. After giving a full account of his exami- 
 natioiis, our author states that his subject "has embarrassed men 
 highly distinguished in the ranks of science." who, under *' erroneous 
 impressions," have attributed to "his coaZ" properties which it does 
 not possess, but which belong to coal-tar, -pitch, and asphaltum. 
 Such men therefore, according to his statements, cannot distinguish 
 between coal, coal-tar, pitch, and asphaltum ; this kind of discernment 
 being only possessed by himself, or other persons having an interest 
 in the mine of Hillsboro'. 
 
 Employing for the moment his own words, taken from the pub- 
 lished declarations and analysis of Dr. Jackson himself, and the 
 united testimony of many distinguished persons, " I shall be able to 
 prove, to the satisfaction of all scientific men, that the Albert Asphal- 
 tum is in true veins, included in asphaltic shales ; and from the 
 absence of the fossils that accompany coal, and the presence of those 
 that belong to other formations, the veins are not in a coal field, and 
 are of more recent origin than the rocks that embrace them. " I shall 
 next show conclusively," and that by Dr. Jackson's own analysis, 
 " that the substance in question is really" Asphaltum, of an unusually 
 "beautiful variety;" (his own words again) and that "it cannot be 
 confounded with Coal, and will not serve for the uses to which that 
 substance is applied ;" so that neither in a scientific or practical point 
 of view is it any variety of Coal. 
 
 Dr. Jackson states, (page 4) that he also learned, by his own 
 examination, that no such substance as soft asphaltum or naptha is 
 found in the Albert coal, or anywhere near it ; and then quotes a 
 private letter from Dr. Gesner, which he endeavors to make it appear 
 was written to mislead him. 
 
 The letter of John Edgett, Esq.,* contained in this Review, will 
 satisfy the reader that Dr. Jackson's assertions and suspicions are 
 unfounded. 
 
 At the fourth page of the Reports, Dr. Jackson relates, that 
 " some time after his analysis had been reported, in the spring of 
 1850," (at which time he called the article " a beautiful variety of 
 
 " See Aoup-^ix. 
 
) 
 
 
 6 
 
 Anphaltum") a cargo of the Coal vvdH brouglit to Boston, nnd samples 
 of it were analyseif by liis colleague, Dr. Augustus A. Hays, of that 
 city, who designated it as Coal, and lecommcnded it. as" "ho had 
 done for the production of gas for illumination." Now before that 
 cargo had arrived at Hoston, Dr. Gesner had obtained liis patent for 
 making the asphaltum into gas, at Washington ; and had absolutely 
 lighted that city wilh gas made from the asphaltum of Hillsboro'. 
 The egg experiment of Columbus, given at page 19 of his Reports, 
 certainly comes with a bad grnco from such a quarter; but wo had 
 almost forgotten that Dr. Jackson once claimed the discovery of the 
 Electric Telegraph, despite the claims of Bain and Morse. 
 
 (From the argvment nf B. R. Cur/u, Esq. in ease of F. O. J. Smith v. Downing, and 
 others in the Circutt Court of th^ United S.ates at Boston. Morse Elcctro-Magneiie 
 Telegraph Company.) 
 
 " May it please your honor, I come now to whnt id not a pleasnnt duty, in that 
 part of the case which requires nn exhibition of the facts as |)roveii. But Ilio 
 charge is made, timt I'rof Morse surreptitiously obtained this invention, and went 
 to the patent office and swore he wiis iho original inventor, when it wiis wholly 
 untrue, and when it was true tlint another had made the invention, and he knew 
 that other and not himself to be the inventor. 
 
 " This charge rests on the testimony of Dr. Charles T. .Tackson alone. He 
 claims to have made this invention ; to have suggested it in all its details to 
 Morse; and thai it belsngs to him, 
 
 "The question here presents itself— and we propose to meet it fully it this 
 
 true? ' 
 
 "Your honor well knows, there is a class of men, possessed of active and 
 suggestive minds, through which a great nnn)ber of crude projects are constantly 
 passing, excessively egotistical, and vain almost to au insane degree, who no 
 sooner hear of a great invention, with the making of which they have had some 
 remote and accidental connection, than they seize upon it and claim it as their 
 own. There are some such men in most large communities. We see them in 
 the trial of patent causes. In the trial of the Woodworth patent, there appeared 
 a man, for aught I know otherwise respectable, who swore that he not (uily 
 informed Woodworth how to make his niiichine, but actually embodied it iur him 
 in wood and iron, and took it down to New York and there set it in motion. But 
 ou investigation his story was utterly incredible, and was treated accordingly by 
 the court and jury. 
 
 " This man, Doctor Jackson, belongs to this same class of men; and I mean to 
 show, that while he is thus disposed, he has so little perception of the nature of 
 facts, that when examined he involves himself in inextricable falsehoods ! 
 
 " I understand the force of what I now say, and it is out of his own mouth, and 
 from his own pen, that I sliall demonstrate the correctness of it." 
 
 At page 6 he says that the other "gentlemen were to be allowed 
 every facility in satisfying themselves concerning the geological situa- 
 tion of the mine ; but it was distinctly understood, that he was not 
 to be connected with them in any joint commission." The gentlemen 
 he refers to were, it is true, allowed to enter the mine : other geolo- 
 gists, who have since sought to obtain some knowledge of the place 
 and its strata, have been forbid to enter or to walk over the premises. 
 This order has been most strictly enforced since a vein of soft asphal- 
 tum was struck, and the branching veins were so numerous as to 
 attract attention. There never was any desire on the part of the 
 plaintiff in the action, to permit Doct. Jackson to act under "a joint 
 commission." The proposition was that of Doct. Jackson himself, 
 and was refused ; and as to the " geological information concerning 
 
II, and Hainples 
 
 MayH, of that 
 
 , ns " ho hiiil 
 
 ow before tlmt 
 
 I liis patent for 
 latl absolutely 
 
 of Hillsl)oro'. 
 )f liis Rejiorts, 
 ; but wo had 
 icovery of the 
 irso. 
 
 V. Downing, and 
 V Ehctro-Magnclic 
 
 <iint duty, ill tlmt 
 ii'overl. But the 
 outi(jii, anil went 
 
 II it wiiH wholly 
 u, iiiid hu knew 
 
 ksoii alone. He 
 all its dotails to 
 
 t it fully — 24 this 
 
 id of active and 
 ts are conatantly 
 degree, who uo 
 
 have had some 
 claim it as their 
 
 We see them in 
 ;. there appeared 
 that he not only 
 bodied it for him 
 
 in motion. But 
 I accordingly by 
 
 i; and I hiphu to 
 of the nature of 
 loodi ! 
 own mouth, and 
 
 to be allowed 
 ological situa- 
 it he was not 
 'he gentlemen 
 other geolo- 
 ", of the place 
 the premises, 
 of soft asplial- 
 imerous as to 
 e part of the 
 nder " a joint 
 ikson himself, 
 m concerning 
 
 the mine," ho otTered Profs. Taylor iin«l llobb ; it iu probablo that 
 they duly estimated the offer, for he acknowledged to them, as well 
 as to other gentlemen since, that the material was " a mass injected 
 from beneath ;" an injected vein ! 
 
 In order to illustrate the anomalous position Dr. Jackson has 
 allowed himself to be allured into, and has the temerity at present 
 to occupy, it is only necessary to place before the reader, his analysis 
 of the asphaltum, as it has appeared in Silliman's Journal, the Pro- 
 ceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, and other peri- 
 odicals of the United States snd the British ColonioB. 
 
 \_From. the Britiih Colonitt, May 2, 1850.] 
 {Sec alto Pro. Boiton, S. N. Hist. ; April, 1850, p. '^79.) 
 
 " New Brunswick Asi-haltum. — The following uxtruct wo take fnnn the New 
 Brunswick Courier v>i the 27th ul». It rolutCH to the material which has ii ci-utly 
 been brought to Halifax, viz : The Bitumen or Asphaltum from which Dr. Gi niii;r 
 obtains his Kerosene Gas, and its existence in New Brunswick is notind ni that 
 gentleman's Geological report of 1810. The mineral will in duo time, wo ho[>c, 
 have the effect of cheapening Gas in this city : — 
 
 "'Chemical Analysis of Asphaltum kkom Nkw Bhunswick, nr 0. T. 
 Jackson — On the Kith last March, Henry W. Fuller, Bjsq., of Boston, sent me a 
 box of specimens of a new kind of fuel recently discovered in New Brunswick. 
 It was regarded as cannel coal of a peculiar kind. 
 
 "' This substance proved to be a very beautiful variety of tt8i)haltniii. It is 
 jet black, glossy, and iree from smut. It breaks with a broad, conchoidal fracture, 
 like obsidian, and presents a brilliant surface. 
 
 " ' It is a little softer than rock salt, which scratches its surface. Its specific 
 gravity is 1,107. 
 
 •' ' It softens and melts when exposed to heat in close vessels. When inflamed 
 it does not run, but burns freely with a bright yellow flame and a little smoke. 
 Uoated in a glass flask, it pives oflf an abundance of bituminous liquid analogous 
 to petroleum, and leaves a very light and bulky coke, of a brilliant black color 
 and voiy porous. When exposed to heat in a covered platinum crucible, an 
 abundance of carburetted hydrogen gas is given off, which burns with a large and 
 brilliant yellow flam aving a high illuminating power. 
 
 "' The asphaltum is but slightly acted upon by alcohol or by ether, yielding 
 a little yellowish matter, which is obtained by evaporation of the solution. Oil 
 of turpentine dissolves a considerable quantity of usphaltnm, forming a varnish 
 such as is used by engravers. 
 
 " ' Weighed portions of the asphaltum were taken for analysis, and on being 
 heated in a covered crucible, so as to expel all the volatile matter, the coke 
 remained, and was weighed. The results of two trials gave — 
 1st. 2d. 
 
 58.5 of volatile matter. 58.8 of volatile matter. 
 
 41.5 of coke. 41.2 of coke. 
 
 100.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 " ' The coke obtained was burnt on a platinum tray placed in a red hot muffle, 
 and left 0.47 per cent, of ashes of a deep red brovvu color, consisting of per oxid 
 of iron, with a little oxid of manganese and silica and alumina. 
 
 " ' The discovery of this valuable fuel so near to our borders, is a matter of 
 congratulation. The bod is stated to be from four to six feet in thickness ; and if 
 it holds out for any considerable extent, it must supply an enormous amount of 
 fuel. This substance is particularly valuable for the production of gas for illumi- 
 nation. It is also the best fuel for steam engines, and is particularly well adapted 
 for the use of locomotive steam engines on railroads. 
 
 " 'I have not visited the spot where this asphaltum is found ; but having seen 
 it associated with gypsum from Dorchester, N. B., am led tobolieve that it occurs 
 above the coal tbrmatiou of New Brunswick.'" 
 
8 
 
 Having shewn a partiality for tableu and comparisons, it will 
 be out of place to exhibit some of Dr. Jackson's opinions at diffo 
 times, according to that method : — 
 
 not 
 different 
 
 Dr. Jaekion'i Declarationt at a Chemiit, in 
 1850, and prior to Law Proceedingt. 
 
 " I HAVR seen it" (the aiphallum) "aii.to- 
 ciatetl with the gypitum frum Dorclies- 
 tec, New Hniiiswick," ntid am led to 
 believe that it occiira above the coal 
 turmation of New Briiniwick. 
 
 "Itsol'teiiB and melts when exposed 
 to heat in clone vegsuitt. 
 
 "Ita specific gravity is 1.107. 
 
 " Oil of turpentine dinaolves a con- 
 aiderable quniitity of the asphaltum, 
 fonning a varnish such as is used by 
 engravers. 
 
 " It aollens and melts when exposed 
 to heat iu close vessels. 
 
 " This substance proved to be a very 
 beautiful variety of Asphaltum." 
 
 Dr. Jackton'i Declarationt at an Advocate, 
 »n a company in 1851, and tubtetiuent to 
 Lav Procctdingi. 
 
 Thk Albert Coal is a true bed, included 
 
 in the bituminous shales of the true 
 
 coal furniation. 
 
 " It does not melt and run. 
 
 " Specific gravity of ditterent speci- 
 mens, from 1.0916 to l,lli!0. 
 
 " It yields so little Hoiuble matter, ns 
 to be of no commercial value in the 
 making of varnishes. 
 
 " It is not fusible. 
 
 " From careful examinations, with 
 every possible advantage for arriving at 
 the truth, I cannot find any reason to 
 regard the Albert Coal as any variety of 
 Asphaltum !" 
 
 Many more and similar quotations from Dr. Jackson's writings 
 upon this subject, might be quoted, were it necessary to enlarge upon 
 such contradictions. In a communication made by him to the Boston 
 Society of Natural History a few months ago, he denominated the 
 Asphaltum, Asphaltic Coal. What appellation another season may 
 bring forth remains unknown. The large fossil specimen mentioned 
 by him as coming from the vicinity of the Asphaltum deposit, is now 
 known to have been brought from the South Joggins in the province 
 of Nova Scotia. 
 
 It is not necessary to follow the author of the Reports through his 
 narrative of a hasty visit to the Albert mines, nor the various experi- 
 ments he has made to prove, that what he had first declared by an 
 elaborate analysis to be " a very beautiful variety of Asphaltum" is 
 now, by a change of cij-cumstances not free from suspicion, true 
 Coal. But that persons who have never examined the geology of 
 the distiict may not be led into error, by facts partially disclosed, 
 misrepresentations, and sophistry, the arguments upon which Dr. 
 Jackson founds his contradiction of himself may, even on his own 
 account, be submitted to an unprejudiced examination ; and if, as it 
 is believed, they have been widely published, to in^ n nc' the minds 
 of juries at the approaching trials, justice demands that then, fallacy 
 should be exposed. 
 
 Dr. Jackson first endeavors to make it appear, that the material 
 in dispute occurs in coal measures, and therefore must be Coal. 
 Now, assuming the premises to be as sound as it will be proved 
 hcreatrer they are false, if there be anything in the opinions of the 
 learned and scientific, asphaltum would be more likely to occur in a 
 COB* to. :i..ition than in any other. Of the vegetable origin of asphal- 
 
9 
 
 sons, it will not 
 lions at difibrent 
 
 tiotiM a$ an Advocate, 
 1 1 , and ttUiMeifuent to 
 
 true bed, iiicliiiied 
 ilmlea of the true 
 
 and run. 
 
 of (litferent speci- 
 
 1 1,1 lao. 
 
 Holulilo matter, im 
 rciul vulue in the 
 
 laininntionH, with 
 tage fur hrriving at 
 Sud any reasuii to 
 tl as any variety of 
 
 ^kson's writings 
 to enlarge upon 
 m to the Boston 
 lenominated the 
 ler season may 
 men mentioned 
 deposit, is now 
 in the province 
 
 orts through his 
 
 various ©xperi- 
 
 declared by an 
 
 Asphaltum" is 
 
 suspicion, true 
 
 the geology of 
 
 •tially disclosed, 
 
 pon which Dr. 
 
 en on his own 
 
 . ; and if, as it 
 
 nicv ihr. minds 
 
 hut thei. fallacy 
 
 hat the mateiial 
 must be Coal, 
 will be proved 
 opinions of the 
 ^ to occur in a 
 rigin of asphal- 
 
 tum tliure unii be iiu duubt. " About seventy years ago, a spot of 
 land on the western const of Trinidad, between the capital and an 
 Indian viilngi", sunk siidileiily, iind wns immediately replaced by a 
 small laki! of |iitcli or iisphaltiiin." Ir, is beliovtid, that the great pitch 
 lake of Trinidad owon its origin to the vust (|uantitie8 of " woody and 
 vogiJtdblo bodies" vvliich have for ages been carried down by the 
 waters of tlio Orinoco .• 
 
 " The fru(]ui)iit occurrence of carthqunkeH, and other indications 
 of volcanic action, in thoso parts, loiids countenance to the opinion 
 that tiusso vogotuldo Hubstanoos may have undergone, by the agency 
 of HubterranoouH fire, tlioso tninsformations and ciiemical changes 
 wliich produce petroleum ; and tliis may by the same causes, be 
 forced up to the surface, whore by exposure to tiio air, it becomes 
 inspissiitii!, and forms ihe dilKircut vnriories of pure and earthy pitch 
 or asplialt'^i,! so al)undant in tlie island." t 
 
 " The bituminouH shales sti common in geological formations of 
 iZ///t',v/7 ff^c,», as also many strrailiod dt^ijosits of bitumen and pitch, 
 seem clearly to attest, that at former periods, springs in various parts 
 of tlie world were as commonly impregnated as now with bituminous 
 matter, curried down probably by rivers into lakes and seas."! 
 
 Dr. .lackson has represented the Asphaltum of Hillaboro' as 
 existing on tiie border of an ancient loke,§ and refers to the remains 
 of fishes found in the adjoining strata, tlierciby adding to the abundant 
 evidence that the material is indeed Asphaltum. Ur. Mantell says, 
 that " mineral oil, naptha, and petroleum result from changes effected 
 in vegetable matter," utul that ^'mineral oil is not/iing more than the 
 turpentine oil of the pines of Jormer agi's."\\ "The mineral oils, 
 naptha and petroleum, are also sometimes included under the head 
 of bitumen. These substances are found in the earth, or issue from 
 its surface, but though commonly stated as minerals they are all of 
 vegetable origin. "^j 
 
 In reference to the Asphaltum of New Brunswick, Prof Johnston 
 says, " Above the enormous anthracite deposits of Pennsylvania, from 
 which in some remote period, vast (juantities of bituminous matter 
 must have distilled, we should not have wondered to find such a 
 bed as this of Now Brunswick. Will its occurrence at this locality 
 justify us in supposing, that such beds of anthracite actually exist 
 below it ?"** Having been derived from vegetable and organized 
 bodies, Asphaltum cannot be denominated a mineral, in the proper 
 acceptation of the term. 
 
 But the Asphaltum of Hillsboro', New Brunswick, does not occur 
 in the coal measures, as represented by Dr. Jackson in his last 
 Reports. It is deposited in numerous veins, in rocks that are older 
 and lower down in the series of superposition than the coal-bearing 
 
 * Lyell's Principles of Geology, vol. 1. [i. ;130. 'Itli edit. 
 t Dr Nugent, Guol. TninH.,vol. i. p. (i7. 
 t Lyell's I'riiiciples of Geulogy, vol. ili. p. 331, lih edit. 
 
 ^ The Liiko A,s[)linltes iiiid the i,'re;it pitch lake of Trinidad are familiar in- 
 stances of the occurreuce of Asphiiltuni in this iiiiinner. 
 II Mantell's Wondeio of Geology, vol. ii. pp. ()34, 635- 
 II PliillipB' Geology and Mineinlogy. 
 •* Notes on Amcricn, p. f)8. 
 
10 
 
 •trata, and it is ausoi^iateJ with rocks in which no wuikabie beds of 
 
 has classed the gypsum beds with tlie Now Red Sandstone, a group 
 of* strata always situated far above the coal ; and " he has seen" the 
 Asphaltum " assoi-ialed with gypsum from Dorchester." He has 
 also been led to believe, that it occurs above the coal formation of 
 New Brunswick.* In- the map that accompanies his Reports, the 
 Aaphaltum is lepresented as being surmounted by beds of gypsum, 
 limestone, and conglomerate, the same that characterizes all the 
 pypsiferous deposits of the provinces. At a meeting of the Boston 
 Society of Natural History, he stated that black and white gypsum 
 are found associated with the Coal (Asphaltum). In his Reports he 
 affirms, that gypdum is evidently one of the carboniferous group of 
 rocks. It is no longer in the New Red Sandstone, but in the Coal 
 group ; because, forsooth, it is fouijd to be associated with, first 
 Asphaltum, and then Coal. With every willingness to admit even 
 the semblance of fact that can be gleaned from his Reports, it'is 
 proper to state that the Asphaltum does really occur beneath the 
 gypsifeious formation of Hillsboro,' and forms veins of various thick- 
 nesses, which run in all directions, between and across the strata of 
 asphaltic shale, limestone, sandstone, and conglomerate. Neither of 
 these rocks, nor their equivalents elsewhere, embrace any productive 
 coal beds, and they are altogether diflerent in their lithoiogical cha- 
 racters from the coal measures of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. 
 
 Sir Charles Lyell, in a communication made by him to the Geo- 
 logical Society of London, " on the Coal formation of Nova Scotia, 
 and on the age and relative position of the Gypsum and accompany- 
 ing Marine Limestone," has enumerated and described the fossils, 
 and noticed the scules of ganoid fish, tVc. contained in them. He 
 states that it had been successively proposed to refer these gypsiferous 
 beds of Nova Scotia to the Trias, and to tlie period of the Magnesian 
 Limestone. That they are more ancient than both these formations 
 Mr. Lyell infers, not only from their fossils, but also from their 
 occupying a fuwer position than the productive coal measures of 
 Nova Scotid and Cape Breton. In proof of this inferiority of 
 position, "three sections are referred to; first, that of the coast of 
 Cumberland, near Minudie, where beds of red sandstone, gypsum, 
 and limest(nie, are seen dipping southwards, or in a direction that 
 uot'd carry tliom under the productive coal measures of the South 
 Joggins, which attain a thickness of several miles." The coal 
 measures of Pictou also repose on the gypsiferous red sandstone and 
 conglomerate. "In Cape Breton, according to information supplied 
 by Mr. Brovvn, the gypsiferous formation occupies a considerable 
 tract, consisting of red marl, with gypsum and limestone. Near 
 Sijilnei/, these irf/pt'ferous strata pass henealh a formation of sandstone 
 more than two thousand feet thick, upon which rest conformably the 
 coal measures of Sydney."] 
 
 * See the Aiiiily^iH nf Or. Jdrksnn, p. 13. 
 
 t l'i<iccoiii:i;;s ;t' llit- ( i,.,i|.iMi,':il Soci-ly of L'.uddn, vr.l. iv. pait i. p. 185. 
 
u 
 
 ' workable beda of 
 tementa are quite 
 
 any reliance. In 
 ■ Nova Scotia," he 
 ancistone, a group 
 " he has seen" the 
 :;hester." He has 
 
 coal formation of 
 3 his Keports, the 
 
 heels of gypsum, 
 iiacterizes all the 
 ing of the Boston 
 and white gypsum 
 In his Reports he 
 )niforous group of 
 ne, but in the Coal 
 ociated with, first 
 lets to admit even 
 
 his Reports, it' is- 
 occur beneath the 
 IS of vaiious thick- 
 across the strata of 
 lerate. Neither of 
 lice any productive 
 ir lithoiogical cha- 
 ^evv Brunswick. 
 f him to the Geo- 
 n of Nova Scotia, 
 n and accompany- 
 scribed the fossils, 
 led in them. He 
 r these gypsiferous 
 1 of the Magnesian 
 h these formations 
 It also from their 
 
 coal measures of 
 this inferiority of 
 at of the coast of 
 andstone, gypsum, 
 1 a direction that 
 ures of tho South 
 liles." The coal 
 
 red sandstone and 
 formation supplied 
 ies a considerable 
 
 limestone. Near 
 lation of sandstone 
 it conjurmably the 
 
 V. [lai t i. p. 185. 
 
 Mr. Logan found tlie remains of Palu'')nlscus in rocks ot* i!ie Bay 
 of Fundy, "which he considers to be of the same agn." These 
 rocks have been classed with the Permian rocks of Russin, which 
 are far beneath the Coal, and also contain remains of Palajoiiiscus in 
 abundance.* 
 
 These facts are sustained by the declarations of geologists of the 
 highest rank, and those whose names Dr. Jackson has quoted, but 
 whose united views upon the subject he has withheld, doubtless 
 because they are t)pposed to his declarations, an'^ are most unfavorable 
 to his purposes. That the Asphaltum of Hillsboro' and the rocks 
 containing it occupy an anticlinal ridge, and are older than the 
 gypsiferous formation, and its accompanying limestone, conglomerate, 
 and sandstone, is apparent from Dr. Jackson's own map, as issued 
 with his Reports. On the south-east side of the mine, and the whole 
 flank of the anticlinal ridge, tlie strata dip south-easterly, and descend 
 towards and beneath the Cumijerland Coal measures. On the north- 
 west or opposite side of the mine and the antichnal ridge, they dip 
 north-westerly and in an opposite direction. In every instance, the 
 asphaltic rocks and asphalte dip beneath the gypsiferous strata, and 
 every rock that could by the greatest stretch of the imagination be 
 referred to Coal measures. Tlie testimony and maps of Professors 
 Taylor and Robb, and Joseph Smith, Esq., agent of the General 
 Mining Association of London, all record and attest these facts. 
 
 A line drawn in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction, or 
 along the general strike of the strata in the vicinity of the mine, and 
 far from it in each direction, will represent the course of the anti- 
 clinal ridge, from which Dr. Jackson has himself marked the strata 
 as dipping in opposite directions. He has therefore confirmed the 
 Maps and Reports of those gentlemen, and at the same time stands 
 self-refuted, in his statements regarding the geology of tlie district. 
 A description of the rocks northward he has carefully avoided, as it 
 would, if truly given, have been equally unfavorable to his purposes. 
 
 The above mans taken together, allbrd a section which is conclu- 
 sive, that the asphaltum mine is an iiijected vein in an anticlinal ridge, 
 and not a bed or seam of ('onl of any description. See Map A. 
 
 Thus in the central part of a district, composed of gypsum, lime- 
 stone, and red and grey sandstones, all of greater age and lower 
 down than the coal measures, we have an uplifted mass of asphaltic 
 shales and sandstone, and pure asphalte, which in reality, occupy a 
 position lower down than the Old Ked Sandstone as it is now classed ; 
 extending along a line of country at least to the distance of sixty 
 miles, and containing innumerable veins of bhumen or asphaltum. 
 Some of the.>e asphaltic shales yield seventy gallons of naptha per 
 ton; and a patent has boon taken out very recently, to convert the 
 mineral tar they afford to useful purposes. 
 
 But to lay the whole subject before the geological reader, the 
 following section lins been most carefully drawn np and compiled 
 from the labors of eminent men v.ho have explored and examined the 
 whole district, and who have recorded the facts as therein represented. 
 See Map B. 
 
 • IVncpprliniji* nf tlio Gpolnjirnl Snri.'tv (if Lunclou, No. fJl. p. IC.i 
 
12 
 
 1 • '^u" ^'^"°r»"g a»'e ihe dips of fl.e strnta, as give,, by D,- Jackson 
 
 urnse f. which although perhaps not to be clopLded Lo. at once 
 
 hew the inchnat.on of each fo,mation to the suuthwai/and beneath 
 
 the coal measures, with which he has been so .lesi.ou.s to class "hem 
 
 Northward of the Anticlinal Axis. 
 
 At page 5 of his Reports, Dip of Asplrilto Mine, N. West 
 
 <> " Dip of tlie Wall Ruck, N. West, 70 ,log. 
 
 Southward of the Anticlinal Axis. 
 At page 9, Cape Demoiselle, Dip Soutl,, 10. le-. to 15 .le-r 
 
 Near Edgetl's South, a little Weslwnrcl, 10 ,1.\.. .o 15 ik- 
 M,lto,i'8 Brook, D,p South-CMStwanl, ,.bout lO^ieg. '"' 
 
 On his map also, he has marked the rocks soutl,wai-rl of the axis 
 
 rfax7s"o?dirado.''''t ^"^ ^'-" «V^- "Pl-'e side of tt Jbo 
 
 Sn- ClmileB Lycll infers, „o^ only fr„i„ , ,„ fo,,]],, but also from 
 
 o^No-^a-sf :rs,st:z:":;:Jz^ >r'rf " r ~- 
 
 Pro? T .""^^ "" l""""'™ """l m=«sures of ,l,e J, l„rs''. 
 
 J'lj; ;■t^-::a^T„ ?;^Lf?':;;- ,r^i;r;^r;£ Trrf^^^^^^^ 
 
 beneath the gi-cy coal measures of New Bnuisui^M V r 
 .Toh:,'ston has also -iven a dia£r,-,m f tl,! ^""^^^'^'^ Professor 
 glomerate wliirh vlv,? ? "^''^S'''"' "^ ^1 e g,ey sandstones and con- 
 behrthe'ble if T^ frequently overlied these gypsiferous marls, 
 bIu M,. t ? Productive coal measures.t Dr. Gesner Dr 
 
 i-iu,.e .|,o Hi.„i,„r„. m^J^'^a^rli':; r ; "/inis rr?.'.:; """u ^: 
 
 comes down close upon the granite, and therefore he wi u.l Is from 
 
 * 11)1(1. viil. li. |i. s,'). ' ' ' 
 
iven by Dr. Jackson 
 iiilecl upoi), at once 
 tlnvard and beneath 
 siioiis to class them, 
 is. 
 
 !8t, 70 (leg. 
 
 iltg. •() 15 des. 
 10 iieg. 
 
 Jtliward of the axis 
 te side of the line 
 
 •ssils, but also from 
 •tive coal measures 
 formations are be- 
 Istone, gypsum, and 
 ection which would 
 of the Joggins,"* 
 red conglomerate 
 ypsum; upon this, 
 e) sandstones, &c;t 
 um, the limestone, 
 s order are found 
 swick." Professor 
 iiidslones and con- 
 gypsiferous marls, 
 i: Dr. Ge.sner, Dr. 
 dec! the same facts, 
 veen the asphaltic 
 der than the coal 
 ted at a depth of 
 
 :kson has pictured 
 rhoiisand acres, to 
 ion's lease." It is 
 imestone, gypsum, 
 y, at one point it 
 e he witholds from 
 coal basin /" and 
 the pitch lake of 
 nd the pakeoniscus 
 leir native element 
 as saleable in the 
 A)ulis," advertised 
 
 iv. jini-t i. No. 0'}. 
 
 13 
 
 But this "curiously crushed coal basin" as dotted out on Dr. 
 Jackson's maps, is only a very small portion of an asphaltic formation 
 that extends along the northern base of the granitic and sienitic hills 
 running away to the south-west. It extends from Westmoreland, 
 along the south side of Sussex Vale, to the sources of Hammond 
 River, and is over sixty miles in length. At New Caledonia, and 
 beyond the limits of the " curiously crushed coal basin," the asphaltic 
 rock and veins of asphaltum are found resting directly upon meta- 
 morphic rocks, and tliese again upon granite ; and lands at that place 
 have been leased from the owners of the soil for the purpose of 
 working the material. 
 
 With all these evidences before him, and in defiance of all his 
 pi-eviously written, signed, and published statements to the contrary. 
 Dr. Jackson now proclaims the As])haltum to be Coal, and spares 
 neither subterfuge nor misrepresentation, to accomplish his desi^rns 
 against the plaintiff in the lawsuits, and in favor of his fellow min?ng 
 speculators. 
 
 It would not be necessary to advert to Dr. Jackson's various 
 drawings and sections of the Hillsboro' asphalt veins, were they not 
 so many misrepresentations of plain facts. Distorted as he has made 
 those facts appear however, they will exhibit enough to the eye of 
 the geologist and miner, to show that the asphaltum occupies a true 
 vein, crossing the strata at difierent angles, and sending off small 
 veins, one of which, at page 7 of his Reports, he has figured. To 
 account for the crystalline character of the material, he calls it 
 " crushed coal," which like his " curiously crushed coal basin," is a 
 new term in science ; and he has figured a fault, that would have 
 required an increase in the length of all the strata connected with 
 It, and such an one as any person acquainted with mines would never 
 have dreamed of. His " remarkable contortions of the strata," with a 
 vein of asphalte crossing them and proceeding from a central mass, 
 IS very clear evidence that the asphalte was injected from a still 
 greater deposit, and therefore does not occur in the manner of coal 
 nor will any artifice alter its character. ' ' 
 
 If the Asphaltum did really exist in parallel strata, like Coal, it 
 would not aid his cause, for the Asphaltum of the Val de Traver.s, 
 and m parts of Trinidad, is stratified. Dr. Jackson relijtes, that his 
 " observations cut ofi" the last ray of hope in the opposing party," 
 and then he appeals to "scientific men" of the whole world; and 
 again he says, "1 knew I could sustain my position before the 
 scientific world, by means of documents from the hands of nature," 
 Joe Smith, the Mormon prophet, declared thai he found his bible in 
 a stone, and received it at the hands of nature ; yet even this is not 
 more incredible than some of Dr. Jackson's statements, or what he 
 terms his curious metamorphoses." 
 
 At page 12 of his Reports, he has given a diagram of the rocks 
 in order of succession. This is a document he certainly did not 
 leceive at " the hands of nature," as it is altogether fictitious; for in 
 the drawing he has given, the rocks dip directly contrary to that 
 marked on his map, and the country referred to. On the following 
 page he says, " I do not undertake to give any representation of the 
 
m 
 
 14 
 
 disturbed strata, at tho crush in the mine, knowing that it would be 
 quite impossible without a complete book of drawings." All is plain 
 amd regular until he comes to the mine, and then all is confusion ; 
 yet even here he found a " hortus siccus," the shores of an ancient 
 lake, and its fishes, palm leaves, seaweeds, &c. Then we have at 
 the same place, "remarkable contortions of strata," "a curiously 
 crushed coal basin," "crush in the mine," "curious metamorphoses," 
 " crimping and curving," and all the indications of profound ignorance, 
 artifice or desiirn. 
 
 It is now necessary to inquire into the fossils represented as being 
 found in the rocks by Dr. Jackson— where they are found, their 
 nature, and the testimony they aflbrd in support of his first or his last 
 declaration ; or namely, whether the material in question is Asphaltum 
 or Coal 1 He has stated, that '• not one of the fossils found in the 
 shales of the Albert Coal Mines was ever seen in any rock below the 
 regular Coal formation." Now what has he asserted these fossils tc 
 be? Why. of plants, they are lepidodendra, calamites, and palms, 
 and of fishesk "six netv species of the genus jjalaoniscus." 
 
 But fossils identical with those found in the coal group, also occur 
 at numerous places, in undisputed grauwacke, a formation situated 
 belovv any member of the coal group. Sir Henry De la Beche has 
 described them as existing in the Grauwacke of Cornwall and 
 Devon.* 
 
 M. Burat, in treating of the grauwacke series, states, that "fossil 
 vegetables are not abundant in it; nevertheless, the upper part of 
 the system sometimes contains them in great quantity. They consist 
 of ferns and reeds, analogous to those fonnd in the coal mea8ures."t 
 Professor Hitchcock, in his " organic remains" of the grauwacke, 
 describes ferns, acterophyllites, equisetu7ns, sigiilaria, calamites, and 
 other plants found in the coal measure.s.| Fossil plants similar to 
 those described by Dr. Jackson are found in the grauwacke of New 
 Brunswick, and are well known to exist below the coal formation. 
 Will Dr. Jackson hold his statements to be true, before authority like 
 the above? He doubtless supposed himself cautious, in confining his 
 reckless and incorrect assertion to the "coal formation." 
 
 The Coal formation embraces in the following order dov/nwards, 
 
 1st' — The Coal measures, 
 
 2d — The Carboniferous Limestone, 
 
 3d— The Old ]led Sandstone. 
 It is into this last group, that the asphaltic rocks and the Asphalte 
 of Hillsboro' are believed to have been forced up, and they contain 
 no fossils like those of the rocks in contact with them. In different 
 members of the Old Red Sandstone, the vegetable fossils of tiie Coal 
 measures occur very frequently, but without coal. In Nova Scotia 
 and New Brunswick they are numerous, and have been described by 
 different writers upon the subject. Several expensive trials for coal 
 
 • Report on the Geology of Coriiwnll mid Devon, by H. T. De la Bechfi, 
 p 132. 
 
 t Traite de Geognosie, par D'Aubisson, sec. vol. torn. ii. p. 212. 
 t Prof. Hitchcock's Report on the Geolopy of Mnsunchiisettd. 
 $ See Diagram No. 2. A. and B 
 
1 
 
 [ tliat it •would be 
 ngs." All is plain 
 I all is confusion ; 
 ares of an ancient 
 Then we have at 
 ita," " a curiously 
 ts metamorphosen," 
 rofound ignorance, 
 
 presented as being 
 J are found, their 
 his first or his last 
 istion is Asphaltum 
 ssils found in the 
 any rock below the 
 ed these fossils tc 
 imites, and palms, 
 scus." 
 
 I group, also occur 
 
 formation situated 
 
 De la Beche has 
 
 of Cornwall and 
 
 states, that " fossil 
 the upper part of 
 ity. They consist 
 i coal mea8ures."t 
 )f the grauwacke, 
 •ia, calamites, and 
 1 plants similar to 
 •auwacke of New 
 he coal formation, 
 fore authority like 
 IS, in confining his 
 ion." 
 rder downwards. 
 
 and the Asphalte 
 , and they contain 
 lem. In different 
 fossils of the Coal 
 In Nova Scotia 
 aeen described by 
 ive trials for coal 
 
 H. T. De In Bechw, 
 
 I. 212. 
 ■ttu. 
 
 2d — Cupii Demoiselle - 
 3(J — South of Edfjetl'ti - 
 4th — South Joggiiid - - 
 
 15 
 
 have been made in the rocks in which Dr. Jackson found his coal 
 fossils, and they have all failed.§ They are far beneath the coal 
 measures, and therefore unproductive. 
 
 In order to obtain the fossil plants Dr. Jackson has so elaborately 
 figured and described, he had only to step from the margin of the 
 asphaltic formation a few yards, when he v/ould be upon the Old 
 Red Sandstone, or some member of the lower division of the Coal 
 formation, where with the aid of a party of miners, he has collected 
 a few scattered fossil plants, and these he has represented as being 
 associated with the asphalte ! Nor has he been very successful in 
 practising this deception. He found his calamites, &c. at the follow- 
 ing places : — 
 
 1st — Aloiif? the marsiu oC tlio I)n;ok. Distance from the mine unknown. 
 
 - - - Seven miles from the Asphalte mine. 
 
 - - I'oiir miles from the Asjjhulte mini'. 
 . - - Fil'teen miles from the Asphalte mine. 
 
 Such are the data U])on which Dr. Jackson has pretended to base 
 his conclusions. In a note at pugo S of his Ileports, much stress is 
 laid upon a stigmaria, said to have been " found in the shales at the 
 Albert mines." It is only remarkable that more stigmaria had not 
 been found there, of those tliut are reported to have been brought 
 from the Joggins coal mine, and sraltcred over the rubbish of the 
 asphalte pit.* The total absence in the Hillsboro' Asphalte mine, of 
 stigmaria and the fossils that characterise coal, are good evidences 
 indeed that the material is not coal. Thus are all the labors of Dr. 
 Jackson, with his drawings and diagrams of fossil plants, which 
 belong to the lower members of the Cumberland coal formation, 
 swept away by the presentation of a few plain facts, leaving nothing 
 for the reader to ponder upon, but the disingenuousness and folly of 
 their author. As many ex parte declarations have been made by the 
 author of the Reports, to prove that his original Asphaltum is now 
 Coal, and as he has purposely withheld all the evidences that the 
 mine is very dirt'erent from any coal mine, the following are noted 
 of some of the facts he has concealed, through motives held evidently 
 in common with his co-partners in the speculation. The chief of 
 those facts are recorded by Professois Taylor and Robb, and other 
 impartial men of science. 
 
 1st — That the vein of Asphaltum is situated almost perpendicular in 
 the earth, having no associate parallel seams, like Coal, but branch- 
 ing veins like Asphalte. At the surface it varies from a few 
 inches, and as it descends, it has increased \.o fourteen feet in thick- 
 ness, the thickness still increasing downwards. 
 
 2d — That the sides of the vein are not parellel to each other, as in 
 the case of Coal. The bounding strata are irregular, diverging 
 and converging, and the strike of the adjoining strata is not parallel 
 with the sides of the vein. 
 
 3d — 'i'he material of the vein is in contact with the broken edges of 
 the strata. It has no roof nor floor, nor overlying nor underlying 
 fire-clay, like a coal seam. 
 
 4tli — It has no parallel conformable lamification horizontally, as in 
 
 * See Appendix, Letter of J. Edgctt, Esr], 
 

 16 
 
 poul and coul-seanis ; but the reverse, the divibional plauea beiiiM' 
 /arranged transversely, as in the Asphaltura of Cuba, 
 /th— It occupies a line of dislocation, wedging and coming to a point 
 / upwards. 
 6th— -Neither the vein nor its contiguous strata, contain any stigmaria, 
 
 calmnites, ferns, sigillaria, or other fosbil plants that characterize 
 
 coal seams, and in the material of tlie vein there are no traces of 
 
 vegetation whatever. 
 7th— From the principal vein numerous smaller veins branch ofl' in 
 
 all directions, crossing the strata, and sometimes each other, in 
 
 their ramifications. 
 8th — There are abundant proofs that the vein was injected by As- 
 
 phaltum in a liquid state, the position of the vein and the vein 
 
 Itself being analogous to veins of Asphalto elsewhere. 
 9th— Dr. Jackson agreed with Professors Taylor and Robb, at the 
 
 mine, that it was an injected vein. An injected vein cannot be 
 
 Coal. 
 
 10th— The dippings of the strata in opposite directions, show the line 
 
 of fracture which has been filled with Aspiialtum 
 11th— The rocks of Hillsboro' hold the position and possess the 
 characters of the Old Red Sandstone, and not those of Coal 
 measures. 
 12th — All the rocks in tlie vicinity of the Asphaltum deposit contain 
 numerous veins of thiit substance, of variable thicknesses, crossing 
 the strata and each other, and also exhibit the evidences of having 
 been injected. 
 13th— In opening a new shaft into the mine, a tapering vein, from 
 six inches to one foot in thickness, was struck, that formed a curve, 
 crossing tlie strata, and it was followed into the main deposit. 
 14th— A vein of Asphaltum was also opened, that was so soft it could 
 be indented with the nail. This vein the miners were forbidden to 
 work, and with others it was concealed. 
 15th— The Asjihalte now raised from the mine will melt and drop at 
 a candle, and being soluble in the oils, is employed by the inhabi- 
 tants to render their shoes water])ro()f 
 16th— (I reat quantities of impure Asplialte and asphaltic shales are 
 found in the district. Some of these yield 45 per cent, of volatile 
 matter. 
 17th — That the rocks containing the Asphaltum are not the grey 
 sandstone, and are altogether unlike those including the Coal of 
 Nova Scotia or other places. 
 18th — That the scales and other remains of fishes in the shales of 
 the Asphnlte mine, are In no manner characteristic of coal mea- 
 sures, but the reverse, as no sucli deposit has ever been found in 
 contact with a coal seam. 
 We come now to the consideration of the fossil fishes, as repre- 
 sented by Dr. Jackson in his Reports. It has been deposed by the 
 late and lamented R. (J. Taylor, that " there are no particular rock 
 formations which indicate or arc specifically peculiar to Asphaltum 
 veins. Such veins are in no way connected with the strata which 
 they traverse, in relation to their geological age." It has been proved 
 
Uional planes being 
 
 id coming to a point 
 
 ntain any stigmaria, 
 ts that characterize 
 re are no traces of 
 
 veins branch off* in 
 mes each other, in 
 
 A^as injected by As- 
 vein and the vein 
 ('here, 
 and Robb, at the 
 ted vein cannot be 
 
 iiions, aho-w the line 
 
 m 
 
 )n and possess the 
 
 not those of Coal 
 
 :um deposit contain 
 licknesses, crossing 
 vidences of having 
 
 capering vein, from 
 lat formed a curve, 
 main deposit, 
 was so soft it could 
 1 were forbidden to 
 
 ill melt and drop at 
 Dyed by the inhabi- 
 
 isphaltic shales are 
 3r cent, of volatile 
 
 are not the grey 
 luding the Coal of 
 
 s in the shales of 
 ristic of coal mea- 
 vcr been found in 
 
 il fishes, as repre- 
 n deposed by the 
 no particular rock 
 liar to Asphaltum 
 th the strata which 
 It has been proved 
 
 17 
 
 iiicontrovertibly, that the Asphaltum of Hillsboro' does not occur in 
 the manner of coal, and is not in any way associated with rocks of 
 the coal measures, but, on the contrary, with such as are altogether 
 different from them, and thousands of feet lower down in the scale 
 of superposition. The fossils therefore thai Dr. Jackson has collected 
 near the mine, or at the distance of several miles from it, have no 
 bearing upon the subject whatever. The drawings and descriptions 
 of thoso fossils ho has published, as though they were new, might 
 therefore bo passed by, did they not display great vanity, as well as 
 a lack of candor. So far as they affbi'd any testimony in the case, 
 that testimony is in proof that the material is Asphaltum, and not 
 Coal of any description. 
 
 Dr. Jackson has claimed the discovery of fossil fishes. He says, 
 (page 5) " Tlics*^ discoveries, so new and extraordinary, produced 
 much excitement at the mine." Now it is well known at Hillsboro', 
 that the fossil fishes, coprolites, &c. he treats of, had been collected 
 by other geologists, and the miners themselves, before he ever visited 
 that parish. The same had also been found in the Old Red Sand- 
 stone of Nova Scotia, before the Albert County Mine was ever 
 known. He " was again employed to visit the mine," and one of the 
 l)urposes was that " of explaining to two geologists, who had been 
 fcni there by a person setting up claims to the mine." Whatever 
 Dr. Jackson's knowledge may be of chemistry, he certainly ean have 
 but few pretensions to geology ; and therefore, was not competent to 
 explain to either of the geologists he refers to ; and without reference 
 to his arrogance, those gentlemen decided that the mine did not 
 belong to any coal measures, and that the material thereof is Asphal- 
 tum. He nevertheless agreed with those same two geologists at the 
 mine, that the material ''was an injected vein."* 
 
 Of the fossil fishes Dr. Jackson says, " Alreadij I have described 
 six new species of the genus palaoniscus, and have no doubt that I 
 shall make out several more" Whether these fossil fishes belong to 
 that genus or not, has no reference, under the circumstances, to the 
 question at issue; and if they were of that genus, they would be so 
 many evidences against the cause he advocates with so much par- 
 tiality. Upwards of one hundred species of fossil fishes t have been 
 found in the Old Red Sandstone alone. 
 
 At page S of his Reports, Dr. Jackson says, " Now I confidently 
 appeal to the scientific men of the whole worid, and ask if they ever 
 found palu'oniscus fishes, lepidodendra, and palms, in rocks so low 
 in the series as even the Old Red Sandstone I" It has been proved 
 already, that lepidodendra and palms are found in the grauwacke, a 
 i-ock beneath the Old Red Sandstone; and pahvoniscus fishes are 
 found in the Old Red Sandstone. They occur in the " Lower New 
 Red and (Carboniferous group" of Sir Ci)arles Lyell, which embraces 
 both the Magnesian Liniesionc and the Old Red Sandstone beneath 
 the Coal measures.^ They have been found in Nova Scotia, by 
 
 rouse. 
 
 • Soo Dopositinn of R. G. Tnylor, Esq. King & Bird, riiiladelphin, p. 1-2. 
 
 t 8eo l*rol(.HS()r A^'a.ssiz, " Mouo'T.-ipliie cies poissons fossiies dii vieux cres 
 
 Seo Lyell's Elements ol" Geology. Second Amer. odli., 1850, pp. Ui.^. 241. 
 
lb 
 
 K^ 
 
 
 Mr. Logan and other geologists, as also ut other places. Ichtholites 
 ganoid fishes, and fuci, such as Dr. J acksoii describes as belonging 
 to the Asphaltura of Hillsboro', are common in the Devonian or Old 
 Red Sandstone group. What therefore, would be the reply to Dr. 
 Jackson's passionate appeal to scientific men 1 
 
 " Fifteen species of a genus (paUroniscus) occur in the Magnesian 
 Limestone * It is therefore surprising that he had not lifted the 
 Asphaltum up to that fijrmation. 
 
 At page 12 he mentions " a number of the strange JisJies of the 
 Old Red Sandstone of Europe," as laid before the world by Hugh 
 Miller and M. Agassiz, 
 
 Now why did he not lay the fossil fishes of the Hillsboro' Asphaltic 
 shales before Professor Agassiz, near at hand, and whose decision 
 would have been conclusive upon tlie subject? Why also did he not 
 forward the specimens lent him by Professor Taylor, intended for the 
 examination of the celebrated palncontologist, but keep them from 
 his inspection ? Dr. Jackson states, " that there is not any difficulty 
 in distinguishing fishes of the cool formation from those of the Old 
 Red Sandstone;" that any ingenious person can do it without an 
 instructor! But to determine the character of the ichtholites referred 
 to, he appeals to (" our") lithographer, who engraved all M. Agassiz's 
 plates. The proof that the fishes are of the genus palaeoiiiscus, thus 
 rests upon the opinion of his engraver, and his own assertions, which 
 from what is known of them in general, are not worthy of much 
 credit. The fossils of the Old Red Sandstone are classed with those 
 of the Carboniferous group. Ho has therefore made a distinction 
 without a difference. Dr. Jackson concludes that his former " beauti- 
 ful variety of Asphaltum" must now be Coal, on account of his "six 
 new sjiecies of the gtnus palceoniscus" found in the shales adjoining the 
 " curiously crushed" mine. If these six species are new, they have 
 never been found in the rocks associated with Coal, and therefore 
 must be considered as being peculiar to Asphaltum, and he has 
 named them accordingly, thus — 
 
 • Mantel's VVouderB of Geology, vol. ii. 3rd edit, p. 477. 
 
 Note. — Sir Charles Lycll, in his Elements of Geology, says that " if we were 8o 
 disposed, on pnlieontological grounds, to divide the entire fossiliferous strata into 
 a few groups, less numerous than those in the above table, and more nearly co- 
 ordinate in value than tlie sections called primary, secondary, and tertiary, wo 
 might perhaps adopt the six following groups or periods; at the same time I may 
 observe, that in the present state of the science, when we have not yet compareil 
 the evidence derivable from all classes of fossils, not even those most generally 
 dislribnted, such as sheila, corals, and fish, such generalizations are premature, 
 and can only be regarded as conjectural schemes for the founding of large natural 
 groups. 
 
 " 1. Tertiary — From the Newer Pliocene to the Eocene inclusive. 
 
 "2. Crktacious — From the Chalk to the Wealden inclusive, 
 
 "3. Oolitic — From the Oolite to the Tiias inclusive. 
 
 •'4, Upper New Red— Includiiig the Kumper, Muschelkalk, and Banter 
 iSandstein, of the Germans. 
 
 "o. Lower New Red anu Carboniferous — Including Magnesian Limestone, 
 Conl, and Old Red Sandstone. 
 
 "(i. Primary Fossiliferous — From the Upper Siluvian to the oldest Fossilife- 
 roiis rocks inclusive. 
 
 :^ 
 
19 
 
 places. Ichtholitea 
 scribes as belonging 
 iho Devonian or Old 
 be the reply to Dr. 
 
 ;ur in the Magnesiau 
 had not lifted the 
 
 »f range fishes of the 
 the world by Hugh 
 
 Hillsboro' Asphaltic 
 and whoso decision 
 Vhy also did ho not 
 rlor, intended for the 
 )ut keep them from 
 is not any difficulty 
 m those of the Old 
 in do it without an 
 s ichtholites referred 
 ved all M. Agassiz's 
 us palaeoiiiscus, thus 
 wn assertions, which 
 lot worthy of much 
 e classed with those 
 I made a distinction 
 ; his former " beauti- 
 ! account of his " six 
 shales adjoining the 
 are new, they have 
 Coal, and therefore 
 ballum, and he has 
 
 7. 
 
 ^y8 that " if we were so 
 I I'osgiliferous strata into 
 io, and more nearly co- 
 dary, and tertiary, wo 
 at tho same time I may 
 have not yet compareil 
 n thoso most generally 
 zations are preniaturo, 
 iinding of large natural 
 
 10 inclusive, 
 isive. 
 
 3chelkalk, and Bunter 
 
 5 Magnesiun Limestone, 
 
 to the oldest Fossilife- 
 
 I'aloeoniacus Alberti ; for Alliert (^lunty. 
 
 Palwoniscus Brownii ; for Mr, J^rown, captain df the minPfl. 
 
 Palfsoniscus Cairnsii ; for Mr, William Cairnes, 
 
 PalsKoniscus Cook and Smithii. 
 
 Palu'oniscus Allisonii. 
 
 Palit'oniscus .Jacksonii. 
 It remains to be proved, however, that fishes of the above names 
 are indications of coal. 
 
 Few books there are that do not contain some truth ; and when- 
 ever matter of fact can be found in Dr, Jackson's "Reports," it should 
 receive the most enlarged consideration. Tho asphaltum or pitch 
 lake of Tiinidad has ponds of pure water, in which there are num- 
 bers of fishes. When these fishes die, they become literally embalmed 
 in the bitumen and bituminous mud, with atiuf tic plants and the small 
 herbage of th« shores. The remains of fijie.s, fuci, and land plants, 
 are therefore found embalmed and imbc'ded iti the solid asphaltum. 
 This is the actual condition of things at the Hillsboro* Asphalte mine, 
 as declared by Dr. Jackson. At jiage 8, he says " I doubt not that fur- 
 ther explorations which shall reacii the shores of the ancient lake in 
 which these fishes oiiginally lived, will disclose a vast abundance of 
 plants that must have grown on its margin and fiinged its shores." — 
 He describes the fish as being " regularly embalmed, not pctrifieclfish." 
 " The animal matter is found Innh in the scales and in the coprolites 
 embalmed by the bitumen, which so richly impregnates the shales of 
 the mine." One would suppose that while writing this description the 
 Dr, was standing on the border of the great lake of bitumen of Trini- 
 dad, and carefully observing the operations of nature as they there 
 take place. 
 
 But with all these, and many more such corresponding facts placed 
 fairly before him, he declares his own analysis to be untrue. And the 
 material of the Hillsboro' mine to be " highly bituminous coal ! ! ! " 
 
 Note. — An ainnsing article that has been going the rounds of the papers " down 
 east," has the following remarks:— " Tiie fosrtii fishes and coprolites of which 
 Dr, Jackson writes so often and so elalxjrately, were collected by Mr. .loseph 
 Smith, and other geologists, long before he ever visited the mine. Tho discovery 
 of the lepidodendra and palm leaves 'in the lish shales,' and 'all parts of the fish 
 strata,' and especially the ' blabbervorth' is his own. He has ascertained that 
 these heteiy)cereal.tailed lislies swam near the bottom.' Then there are his 'her- 
 bivorous fishes associated with them that ate them, and the excrements of soma 
 tell the tah; that some of the fishes were cannib-jls' ! Some 'struggled against, 
 adverse fortune,' erected their fins strongly, to guard themselves from some 
 imaginary swallower, while others wiigglcd and squirmed in vain to free them- 
 selves from the tenacious mud which einbnlmed them m their last struggles'! 
 Tuor things, what a time they had of it! At last they were imbedded iii ' bitumen,' 
 and their scales are tinted yellowish brown by the 'bituminous matter' in a coal 
 muie. How woiulerful, sublime, and scientific, is this fih story I but still more 
 wonderful is it, that these fishes that fed on seaweeds and then upon each other, 
 are found among palm leaves. They nuist have been flying fish, and might have 
 flown from the .Joggins, like Noah's dove, wilh lepidodendra and palm leaves in 
 then- mouths. The pnlni leaves are now (onnd in the coal, and the fishes in 
 'bitumen.' Whnt a fact for the piscatory antifiuaiy! It is to be hoped that the 
 doctor will continue his researches until" he discovers the great fossil sea-serpent, 
 and after this it will not be surprising if he find him smoking a pipe filled wilh 
 Hillsboro' 'bitumen,' and that it wiis this same animal that changed the Doctor's 
 ' very beautiful variety of Aiphalt,' into smutty and filthy coal. 
 
90 
 
 Besides the above there are the asplialtic lakes of Mexico, Texas, Ve- 
 nezuela, and the Laite Asplmltos of E^rypt, equally characteristic of the 
 occurrence ot asphaltes i„ lakes. It would not he rema.kahle to find 
 hshes in bitumen, or asphnltum. Tl.o celebialed dcmosit of fossil fishes 
 ot Mansteldt, is m bitumen and copper slate. 
 
 We next come to the "physical and chemical characters" of the 
 Albert Asphaltuin, as staled in the Reports (.f Dr. Jackson, who 
 knovying the uniform character and density of the material to be 
 reliable evidence that it cannot be Coi.l, has framed a remarkable 
 graduated scale of its specific gravity, n..t unlike that of a thermome- 
 ler. A single glance at this scale is sufficient to convince anyone 
 versed m science, that it was j.repared for the occasion, and is fic- 
 titious. All these s])ecific gravities are different from that given in 
 his first and true analysis, and they diminish as the mine is descended; 
 which, were ns statements correct, would be farther proof that the 
 substance is Asphaltum, and not Coal of any description. Mr. Tay- 
 lor has stated in his notes, that "in relaiion to the supposed increase 
 in the weight ot the Hillsboro' Asphalto, in descending, I have 
 recently proved that such is not the case ; for whereas the average 
 specihc gravity previously returned by nine investigators, gives ].09y, 
 a mass taken by myself, in the jjiesence of several parties, from the 
 lowest worked part of the vein in level 8, with a view of testing that 
 tact, showed a specific gravity of 1.091 only." According to his own 
 statements, the Asphaltum of Hillsboro' is still lighter than the 
 lightest coal ever discovered ; but to which in a note Dr. Jackson has 
 attached an enormous specific gravity, with an evident intention to 
 .leceive. He then declares that the Albert Asphaltum (now his Coal) 
 ''docs not mdt and run." It does indeed melt, run, and drop in the 
 name of a candle.* 
 
 From what has been so clearly and so often proved, " the chemical 
 experiments of Dr. Jackson might bo allowed to pass unnoticed. 
 Unly two of them call for any remark ; the remainder have been 
 contradicted, either by himself or the men of science whom he has 
 quoted. He states, that Asphaltum "from Trinidad immediately 
 dissolves, and leaves nothing but a little gravel with which it is 
 rnixed. Now, only from 40 to 50 ])er cent, of the Asphaltum of 
 the great pitch lake of Trinidad is soluble in any menstruum what- 
 ever. A specimen of Egyptian Asphaltum yielded Dr. Ure only 
 twenty per cent, of bitumen. 
 
 At page 15 Dr. Jackson says, " I brought home some of the coal 
 tar pitch, which was so abundantly scattered about Hillsboro' by Mr. 
 Edgett and his associates, and found that it softened readily in boiling 
 water, and could be melted in a flame and used for sealing wax. It 
 melted and ran when placed in the flame of a lamp ; was decomposed 
 nt the temperature of melting tin, and corresponded so well in all 
 its characters with the description given in Mr. Taylor's Report to 
 
 • Tnke a piere of tlje Hillsboro' Asphnlte, three quarters of an inch square, 
 h-om Olio (,f the lower levels. Hold it in the thinie of n o.mllo : when a part of 
 If 18 melted the outside will be coated over with soot. Gently knock »« the soot, 
 iind the melted AsphuKe will run and drop. J'he soot must always be removed 
 when It forms a crust. 
 
21 
 
 Mexico, Texas, Ve- 
 chanicteristic of the 
 
 I reiniiikiildo to find 
 leposit ol'foHsiUisheH 
 
 ciiarncters" of the 
 Dr. Juclison, who 
 the material to he 
 inicd a nnnarkable 
 Liiat nf a thermomo- 
 to convince anyone 
 ccasion, and is lic- 
 from tliat given in 
 J mine is descended ; 
 •ihcr proof that the 
 niption. Mr. Tay- 
 siipposod increase 
 Itscending, I have 
 hercas tlie average 
 igators, gives ].09l), 
 il paities, from the 
 view of testing tliat 
 Jcording to his own 
 
 II lighter than the 
 )te Dr. Jackson has 
 jvident intention to 
 Itum (now his Coal) 
 in, and drop in the 
 
 oved, " the chemical 
 to pass unnoticed, 
 maindor have been 
 lience whom he has 
 inulad immediately 
 I with which it is 
 the Asphaltum of 
 y menstruum what- 
 Ided Dr. Ure only 
 
 le some of the coal 
 t Hillsboro' by Mr. 
 d readily in boiling 
 3r sealing wax. It 
 » ; was decomposed 
 iided so well in all 
 Faylor's Report to 
 
 BIS of an inch square, 
 inullo : when ii part of 
 itly kiK)ck otV the soot, 
 jt always be removed 
 
 the Hnbstanco he describes as Asphaltum, that I could not avoid 
 believing, that some one had changed Mr. Taylor's 8[)ecimcns; for 
 not one of the pie<!oa of Albert floal which I took out of the mine 
 and gave him, has any of those properlies." 'J'lie sworn testimony 
 of the late Mr. Taylor, and the following letters* will show that Dr. 
 Jackson has liad as little regard for the truth in the aliove instance, as 
 in others. There is also an indecency in his remarks rejnagnant to the 
 lover of true science. 
 
 After concluding his very incorrect " Tabular Statement," Dr. 
 Jackson assorts " that the coal is a true bed, or mass included between 
 strata of rocks before proved to belong to the coal formation, and has 
 the structure of coal." And this ho assumes " by its being a bed run- 
 ning in the same direction with the including stratii," &c. Now his 
 first asphaltum and then his coal is not a true bed, but a true vein, which 
 intersects strata that do n»)t belong tt) coal measures; and it has the 
 coMclioidal fracture of asphaltum, and not the laminated structure of 
 coal. It is not parallel with the strata. The mass of asphalte is uni- 
 form throughout in structure and color. The vein is nearly perpendi- 
 cular; is not parallel with the contiguous strata, and has no parallel 
 associate veins. Its structure is columnar, and unlike that of coal ; 
 and has no parallel layers of mineral carbon like coal. These facts 
 will more fully appear by the following report of the celebrated geolo- 
 gist, Richard C. Taylor: and Professor Robb, who is well acquainted 
 with the geology of the Province in which he resides, and who in com- 
 pany with Mr. Taylor, made an accurate survey of the mine and bor- 
 dering country. 
 
 Jnint Geological Report on the Asphalte Mine of Ilillsborovgh, N. B., by Richard C. 
 
 Taylor and James Robb. 
 
 DoRCHESTEU, N. B.. 2nth May, 1851. 
 " The niitlersigiuul liaviiif; examined the iiiiiio at Fivilerick's Brook, in the 
 parisli of Hillsboroiigli niul county of Albert, in the province of New Brunswick, 
 found the niiaeral dug therein, — 
 1. To he phiccd almost vertically in the pround ; 
 
 1!. To vary fioui one to fourteen feet iu thickness, while its bounding walls 
 diverge and converge accordingly: 
 
 3. To vary in its general course or strike : 
 
 4. To have its principal divisional planes always arranged nncouformably to the 
 
 bounding strata on either side, as in the case of the chapapoto or asphalte of 
 Cuba : 
 
 5. To como in contact with the edges much more frequently than with the planes 
 
 of the contiguous rocks: 
 
 6. To be associated with rocks which, for very considerable distances from the 
 
 mine, are highly impregnated with bitumen : 
 
 7. To have no proper ' roof and iloor.' and no under-clay or other subjacent bed 
 
 containing stigmaria, or the ordinary vegetable fossil remains oi' the coal 
 measures : 
 
 8. To give olf several lateral ramifications, which both intersect and confoiTn to 
 
 the shale by which they are bounded: 
 
 9. To occur in biiuminous, marly, (calcareous) shales, which at the mine are 
 
 much disturbed and contorted. 
 From the facts above staled, we infer, — 
 
 1. That the mineral mass is not parallel with the surrounding strata or measures, 
 
 but that it cuts or intersects them: 
 
 2. That it is a true vein, occupying a line of dislocation of uncertain extent ; and 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
US 
 
 not a Btratum coiiforuiablo to the rock* iu wliich it itcontaiuod. in tlio manner 
 
 of coni BcarnH : 
 3. TImt ilH origin irt poHterior to that of the shalo whorein it occur*, and that it U 
 
 not ciiut(tiii|iiirHuo(iiii) witli them; 
 i. That tho poditioti of thn vein in the rock, an well ai tlio arrangeniciit of the 
 
 parlH of tho vniii itHelf, are deoidodly much more analogouii to the cane of 
 
 aH|iJittlto in oliior |ilaco« than to that of coal : 
 6. That it i» osphuitu, or a variety of anplialto, and not coiil or a variety of coal. 
 
 (Signed) UicHART, C. TArr.oR, I'hiimielpliia, U. 8. 
 Jamks Roiiii, Fiodmicton, N. ll." 
 
 Dr. Jackson next says, that " Mr. Toscliomakor thinks he ia able 
 to detect tlio remains of organic structures in tlio coal itself," and that 
 "we think thoro are pretty distinct remains of tho structure ofstigma- 
 ria," &c. When the asphaltum is dissolved, molted and cast, it assumes 
 all its original characters as it possessed them in tho mine. What would 
 become of the "organic structure," and the " structure of stigmaria," 
 by heating, melting, and dissolution ? Can ho find any organic struc- 
 ture in rosin /• 
 
 There is a " practical restoration of its characteristic surface mark- 
 ings, audits peculiar conchoidal fracture, after being onco melted and 
 rendered soluble, and again cooled and consolidated."! 
 
 A little further on Dr. Jackson says " it is probable that the highly 
 bl'uininous characler of the Albert coal, is owing to its never having 
 been subjected to heat, which would have removed a portion of the 
 bitumen, if it had acted on it, and would have rendered it less bituminous, 
 like the ordinary bituminous, or semi-bituminous coals." Here is ano- 
 the- approach again to his first analysis, that the article is " a beautiful 
 variety of asphaltum," and not '< like tho ordinary bituminous or semi- 
 bituminous coals." The conchoidal fracture of the asphalte doubtless 
 perplexed him ; and as its electric properties are altogether opposite 
 to those of coal, upon them he has remained silent. Likewise has he 
 shunned all notice of the varieties of asphaltum, or that " beautiful va- 
 riety" he had before represented as forming the contents of the Hills- 
 boro' mine. 
 
 Of his tabular statement, at page 16 also, it is only necessary to re- 
 fute the leading and most untrus assertions. His theories of tho form- 
 ation of bitumen have little bearing upon the subject. He states 
 
 let.— That " the rocks in which this coal occurs, are the grey sandstone, 
 
 like that which includes the coal and coal shales of Nova Scotia. 
 
 The rocks in which this coal (asphaltum) occurs, are asphaltic shale, 
 conglomerate, red and gypsiferous marls, red sandstone and limestone, 
 altogether unlike those that include the " coal and coal shales of Nova 
 Scotia.J 
 2d. — " That these sandstones contain the usual plants that characterize 
 
 coal-grits." 
 
 These sandstones contain the organic remains that characterize the 
 old red sandstone, and have no-workable beds of coal. 
 
 • The Egyptian and New Brunswick Asphaltnms have iust been submitted to 
 a most careful microscopic examination, and they are found to be identically the 
 same in every particular. 
 
 t Deposition of R. C. Taylor, p. 14. 
 
 t See Dr Jackson's first nniilysis, and the Report of Professors Taylor and Robb. 
 
 ■m 
 
f 
 
 coiitaiaod. in tho niaiiiuir 
 
 I it i)cciir«, ami tliat it U 
 
 tlio arrangement of the 
 iiinlogoiiii to tho cuHe of 
 
 '49 
 
 . 3(1 — '• That these sandstones alternate with the coal-bcartng shales of the 
 
 mine. 
 
 1 or n variety oT coal. 
 
 R. rhihidel|)hia, U. 8. 
 ii'iuton, 
 
 lihideli)] 
 1, N. li.' 
 
 :or thinks he is able 
 coal itself," and that 
 3 structure of stigma- 
 (1 and cast, it assumes 
 
 mine. What would 
 icturo of stigmaria," 
 d any organic struc- 
 
 eristic surface mark- 
 ing once melted and 
 ed."t 
 jablo that the highly 
 
 to its never liaving 
 3d a portion of tho 
 ed it less bituminous, 
 oals." Here is ano- 
 itido is " a beautiful 
 
 bituminous or semi- 
 le asphalte doubtless 
 
 altogether opposite 
 t. Likewise has he 
 
 that " beautiful va- 
 rments of the Hills- 
 
 )nly necessary to re- 
 heories of the form- 
 ct. He states — 
 
 ? the grey sandstone, 
 of Nova Scotia, 
 I, are asphaltic shale, 
 Jtone and limestone, 
 coal shales of Nova 
 
 fs tliat characterize 
 
 that characterize the 
 3al. 
 
 just been Bubmittcd to 
 
 1 to be identically the 
 
 iSBorH Taylor nml Rnbb. 
 
 The above rocks du not alternate with tho asphaltic shale ot tho 
 mine. 
 4th — " That the shales iininediately including the coal contain the usual 
 
 plants found in other well known coal mines ; viz. Lepidodendra. 
 
 pttlm-likc leaves and stigmaria." 
 
 Tho shalos immediately including the mine, do not contain thu 
 plants found in coal mines : but fish scales, fishes and coprolites. 
 
 Dr. Jackson has united with Mr. I'ercival " that there is no other 
 known origin of bituminous matter, than that of changes in vegetablo 
 substances;" they therefore believe that asphaitum is not a mineral; 
 and it is only remarkable that in tho midst of ho much " bifuminouM 
 matter" and rocks that yield sixty gallons of iiaptha and mineral tar 
 per ton, they sImjuM bave found coal, but no bitumen ! 
 
 Ho says in anotlier ''tabular statement'' that tho Hiilsboro' asphalt 
 " docs not melt at any temperature." *' In boiling water it undergoes 
 no change." " It does not give ofl' any naptha." It does not " melt 
 and drop" " in the llame of a candle or lamp." " Does not dissolve in 
 naptha." " Is not fusible," " (Jaiinot bo used like asphaitum for ce- 
 ment." " Does not melt ami run through the grate bars." " Is com- 
 monly used for coal ;" and «' cannot be sold in the market for asphai- 
 tum without fraud." ! ! ! Of the two prevailing features in the above 
 Btatement, arrogance and falsehood, the latter is certainly predominant. 
 This appears from his own declarations, and those of persons whose 
 repiiMs ho has compiled with his own, and by actual experiment. In 
 Dr. Jackson's analysis of 1850, (see page 7 of this review,) he says 
 the same substance "softens and melts." " It gives off an abundance 
 of bituminous matter, analogous to petroleum." "Oil of turpentine 
 dissolves a consideraole quantity of the asphaitum, forming a varnish 
 such as is used by engravers." That he believes that it occurs above 
 the coal formation of New Brunswick, and that it is " a very beautiful 
 variety of asphaitum." This same beautiful variety of asphaitum he 
 now says " cannot bo sold in the market as asphaitum without fraud !" 
 Still Mr. Augustus A. Hays, his colleague, whose report Dr. Jackson 
 has published, states that " it is probable too that its uses in the arts as 
 the basis of hi.ack i»aints and cement will extend as its introduction 
 increases." How can it form the basis of black paints and cements, if 
 it be insoluble ?* 
 
 At page 29 of his " reports" he has ^iven a plan of level No. 8, in 
 the Hiilsboro' mine. This drawing is altogether incorrect, and was 
 evidently made so to deceive. To make it appear like a coal seam, 
 it was purposely drawn straight except at the angles, which in fact do 
 not exist ; whereas the asphalt vein forms a peculiar curve never seen 
 in a coal stratum.t 
 
 * Tho editorB of the Americnu Journal of Science for March 1851, p. 293. state 
 that "the facility with which this Aspkal/ic Coul melts in /he gairclor/s, has hitherto, 
 as they are informed, been an obstacle in the way of its use." It requires tho 
 patent retort of Dr. Gcsner in its use for pns. 
 
 t A reference to a correct drawing of the level No. 8, by Prof. Taylur, will 
 show how designedly Dr Jackson has falsified the vein. He has purposely neg- 
 lected to show, thiit the vein runs out or is lost at the south-west. Map C. 
 
24 
 
 i 
 
 Dr. Jackson lias attempted to base his concludon^ upon the neta- 
 tivepropeniesoPtheNcw Brunswick asphalte, and not upon those 
 that agree with other varieties of this substance ; and he has studious- 
 ly avoided every cliaracfer of tlio material that corresponds with the 
 asphalte of other countries. But the greater degree of heat required 
 to dissolve the material, is in reality the only m'aterial difference be- 
 tween the asphaltuni of Hillsboro', and that of Cuba and other places. 
 Jiut heat affords no specific test : it is from the agreement of a number 
 ot qualities and circumstances that the truth is arrived at. And to shew 
 tiiat there can be no doubt in the matter, the following comparative 
 table IS appended. This asphalte taken from the lowest depth of the 
 mine is now found to be more readily soluble than that of the surface. 
 1 his may be accounted for by reference to operations of the atmosphere 
 
 through tlio 
 
 and other meteoric agents, 
 ASfllALTUM 
 
 AS DESCRIHKD II V AUTHORS. 
 
 If occurs ill a vertical, irregiilm-, and 
 rapidly enlarging mass, uuconCormablo 
 to the strata. (Cuba.) 
 
 I8 acconii)anied by petroleum, (aol't 
 pitch) and iiai)tha springs. 
 
 The accouii)auying rocks have a bitu- 
 minoii odor, and yield naiilha bv dry 
 distillation. 
 
 Conti^'iioiis rocks without coal fossils. 
 Melts and runs 
 when used for fuel. 
 
 II ighlyinllammable giving great (lame. 
 It resendiles black rosin. 
 Is not laminated ])arallel to its walls 
 (sides of the pit) — Cuba. 
 Color, jet black. 
 Lustre, resinous, shining. 
 Fracture perfect conchoidal. 
 Odor bituminous when rubbed. 
 Hardness 1. (Scratched by rock salt.) 
 Specific gravity 1.10(!. 
 Higldy electrical when rubbed. 
 Massive, opaque, brittle. Fusible 
 when heated. 
 
 Easily inflames at a caudle. 
 Yields a bitumiiious oilor while burn- 
 ing. 
 
 Leaves lens ashes than coal. 
 Leaves a liuhl [loicuis cnkc. 
 Free from niinern! charcoal, and does 
 not smut. 
 
 Devoid of woody structure. 
 Solub'o in Spirits of Turpentine. 
 
 Composition : — 
 Coko - - - . 
 Volatile nmtter 
 Ashes - - ■ 
 
 34.97 
 
 63,0() 
 
 2,03 
 
 — (Cuba Asphalt,) 
 
 Always known as Asplmltum. 
 
 100,00 
 
 ARPHALTUM 
 
 OF HiT.r.snouo', new uuu.nswick. 
 
 It occurs ill iiu .-duiost veriical, irregu- 
 lar, and rapidly enlarging mass, uncon- 
 formable to the strata. 
 
 Is accompanied by petroleum (soft 
 pilch) and napthn s[)rings. 
 
 The accompanying rocks have a bitu- 
 minous odor, and yield naptha by dry 
 distillation. 
 
 Ccntiguoi) ks without coal fossils. 
 
 Melts and runs through the grate 
 when used for fuel. 
 
 Highly iuflammablegivinggreat flame. 
 
 It re.seml)les black rosin. 
 
 Is not laminated parallel to its walls 
 (sides of the«pit.) • 
 
 Color, jet black. 
 
 Lustre, resinous, shininjr. 
 
 Fracture, perfect ccmchoidal. 
 
 Odor bituminous when rubbed. 
 
 Hardness I (scratclird by rock salt.) 
 
 Npecilic gravity 1,107. 
 
 Highly electrical when rubbed. 
 
 Massive, opa(pie, brittle. Fusible 
 when heated. 
 
 Easily inflames at a candlt. 
 
 Yields a bituminous odor while burn- 
 ing. 
 
 Leaves less ashes than coal. 
 
 Leaves ,i light ponnis coke. 
 
 t ree from mineral charcoal, and does 
 not smut. 
 
 Devoid of woody structure. 
 
 Tartially soluble in Spirits of Turpen- 
 tine. Totally sohil)lo in mineral tar, 
 coal tar, mineral naptim, and the ani- 
 mal and vegetable oils. 
 Compositimi: — 
 
 Coke 40,78 
 
 Vohitilo matter - • 58,80 
 Ashes ..... 47 
 
 100,00 
 
 AUvays known .-is Asphaltuin, until 
 patents were applied for and obtained, 
 and purchases were made of the lands 
 
 ( uiitaiiiiiiu it. 
 
Hb 
 
 utionS upon the nega- 
 3, and not upon those 
 ; and he has studious- 
 . corresponds with tho 
 (gree of heat recjuircd 
 laterial difference be- 
 'uba and otlier places, 
 ^reement of a number 
 rived at. And to shew 
 (bllovving comparative 
 10 lowest depth of the 
 lan that of the surface, 
 ions of the atmosphere 
 
 RI'HALTUM 
 
 ho', new llllUNSWICK. 
 
 Hu iiliiiost vcriicul, irregii- 
 
 y- euliiryiiig mass, uncon- 
 
 L' stivita. 
 
 iiifd by petroleum (sdR 
 
 tha springs. 
 
 iiuyiiig rocks have a bitu- 
 
 iiid yiehl imi)tha by dry 
 
 ks without coal Ibssiis. 
 ■!iii3 through tlie grate 
 fuel. 
 
 iimable giving great flame, 
 black rosin. 
 
 ited parallel to its walls 
 ,t.) • 
 ick. 
 
 ous, sliiiiiHjr. 
 •feet coiu'hoidal. 
 ions when rubbed, 
 scratclifd by rock salt.) 
 ity 1,107. 
 
 ■ical when rubbed, 
 iique, brittle. Fusible 
 
 es at a caiidlt. 
 
 iinnous odor while biiru- 
 
 slii^s than coal. 
 t porous coke, 
 iieral charcoal, and docs 
 
 )ody structure, 
 blc in Spirits of Tnrpen- 
 sohd)lo in mineral tar, 
 al n!H)tha, and the aui- 
 jIo oils. 
 
 3r 
 
 40,78 
 
 58,80 
 
 0,47 
 
 100,00 
 'U as Asphaltnm, until 
 iplied for and obtained, 
 vere made of the lands 
 
 7» The following is from the deposition of Richard C. Taylor, "Au- 
 thor of Statistics of Coal," and long well known in the scientific world 
 for the extent and accuracy of his researches. He deposes that " in- 
 fependent of any chemical questions or opinions, the following facts, 
 iBxhibited at the New Brunswick mine, are physical characteristics of 
 a true asphaltum vein. 
 
 I. The absence of lamination in the mass. 
 
 S. Its hi'illiant couchoidal fracture, and occasional tendency to assume a columnar 
 
 structure, 
 8. The character and configuration of its surface markings. 
 
 4. Its small specific gravity ; not equalling nor exceeding many of the resins. 
 
 5. The general prevaihng uniformity in the entire substance or contents of the 
 
 vein. 
 
 6. Its aspect, fracture, divisions, purity, and especially its almost entire freedom 
 
 Irom foreign and earthy matters. 
 
 7. The absence of all vegetable traces in connection with the material ol the vein. 
 
 8. The absence of all apparent organization in its composition. 
 
 9. Its apparent fused and liquid state originally, and its subsequent consolidation 
 
 after cooling. 
 
 10. The practicable restoration of its characteristic surface markings, and its peculiar 
 conchoidal fracture, after being once more melted and rendered soluble, and 
 again cooled and consolidated. 
 
 II. Its not soiling the fingers, in the maimer of coal. 
 12. Its being strongly electric. 
 
 " The physical characteristic marks of coal, in contradistinction, 
 ore for the most part as follows, viz : 
 
 I. The lamination of its planes, which show the lines of deposit and develope the 
 
 progress and mode of accumulation. 
 3. The rhomboidal subdivision and separation which almost all the unaltered 
 bituminous coal seams exhibit. 
 
 8. Its irregular or indefinite cross fracture, 
 
 A. Its striated lines of horizontal deposition, as shown equally on all the sides of 
 any portion of the mass. 
 
 5. The variable appearance presented by these strata ; passing from dull slaty 
 
 lines or stripes, to others which exhibit a highly brilliant, jet-like lustre, 
 according to the greater or lesser amount of earthy impurities which pre- 
 vailed at the respective periods of their deposition. 
 
 6. Its greater specific gravity, as influenced by the presence or absence of earthy 
 
 matter. •' 
 
 7. The abundant accompanying traces of its vegetable origin, 
 
 8 The occasional presence of other organic forms, in close contiguity, 
 
 9. The impossibility to effect a solution of coal in manner of asphalte, 
 
 10. Whereas coal in a modified state, such for instance ns anthracite, may still 
 exhibit distinct traces of its original laminations of growth, by means of the 
 ashes which it leaves after combustion, the original aspect of its fracture 
 after fusion, can never be again restored, as has been shown to be practica- 
 ble in relation to asphaltum. 
 
 II. The bituuunous odor of coal is obscured by the quantify of foreign and 
 impure matter contained, whereas the odor of asphalte is resinous, approach- 
 ing to the scent of amber. 
 
 12 Asphaltum, like amber, is electric, while coal is not." 
 
 The experiments of Dr. Jackson and his " colleague," represented 
 by them as tests of the Hillshoro' asphalte, arc confined to the tem- 
 perature at which the material melts, and its solubility in men&trua 
 chosen by themselves for negative purposes. In the present case heat 
 can be no test. Heat will coke some kind of coal ; but not others. — 
 
 Note. — A thick vein of asphaltum has recently been discovcrpd on the border 
 
 of t!ir ;;r(-il jiiM; Jnl;,- i.f '!"' i;';!;,,; I'li, ;,:,j.iiiil; ;:h; is ideuMc^l in all iU oharac- 
 ■ ' r.^ wiiii tlio aspualiuiu of liillahoro', Acw Lutati^wick. 
 3 
 
26 
 
 Heat will not cause anthracite to run, nor coke, nor give off gas or 
 smoke : yet none doubt that anthracite is a coal. The melting and boil- 
 ing points of hydro-carbons differ materially. Again, through design 
 or Ignorance, their experiments were improperly made, for their re- 
 Bults are not true ; as will be proved by the denositions of many other 
 more competent, and less partial chemists. They maintain that the 
 asphalte of Hillsboro' " will not melt," although it is melted daily by 
 the inhabitants of that parish, either for domestic purposes, amusement 
 or in refutation of that assertion, ' 
 
 It can be easily and thoroughly melted by placing it on a common 
 shovel and holding it in the mouth of a furnace, where the flame will 
 not touch It. It will then melt and run like the Cuba and EtrvDtian 
 asphalt. "''^ 
 
 Much of the asphaltum of commerce, and that used for varnishes 
 IS inspissated naptha, or the dried petroleum of naptha springs The 
 asphaltum of Egypt, and that brought to market by the negroes of 
 C uba, IS of this de.scription. It is also manufactured artificially. These 
 kinds of asphaltum are more readily soluble and dissolve with less heat 
 than that taken from the earth. A specimen from Albania examined 
 by M. Klaproth, was found to be insoluble in oils and ether. Five 
 parts of rectified oil of petroleum, dissolved only one of asphaltum 
 
 " According to Neuman, the asphaltum of the shops is a very dif- 
 ferent compound from the native bitumen : and varies, of course in its 
 properties, according to the nature of the ingredients made use of in 
 torming it."* 
 
 Professor Henry says " the appropriate solvent of asphaltum is 
 naptha, of which it requires five times its weight." Dr. Jackson pro- 
 fesses to have tried its solution in naptha ; but does not state whether 
 in wood or mineral naptha ; and he effected a partial solution. Mr 
 Hayes has recorded no experiments made with mineral naptha ; but 
 decides that the combustible is c'>al, diverting himself from the point 
 by employing acids. Neither Dr. Jackson nor Mr. Hayes has given 
 the ultimate analysis of the Hillsboro' material. Now why has such 
 ultimate analysis been withheld I Has it not been because it would 
 prove that material to be asphaltum and not coal. Mr. Wetherell of 
 Philadelphia, has given a most perfect and accurate analysis of the 
 Hillsboro asphaltum ; and by comparing it with the asphalte of Cuba 
 has proved its identity. It is as follows : 
 
 Hillsboro' Asphalts. 
 - 86,037 
 S.9(>2 
 2,930 
 traces 
 1,9/1 
 0,100 
 
 CcBA Asphalte. 
 
 
 Carbon 
 
 • 82,339 
 
 Hydrogen 
 
 .').104 
 
 Nitrogen - . 
 
 1,910 
 
 Sulphur - - 
 
 trnces 
 
 Oxygen - - 
 
 (,',247 
 
 Aah - - 
 
 ■ 0,400 
 
 KJO.OOO 100,000 
 
 The differences in quantity that exist between these two Asplial- 
 
 tums are insignificant, when cmpared with the differences thai 
 
 exist between different kinds of coal. 
 
 Ah the asphalte of Hillsboro', and especially that taken from the 
 
 • Ure's Diclioiiairy of Chemistry, 4tli cd. p. 177. 
 
 8. 
 9. 
 
ke, nor give off gas, or 
 . The melting and boil- 
 Again, through design 
 Jrly made, for their re- 
 positions of many other 
 They maintain that the 
 h it is melted daily by 
 c purposes, amusement, 
 
 placing it on a commor, 
 e, where the flame will 
 ;he Cuba and Egyptian 
 
 that used for varnishes, 
 f naptha springs. The 
 rket by the negroes of 
 ured artificially. These 
 I dissolve with less heat 
 iom Albania examined 
 oils and ether. Five 
 one of asphaltum. 
 the shops is a very dif- 
 i varies, of course, in its 
 idients made use of in 
 
 )lvent of asphaltum is 
 It." Dr. Jackson pro- 
 loes not state whether 
 
 partial solution. Mr. 
 h mineral naptha ; but 
 himself from the point 
 
 Mr. Hayes has given 
 Now why has such 
 been because it would 
 al. Mr. Wetherell of 
 curate analysis of the 
 h the asphalte of Cuba 
 
 )Ro' Asphalte. 
 - 86,037 
 
 8.!)r;2 
 
 2,930 
 
 traces 
 
 1,9/1 
 
 0,100 
 
 100,000 
 
 en these two Asphal- 
 the differences that 
 
 that taken fronni the 
 p. 177. 
 
 27 
 
 stirface of the mine and the extremities of small veins, requires a heal 
 to melt it that will volatilize the lighter hydro-carbons; those that boil 
 at a higher temperature must be used. It is therefore soluble in nap- 
 tha, petroleum, mineral tar, coal tar, coal-tar pitch, olive oil, linseed 
 oil, lard, fish oil, and other vegetable and mineral oils, with the aid of 
 a moderate heat. These menstiua were shunned by Dr. Jackson and 
 his " colleague," for reasons too apparent to be mistaken. 
 
 Of the many contradictory statements contained in his " reports," 
 it may be necessary to quote a few more, to shew what incongruous 
 materials their author employs to refute his own — his first and only 
 correct analysis. He says — 
 
 1. That " it is a very beantifid variety of asphaltum." — Dr. Jaclcsnn. 
 
 2. That hrf " cannot laid any reason" to regard it " as any variety of asphaltum." — 
 
 Dr. .Jackson. 
 
 3. That " it melts when exposed to heat." — Dv. Jackson. 
 
 4. That it " does not melt" even beueath " molten metal." — Dr. Jickson. 
 
 5. That " oil of turpentine dissolves a considerable quantity of the asphaltum, 
 
 forming a varnish such as is used by engravers." — Ur. .Jackson. 
 
 6. That it is of "'no commercial value in the making of varnishes, and cannot \w 
 
 sold in the market as asphaltum, virithout fraud." — Dr. Jackson. 
 
 7. "It is probable too, that its uses in the aits, as the basis of black paints and 
 
 cements, will extend, as its introduction increases." — Dr. Hayes. 
 
 8. " It does not give off any naptha." — Dr. Jackson. 
 
 9. The " prolonged action of sulphuric ether causes the solution of n uaptha-liko 
 
 Huid and a resinous body.'' — Dr. Hayes. 
 
 10. It " is a true jet-coal or lignite.'" — Mr. Hudson. 
 
 11. It is " a. new variety of coal." — Dr. John Torry. 
 
 12. " It differs strikingly from the common coal of Great Britain." — Dr. Penny. 
 
 13. " The external appearance of the article being such as not to load a persou to 
 doubt that it might be asphaltiun."— /. R. Chilton. 
 
 "This, like cannel coal and jet, is a highly bituminous substance, free from tho 
 laminated, or stratiform structure of common coal." — Dr. Pcrcival. 
 " Tile substance is analagous to cannel coal and jet." — Dr. Percival. 
 " The physical characters of color in mass is the same in chapapote." — A.Hayes. 
 
 Mr. Foulis calls it " asphaltic coal" and "pitch coal" and says it is '' (juito differ- 
 ent from the true asphaltum found in Lake Asphaltum and imported from India." 
 — The Lake Asphaltum in India ! ! ! 
 
 Here then are the evidences collected, compiled and published by 
 Dr. Jackson, t^ prove that tho Hillsboro' Asphaltum is Coal, and not 
 Asphaltum, as he had first declared it to be. And his " Reports" are 
 scattered over the country on the approach of the law trials to influence 
 public opinion in favor of a cause he has adopted and made his own. 
 Throughout the whole of his " Reports," he has endeavore^^ i injure 
 Dr. Gesncr's character: and under the cloak of science, taken the 
 office of an assailant and litigant. In them he has also entered into the 
 law proceedings, and in a note artfully introduced, misrepresented the 
 claims of Dr. (lesner to the lands in dispute. It is now known that 
 this same Dr Jackson prepared the principal interrogatories to be pul 
 to witnesses in the cause. He also comes forward as a witness against 
 the plaintitt' in the action, and has prepared the questions to be put to 
 himself The counsel of Dr. Uesner's opponents at Halifax withheld 
 a commission to examine witnesses abroad, until their " reports" could 
 be published ; and to gain objects now too plain to be misunderstood, 
 he violates every rule of decency and honor, and publishes a private 
 letter from Dr, Gesurr, evidently never intended for public perusal. 
 Tf 8iich arc the moans by whirh the profits (if tho Jisphnltuin mine-s nrr 
 
 13. 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 16 
 
Il-i 
 
 28 
 
 to be wo'i, hottoA- wonUl it have been bad they never been discovered; 
 and if sue!) is the. testimony by which justice! is to be frustrated in a 
 bordering Province, bettor would it be for her inhabitants were they 
 brought into our commonwealth, and there sheltered from sucJi 
 al)uses. 
 
 With his own remarks and the observations of others Dr. Jackson 
 has compiled the report of Dr. J. G. Percival, whose deposition upon 
 oath was taken in New Brunswick in August last. The deposition 
 and the report present many discrepancies ; but as they both disclose 
 the disqualification of the witness, they are below criticism. 
 
 Dr. Percival declares upon oath that his personal knowledge of 
 coal mines is confined " solehj" to a " visit of one daij to the Albion 
 mines :" that he has " not visited places where asphaltum is found ; 
 and unless the deposit in Hillsboro' is asphaltum, he has never seen 
 asplinltum in the earth ;" and that " his knowledge of coal mines" and 
 his " opinions of asphaltum are" founded on rending. Having depo- 
 sed to his ignorance of both asphaltum and coal mines, this witness 
 goes on to srate that the appearances were such as " to indicate that 
 the l)ed assumed its present form in a soft aqueous condition." He then 
 says "coal has never" to his " knowledge been found in a fluid, or 
 seniiOuid Kftitc." Dr. .Tackson has pronounced the asphaltum of Hills- 
 bo!-f.' " n ?na.is ivjectedfrom hencath:' It would be a needless task to 
 follow Dr. Percival through his voluminous testimony, from which lit- 
 tle can be uleaned beyond the manifestation of his own inability. On 
 his cross-examination he refused to answer upwards of thirty plain 
 question;!, in reference to whether the material is either coal or asphal- 
 tum. Of these questions, a few, with his answers thereto may be 
 quoted. 
 
 Q. What is your opinion of the origin and geology of coal ? 
 
 A. I (leclino to answer that question. 
 
 Q. Are not fossil vegetables very abundant in the vicinity of coal miiieB and 
 touching the coal? 
 
 A. I (lecinie answering the question. 
 
 Q. Do not metallic veins run and ramify in all directions, and does conl ever 
 occur in this manner? 
 
 A. I decline answering, as I cannot do so from personal observation. 
 
 Q. Of what is asphaltum composed ? 
 
 A. That being a chemical question, I decline to answer it. 
 
 Q. What is the difierence between coal and asphaltum ? 
 
 A. That being a chemical cpiestion, I decline to answer it. 
 
 Q. If you were to see those specimens (asphaltum) now before you melted 
 in oil, what would you consider them to be ? 
 
 A. I decline answering that, as a chemical question. 
 
 Q. Will coal shales usually burn, or answer for fuel? 
 
 A. I have made no experiments on them, and theretbre decline answering the 
 question. 
 
 Here is a witness that does not know, or pretends that he does not 
 know the difference between coal and asphaltum. 
 
 A precedent for the silence of Dr. Percival on questions opposed 
 to his employer's intere.sts, was afforded by Dr. Jackson, and his fee- 
 bleness and infirmity may afibrd him some apology : but his report 
 differing as it does from his sworn testimony, should never have been 
 pubbshed under the cloak of science. Of itself Dr. Percival's tesi^iruo- 
 ny is harmless, and the confessions of his own ignorance iio ample. — 
 
29 
 
 levej- been discovered; 
 
 5 to be frustrated in a 
 
 inhabitants were they 
 
 ( sheltered from sucJi 
 
 of others Dr. Jackson 
 rhose deposition upon 
 ; last. The deposition 
 It !is they both disclose 
 w criticism, 
 personal knowlcdi::;-e of 
 ^ one day to the Albion 
 re asphaltum is found ; 
 m, he has never seen 
 dge of coal mines" and 
 'ading. Having dejio- 
 il mines, this witness 
 ;h as " to indicate that 
 us condition." He then 
 !n found in a fluid, ox 
 ^he asphaltum of Hills- 
 i\ be a needless task to 
 imony, from which lit- 
 his own inability. On 
 pwards of thirty plain 
 } either coal or asphal- 
 iwers thereto may be 
 
 f coal ? 
 
 riciuity of coal miiieH and 
 
 jtions, and does conl ever 
 
 nal observation. 
 
 'erit. 
 
 im? 
 
 ^er it. 
 
 ) now before you melted 
 
 )re decline answering the 
 
 ;ends that he does not 
 n. 
 
 on questions opposed 
 Jackson, and his fee- 
 ology : but his report 
 3uld never have been 
 Dr. Percival's test^irno- 
 fnorance are ample. — 
 
 When examined upon oath, and he is asked to point out the difference 
 between coal and asphaltum, he " declines to answer the question ;" 
 but in his report not made under oath, he enters into the chemical and 
 physical properties of both coal and asphaltum ; and decides that the 
 asphaltum " is analogous to cannel coal and jet." 
 
 The report of Mr. A. Hayes may also be summarily dealt with. 
 According to his own statements, his opinions liave been formed upon 
 the statements of Dr. Jackson, whose " field-book" he was " permitted 
 to examine." Upon this " field book" he rests his geological conclu- 
 sions of a tract of country he has never seen. Treating of the Hillsbo- 
 ro' asphaltum, he says " this is one of the lightest coals known, being 
 mearly of the same density as bitumen free from earths." The Hills- 
 boro' asphalte is free from earth. He describes the chapapote of Ha- 
 vana " as a brilliant black bitumen, remarkable for its purity ; fracture 
 conchoidal; specific gravity of pure pieces 1,1650 to 1,1700, and re- 
 markably uniform. It has an asphaltic odor and easily breaks," &c. 
 These are the exact characters of the Hillsboro' asphalt. He also says 
 that " chapapote, as asphaltum and Albert Cos. coal agree in specific 
 gravity, nearly." It is therefore only remarkable, that Dr. Hayes 
 with so many facts before him, should have anived at such erroneous 
 conclusions. And instead of acting and testifying for himself, to adopt 
 the experiments and declarations of his friend Dr. Jackson, which have 
 been proved to be fallacious. Both have avoided all reference to the 
 electrical properties of the Hillsboro' asphalte, which of themselves 
 clearly distinguish the substance from every kind of coal. True friend- 
 ship will never sanction the errors and enormities of a companion. 
 
 To gain some support in his shameless position. Dr. Jackson has 
 M)pended to his " reports," two brief letters from Professor SilHman. 
 The remarks of this gentleman are also altogether founded upon the 
 mis-representations of Drs. Jackson, Percival, and Hayes, and they 
 Bre without any analysis of th<3 subject in dispute. Mr. Hayes follows 
 the field book and experiments of Dr. Jackson, and Professor SilH- 
 man follows Mr. Hayes ; but give no reason based upon their own 
 examinations why the material should be denominated coal. It is 
 therefore evident that the chief of the certificates appended to Dr. 
 Jackson's reports have emanated directly from himself, and are the 
 result of his advocacy to obtain the mine, and as a partisan and asso- 
 ciate in the law proceedings. 
 
 Likewise the pamphlet referred to, contains a report from James 
 R. Chilton, of New York, who like Dr. Jackson himself, has made 
 and subscribed to statements directly contrary to each other. They 
 first declare that the material is asphaltum ; but for reasons, by no 
 means obscure, they then declare the same material to be coal and not 
 asphaltum. The asphaltum analyzed by Mr. Chilton was put in his 
 hands by Mr. Henry Gesner, and not by Dr. Gesner, as stated in his 
 report ; and the following is his analysis of the substance. 
 
 From this and the turpentine case in New York, it appears that the 
 Doctor's opinions are greatly influenced by the price paid for them. 
 The asphalte opinions cost only five dollars. The price of the coal 
 opinion was probably much higher, as it involved its author in far 
 greater responsibilities. 
 
80 
 
 " I Imvo nnaljrsed a sample orasphnltum for Dr. Gesner, from New Brunswick, 
 an I iiiid that it yields as loltows : 
 
 Volatile mutter, principally bitumen - 58,09 
 Coke, nearly pure carbon .... 41,31 
 
 100.00 
 New York, June 14, 1850. James R. Chilton, Chemist." 
 
 Dr. Jackson has compiled in his " reports" a certificate from Dr. 
 Ure, of London, who denominates the substance put in his hands 
 " pitch coal." iJut the Doctor does not state whence the specimen 
 was taken, and there is no reason to suppose that it was from Hills- 
 boro'. Tlie following is the report and analysis of the celebrated 
 Chemist of the asphaltum of the Hillsboro' mine, and of the bitumen 
 adjacent thereto. 
 
 REPORT BY ANDREW URE, M.D„ F.R.S., &c.. 
 Of the analysis of two samples of bitumen or asphalt, from Hillsboro', New 
 
 Brunswick. 
 
 "Of the two samples, one was a mass of hard, brittle, very glassy asphalt, 
 
 quite jet black, and oi the specific gravity l.llG, water 1.000. It affords a black 
 
 powder, which softens into a pasty mass at a heat of about GOO dog. F. It is very 
 
 soluble in petroleum, especially with the aid of a gentle heat, and yields thereby 
 
 dissolve in that menstruum, or in general tiiigo it. In fact, mankind are misled 
 by the term bituminous coal, used in contradistmction to stone coal or anthracite; 
 a« if the former contained bitumen, which it does not, but merely a certain pro- 
 portion of hydrogen, which combining at high heats with the carbon and oxygen 
 of the coal, produces compounds of a bituminous quality ; but these compounds 
 did not pre-exist, no more than ammonia and prussic acid do in the horns of 
 animals, from which however these chemical compounds may be formed by igneous 
 decompositioQ. 
 
 " The above brittle sharp edged asphalt is almost entirely soluble in mineral 
 naptha. 
 
 " The second sample of bitumen is brown-black in color, of a compressible 
 doughy consistence. It softens with the heat of the hand, is also soluble in 
 mineral naptha, and has a specific gravity of 1.56. This greater density is due to 
 an admixture of earthy or stony particles. It has nothing of the pit coal nature, 
 but is a true bitumen. 
 
 London, 24, Bloomsbury Square, Andrew Uue " 
 
 23rd July. 1851. 
 
 The preceding and the following Reports are abundantly sufficient 
 to set the question at issue for ever at rest, and they prove conclusively 
 that the contents of the Hillsboro' mine is Asphaltum, and not Coal, 
 " or any variety of Coal." 
 
 '< REPORT OF THE ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION. 
 
 Laboratory, Royal Polytechnic Institution 
 Dr. Locock, August 23, 1851. 
 
 Sir, — After a careful investigation of the properties of the mineral, 
 (certified as being from New Brunswick) you deposited with mo for examination, 
 and having made an exact comparison of it with two of the coal family, viz. 
 Cannel and ordinary Newcastle Coals; I can, without hesitation, give my opinion 
 that it may be classed vvith the Mineral Resins as a true Asphaltum. I do not bring 
 forward any evidence of precise chemical composition, because analysis would only 
 afford in all, the usual but ever variable constituents, of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, 
 Nitrogen and Ash. I found my opinion upon the general qualities, such as colour, 
 fracture, easy combustibility, fusibiliiy, action of solvents, also on its specific gra- 
 vity, which IS 1.088, Cannel coal being 1.283, and Newcastle coal 1.264. The easy 
 fusibility is a most important fact, for when plunged under melted lead the nsphalf" 
 
81 
 
 ncr, from New Brunswick, 
 • 41,31 
 
 100.00 
 i R. Chilton, Chemist." 
 
 a certificate from Dr. 
 ;ance put in his hands 
 whence the specimen 
 lat it was from Hills- 
 sis of the celebrated 
 le, and of the bitumen 
 
 .R.S., &c., 
 
 It, from Hillsboro', New 
 
 i-ittle, very glassy asphalt, 
 1.000. It attbrds a hlack 
 out GOO cleg. F. It is very 
 heat, and yields thereby 
 11, wood, paper trays, and 
 ral uaptha (and spirits of 
 every kind, none of which 
 II fact, mankind are misled 
 ) stone coal or anthracite ; 
 but merely a certain pro- 
 th the carbon and oxygen 
 y; but these compounds 
 ■ acid do in the horns of 
 may be formed by igneous 
 
 ntirely soluble in mineral 
 
 color, of a compressible 
 hand, is also soluble in 
 greater density is due to 
 ug of the pit coal nature, 
 
 Andrew UaB." 
 
 e abundantly sufficient 
 liey prove conclusively 
 lialtum, and not Coal, 
 
 INSTITUTION. 
 Polytechnic Institution, 
 
 Augustas, 1851. 
 roperties of the minernl. 
 with mo for examination, 
 > of the coal family, viz. 
 ssitation, give my opinion 
 Asphaltum. Ido not briiiR 
 icause analysis would only 
 arbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, 
 I qualities, such as colour. 
 ts, also on its specific gra- 
 stle coal 1.264. The easy 
 (r melted lead the asphalto 
 
 •oftened and became plastic throughout the whole mass, while 'he same test did 
 not allect either the Oannel or Newcastle Coals. The ai)plicatiou of heat to the As- 
 
 Shalte in a tube caused it first to crack, then to melt and become liquid, whilst the 
 ^aniiel coal decrepitated violently, swelling up without proper lusion. Finally 
 the conclusive tests of solvents were applied, the Asphaltum, the Newcastle and 
 Caniiel coids were rach boiled, (both in lump and powder; with sulphuric ether, 
 coal, nuptlia, and oil of tuipentiiie; six exporiinenls being made with each sub- 
 •tance, and the results proved that the asphaltum was softened in the lump and 
 dissolved in a great measure by naphtha and turpentine, so as to produce with the 
 latter solvent, the well known varnish called Brunswick Black, but the coals both 
 in lump and powder, only atfoided a slight tinge to the solvents already named. 
 
 I am therefore induced to reiterate my former opinion that the substance is a 
 true mineral resin, and is properly called Asphaltum but not Coal, and 
 
 I am sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 W. D. PEPPER, 
 Professor Chemistry Royal Polytechnic luHliiutiou, 
 „^,,„, ^ Associate Institute Civil Engineers. 
 
 EOBT. J. LONGBOTTOM, Secretary. 
 
 REPORT OF CHARLES M. WETMERILL, Esq., Chemist. Sec. 
 
 Laboratory, 20C Chane St. Philadelphia, 
 IVIay 10, 1851. 
 I have examined the two specimens of Asphaltum which you left with me, 
 and communicate liuruwith the result of my experiments in detail, as requested. 
 
 Speciincji A, Asi)haltuin from Cuba. Specimen B, Asphaltum from the mine 
 at Frederick Brook, Hillsboro' New Brunswick. 
 
 Specimen A, black with cHuchoidal fracture, giving a brown fjowdor, with 
 etroiig petroleum smell. Hardness, according to Moh's^ scale, between 1 and 2. 
 Density 1.117. Thrown into boiling water, softened and floated u[)on the surface. 
 Heated in a covered crucible, melted, and gave off a strongly illuminating gas, 
 leaving a very light brilliant coke. One gramme raised suddenly to redness in a 
 covered crucible lost 0.67C). The coke burned in an atmosphere of oxygen, left 
 0.004 ol brown ash, of which the per centage corresponds to 
 
 Coke 32.00 
 
 Volatile matter - - C7.60 
 0.40 
 
 100.00 
 
 Tested for nitrogen by Sassigne's method, and for sulphur by fusion with 
 nitre, and caustic potassa, aflinnative results were obtained. 
 
 The ultimate analysis, by a combustion with chromate of lead, yielded the 
 following results : 0.2 grammes 0.607 carbonic acid, and 0.1645 water, corres- 
 
 iiondmg to a per centage of 32.339 carbon, and 9,104 hydrogen. In an analysis 
 or nitrogen by Brdmaii & Marchand's method, 0,318 gr. gave 5 cubic centimetres 
 of moist nitrogen, at 90 centigrade, and 705 millimetres barometer. If the baro- 
 metric pressure be reduced, L. O. deg. correction made for the moisture of the 
 gas, and its volume reduced to dcg. and 760 millimetres barrometris, on chang- 
 ing measures to weights, we have a per centage of 1-910 nitrogen. The oxygen 
 by loss is 247. •r o o js, 
 
 The aincmnt of sulphur iu the two specimens, and which was slight, was not 
 determined, for want of time. 
 
 Specimen B, The appearance like that of A. Its powder was black, and the 
 smell of petroleum not quite so strong. Its density was 1.097. 
 
 In an examin ition for volatile matter, 1 gramme gave 0.5555 vol. muUer, 
 0.4435 coke, and 0.001 of reddish ash, corresponding to a per centage of 
 
 Coke 44,35 
 
 Volatile matter - - 55,55 
 Ash 10 
 
 100,000 
 Nitrogen and traces of sulphur were obtained, as in A. 
 
 In the ultimate 
 
 analysis, by a combustion with oxide of copper, 0.858 gave 2.907 carbonic acid, 
 ajid 0.6925 water, or a per centage 86,037 ; hydrogen 8.962. The determination 
 
!i1 
 
 S2 
 
 of nitrogen by Erdinan niid Marclmnd's method, gave 23 cubic centimetres of 
 moist nitrogen, nt 12 dcg. and 7C3.4 millimolris, which calcubited as in A, corres- 
 ponds to a per contage of 2.93 nitrogen. Oxygen l)y loss, 1.971. 
 
 Action of re-agents on A and B. 
 
 A treated with naptha deep brown sohition, 
 
 " oil of vitriol " 
 
 " caustic potasse ... - soluticm slightly colored. 
 
 " nitric and in the cold - - no action. 
 
 At boiling temperature gave light yellow color. 
 
 B gave similar results with the same re -agents, but with less deep color. 
 
 The following are the results obtained by E. Durand, Esq., of this city, as to 
 the comparutivo Holubility of A and B. 
 
 In ether. Residue in turpentine. Residue. 
 
 A - - 34 GO C 
 
 B - - 4 30 (iC 
 
 The comparative per centage composition, from its ultimate analysis, as de- 
 duced from my experiments is as follows : 
 
 Cuba. New Brunswick. 
 
 Carbon, - - 82.339 8fi.037 
 
 Hydrogen, - 9.104 8.902 
 
 Nitrogen,- - 1.910 2.930 
 
 Sulpur, - - traces traces 
 
 Oxygen, - - C.247 1.S71 
 
 Ash, - - - 0.400- - 0.100 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 Subtracting the Ash and uniting the Nitrogen and Oxygen, we have — 
 Cuba. New Brunswick. 
 
 Carbon, .... 82.C70 ..... 86.123. 
 
 Hydrogen, - - - 9.141 8.971 
 
 Oxygen and Nitrogen, 8.189 4.906 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 Taking carbon 1000 we have In 
 
 Cuba. New Brunswick. 
 
 Hydrogen, 110 parts ........ 104 parts. 
 
 Oxygen and Nitrogen, 99 parts, 57 parts. 
 
 In calculating the formula for A, neglecting nitrogen, which is very small, we 
 have C. 35. H. 23, O. 2. The formula for B. would be C. 68, H. 42, O. N. in 
 which the number of equivalents of carbon and hydrogen for one of oxygen is 
 nearly fourfold that in the oise of A. From these experiments, from its general 
 appearance and from its geological position, I have no hesitation in inferring the 
 specimen from the mine, at Frederick's Brook, wli.ch I have analysed to be a true 
 Asphaltum and not a Coal. 
 
 You have also requested me to send you the composition of Cannel coal. 
 
 Dr. Uie '.'ives the analysis of a Coal from Woodhall, near Glasgow, S. P. 1 228, 
 carbon, 72.22; hydro 3.931; Oxygen, 21,05; Nitrogen, 2.8 per cent. Graham 
 gives the f n'lniila of Cannel coal, from Lancashire — C. 24 ; H. 13 ; O. 
 
 Regnault for a Cannel coal of Rive de Dieg. dens 1.294 ; coke, 67.1 ; cai'bou, 
 83.C7 ; hydrogen, 5.61 ; oxygen und nitrogen, 7.72; ashes, 2.99. 
 
 CHARLES M. WETHERILL. 
 Sworn to before Eau Shippen, Philadelphia. 
 To Richard C. Taylor, Esq., &c. &c. 
 
 ■l.i 
 
 REPORT OF C. T. HARRIS, CHEMIST. 
 
 New-York, 179 Broadway, June, 14th, 1851. 
 
 I have analysed a specimen of Asphaltum, from the Province of New Brunswick, 
 and find it to yield the following amounts of coke and volatile matter, when sub- 
 mitted to distillation in close vessels. The result of three trials is u.-, ioiln-wa : 
 
23 cubic centimetres uf 
 alculiited U8 iu A, corres- 
 IS, 1.971. 
 
 brown solution. 
 
 41 
 
 m slightly colored. 
 
 ion. 
 
 ight yellow color. 
 
 'ith lees deep color. 
 
 , Esq., of this city, as tu 
 
 Ilesiduc. 
 • C 
 - 66 
 
 ultimate analysis, as de- 
 
 aUNSWlCK. 
 
 ,037 
 
 962 
 
 ,930 
 
 aces 
 
 S71 
 
 100 
 
 ).000 
 
 ygen, we have — 
 
 ilUNSWlCK. 
 
 .123. 
 
 971 
 
 906 
 
 1.000 
 
 KW Brunswick. 
 104 purts. 
 57 parts. 
 
 , which is very small, we 
 e 0. 68, H. 42, O. N. in 
 en for one of oxygen is 
 irinients, from its general 
 hesitation in inferring the 
 lave analysed to be a true 
 
 ion of Caiinel coal. 
 
 ear Glasgow, S. P. 1 228, 
 
 , 2.8 per cent. Graham 
 
 I: H. 13; O. 
 
 ,294 ; coke, 67.1 ; carbon, 
 
 s, 2.99. 
 
 ES M. WETHERILL. 
 
 WIST. 
 
 Iway, .Tune, 14th, 1851. 
 
 )viuce of New Brunswick, 
 jlatile matter, when sub- 
 ■e trials i.s u.- llijluv/s : 
 
 33 
 
 No. 1 (JoUf, ,J;].rj 
 
 Volatijf matter .'if;;, 
 
 No. 2 Coko, 45.5 
 
 " Volatile matter, 54.,'-, 
 
 No. 3 Coko, 4j'.5 
 
 Volatile matter, .... .... 53.5 
 
 . '•''»« Asphalt.im breaks with a conchoidal fracture, lustre vitrious. The .'!i- 
 yiel.led by its distillation, is largo in quantity, probably 53 per cent, of the \i^nAo, 
 
 vorvh r"ll'"^ "*7''""' ^°'"S l"^"*''"*- ^ *''""1'^ J'x^g" tii»t the gas posse.sr. 
 very high illuminaliiig powers. ° ^ 
 
 0. TOWNSBND HARRIS, Cliemif-t. 
 
 REPORT OF DR. THOMAS ANTISELL, Analj/iw Chemist. 
 
 a- . New York, 03 Franklin Street. 
 
 "' J . February 16, 1852. 
 
 «v„ • .■ <• V^"''".^'''* forward to you a copy of the anrdysis and .•li.-ini. nl 
 ^-xammatif.ii ot the minerals forwarded to mo for that purpose liy you. 
 
 Samples four in number: 
 
 No. 1. Cannol Coal. 
 No. 2. Asphalte from S. America, 
 No. 3. " L. Asphaltites. 
 
 No. 4. " Hillsborough N. B. 
 
 PHVSICAI, TROPERTIKS. 
 
 Speciiic Gravity. Water == 1,000. 
 
 No. 1. 1.277. 
 
 No. 2 i.07(i. 
 
 No. 3 1.056. 
 
 No. 4 1.068. 
 
 _ ,, . OTHER PROPERTIES. 
 
 1. L»ull black, With a blue shade: fracture, splintery; semi-coiichoidat : difficult 
 to pulverise: streaks paper faint black : no bituminous odor: heated to redness 
 Rives ott a large quantity of illuminating pas: does not melt: leaves a coko tho 
 ZTr uu ""S*""^ '"''88' or very nearly so. After full ignition, it leaves a 
 reddish brown heavy ash. The powder is partially soluble in ether, turpentine 
 .end Imseed oil. It scarcely colors the latter liquid. It is a little more sohiblo in 
 snaptha. It cannot be made to melt by the intervention of wax, steariue. or auv 
 » brown t/nt ^' '^ "°"-«'^<=*™ «" f"*^''""! soils the fingers; streaks paper with 
 
 2. Color, black; lustre resinous; fracture, polished conchoidal; brittle and 
 easily powdered. It softens, but does not melt in boiling water; at a lii"h tem- 
 perature gives off illuminating gas; in that act it swells up. and leaves a i.orous 
 light coke, and after full ignition, a lisht flocculent whitish ash. Tho mass has a 
 bituminous odor; powder, black; streaks paper brownish black, but does not 
 ■oilthefaiigers; is electric on friction. The powder dissolves iu ether, naptha 
 ■but not completely in turpentine (spirits). , i ua. 
 
 3. Color black, duller than No. 2. Fracture, polished conchoidal ; lustre 
 resinous; has a bituminous odor; melts in lioiling water; on further itrnitio" 
 gives oft illuminating gas, and leaves a coke similar to No. 2. Ash of a li^hl 
 White color ; streaks paper similarly to No. 2. Powder dissolves in ether, nantl-i 
 SauNo 2.° *'''"^'°"^"'*'' "^"^^ not soil the fingers; is more electric on friction' 
 
 4. Color black; in lustre and fracture similar to No. 2; does not melt or soften 
 m boiling water to any extent, but it is impressible; under a red heat it melts 
 gives oti Illuminating gas, and leaves a coke precisely similar to No. 2 and 3 Ash 
 small in quantity, light red tint. Is sparingly soluble in ether, naptha, spirits of 
 turpentine, and linseed ml. In the latter it dissolves much more readily if it be 
 heated previously. When heated to the melting point in a .loep crucible It iu 
 corporates readily with wax and stearino, and when cool, forms a homoReneou. 
 mass^; does not sod the finger, and when rubbed has an electric action equal f.. 
 
 Chkmioal Analtsis— Two separate examinations were made of Cannol Coal 
 South Amfrican Asphalte and Hilleboro' specimens respectively, but ono „f tli.' 
 
 *n 
 
lA^lk 
 
 •34 
 
 TMi 
 
 w 
 
 i 
 
 *fi'?t'iiiu*u« Iriiiii Ki^ypt. 
 
 V'olutlli? mattert* 
 Coko .... 
 Ash .... 
 
 These reitulu tnliuliirized, yieklfil in luu piuU— 
 No. 1. No. a. No. M. Nn. 4. 
 
 Uaiinol Coal. >}, Amor. Aipli. I,nko Aiipli. nillsboro' 
 
 UtExp.iad Kxp. 
 
 1 1. 4:1 
 
 I 4fi.8>J 
 1 1.7J 
 
 100. 
 
 4!).(il 
 
 4a.r>7 
 
 1.812 
 
 100. 
 
 IstExp. 2(1 Exp. 
 70.',>!l I 70 
 
 -■••"'1^30 
 
 54 
 
 1110. 
 
 ItiO. 
 
 71.()7 
 
 '-'8.04 
 
 2» 
 
 latRxp. 
 59.77 
 39.7i! 
 51 
 
 2(i Exp 
 
 CO 
 
 39.4.-. 
 
 55 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 WO. 
 
 MiCRO.SCOPIC EXA.M1NAT1()H. 
 
 Ueing unable to ..!.t|,ia ti slice properly polished mid Buflicieutly ihiii, I in.ulc 
 thiH exanuuatioi. a« lollovys Having Hot'tencd a jneco of No. 4, l.y holdi.ie it 
 with he ior.-op8 in tlio Hp.rit-lainp Hum.-, it was then rubbed along nlns«, which 
 It coated with a streak or thm blm. This film was examined, an.? me8.;nted a 
 He.ni.traB8part.nt him, similar t.) wh.-n the Egyptian asph.ilte was fre'ited in like 
 manner, there being apparent traces of fibre in both cases, but no cellular structure 
 d 8<;erniblc, This method not furnisliiiig satisfactorv results, I burned otf on a 
 platinum ioil a tew grains <d the powder of .vi.h, and examined the residual ash 
 tor cellular si. ucture. Tho cells in the ash of eannel coal (No. 1.) were readily 
 discernible: no traces ii. the ash of No. 4, which rather presente.l a punctuated 
 appeal ance fr.)m escap,; ot the volatile matters, and was so similar in every 
 respect to the ash ot No. 2, as scarcely to allow of any distinction being drawn. ' 
 
 No. 4. does ii..t melt readily in the open air. It crusts over and wrinkles on 
 thesurtace whileitissottun.lerneath; but that it does melt at a temperature 
 below red heat, may bo observed if it be placed in a deep crucible previ.jusly 
 heated, and so situate, that no Hamo reaches the upper margin of the crucilile. 
 On hen looking int.. the crucible, the mineral will be seen to ?nelt. Als.., if some 
 r,l the p.>wder be placed on a piece of platinum foil, and held low in the tlamo ..f 
 the spiru-lamp or so that the mineral may be heated within the inner fame, it will 
 be seen to melt betore the foil becomes red hot. 
 
 ^:„f''?°"/''^ cousiderationof its chemical constitution, it appears to stand interme- 
 diate be ween the purest bitumens and Cannel Coal, as evidenced by the amount 
 of v.,latile ma ters evolved Irom it ; it might on such account be regarded either 
 as a highly bitumuious coal, or a carbonace<.us asphaltum ; an asphaltum which 
 has opt some of its v.>lutile hydrocarbons, or in which the hydrogen element has 
 been in part removed and the carbon thus relatively augmented 
 
 Its geological mode of position would define its name better than its chemical 
 t!.» Jfl- ^''^^'''S tl'P latter only, I am disposed to regard it as an asphaltum which 
 has suffered by proximity to, or contact with, internal terrestrial heat, and I cannot 
 consider it as coal for the following reasons : 
 
 inntll..'^ """'? ?f coal how bituminous soever it be, when heated so that all volatile 
 matters are driven otr, leaves the carbonaceou.s mass or coke in a form somewhat 
 
 wn^^.!'l° ^^"""V^"., •"'''' J"'''.'.'f '^"^ coke of charcoal retains the form of the 
 wood 8ud no amount ol bitumen will melt that form completely away. It may lessen 
 
 fln^^nf^^i, ■ ^i"'^°™x"''"/"'"l'^°^' ""^'^ '" "'l^ei' crucible, or in the inner 
 lira coal "^' ^^"•«f°''« """t^'in^ »» vegetable cellular basis, a.uUs 
 
 r„tiv»'^f?/'^''fr°f "'^''■^'"^'"'•.^'^"^'■^"y'Fe^ents a laminated appearance indi- 
 iTjfV '^« "''■f.^'^'l °»?g'V- .The a«h of thTs mineral resembles that of the aspha - 
 tea takmg the light vesicular form of their coke. ^ 
 
 nbah/nrJ!!? -r"" "'' \""\!"'^ i *^i^ "^"^•■'^1 ''"^^ "°t "-omove it from the as- 
 
 not alike xbi .T^™"' ' '}^T^- ^^^ ^^""' """^'''"g P°"»»« «f «>1 ««Phalts are 
 not alike. There is a marked difference m the fusing point of the Egyptian land 
 
 wh,r„?"/P""r^"'f ^'''^r*^- '^'^« "^^^'"'^ P"'"t ""*y be reduced som^ewhat bv 
 
 Itine t feTpt-*"" "f ;f"'''i"°""'- P^ ""^^'"S "'^^ '^'^ ''^""^le a little wax or 
 stearine, the melting of these hastens that of this mineral. Coal cannot bo melted 
 m this way : a contact substance cannot melt vegetable cellular tfasue. 
 if ;. ■ I .""'"^f; »» ^'lectric, less excitable than the Egyptian specimen (No. 3,1 
 .t ,s almost equal to the American specimen. Oannel coll Is not electric? 
 
 J>. Vegetable cellular structure could not be detected on examiuatiou with .v,. 
 
II lOU jiiirlt — 
 
 I. iNn. 4. 
 
 ipli. flllltiburii' 
 
 litKxpJad Kx|i 
 
 '>i).77 (iO 
 
 39.7i! :)i(.4:i 
 
 51 
 
 100. 
 
 wo. 
 
 flicifutly ihiii, I iiiuth- 
 N'(i. 4, by lioldiiig ii 
 id nloii'' gla8«, which 
 ed, imd pivsoiited ii 
 I was tfoiitt'd ill liko 
 
 no celUilnr structure 
 i, I burned off on (i 
 ued the residual iish 
 Vo. 1.^ were readily 
 sented n punctuiited 
 
 BO Biniilar in every 
 ctiou being drawn. 
 
 ver and wrinkles on 
 olt at a temperature 
 crucible previouBly 
 i-gin of the crucible, 
 i molt. Also, if some 
 [ low in the fiamo ol 
 he inner Jlame, it will 
 
 mrs to stand interme- 
 enced by tlie amount 
 It be regarded eitlior 
 an asphultiim which 
 ydrogen element has 
 ed. 
 
 tter than its chemical 
 • an asphultum which 
 ial heat, and I cannot 
 
 ted 80 that all volatile 
 in a form somewhat 
 tains the form of the 
 'away. It may lessen 
 srial will not become 
 ;ible, or in the inner 
 cellular basis, and in 
 
 ted appearance indi- 
 es that of the asphal- 
 
 jmove it from the as- 
 its of all asphalts are 
 )f the Egyptian [and 
 ;duced somewhat by 
 icible a little wax or 
 lal cannot be melted 
 ar tissue. 
 
 an specimen (No. 3.^ 
 not electric, 
 ixamiuatioa with tv.r 
 
 30 
 
 teicloBcopo in the way tlescribcd in this mineral ; while it was dincornlbl* in tho 
 •pecimen of Cannel coal. 
 
 (i. Its specific gravity is below that of coal ; it does not soil the fingers ; anditit 
 wei^^litdt Hsh IS nuo fourth that of the average in coal specimens. 
 
 ~. ItH Hohibiliiy in miuiHtrua is greater than that of coiil, and in this property 
 • ■|'i"'<"'9h<;H till! asphultes. The free carbon in this specimen is insoluble except in 
 Oil nt vitriol, and the ordinary solvents net only on the hydrocarbons present and 
 not upon iincombined carbon which is the residual carbon of a hydrocarbon whoso 
 nyiimg.iii h,i8 been expelled. If common asphultum bo distilled in close vessels 
 until a |>ortion ol the hydrocarbons and the mass bo then allowed to cool it would 
 navo a siiniliir appenrniico and represent the constitution of this mineral, or bo an 
 Mpiiallum with an excess of uncombincd carbon fused into the residual mass. 
 Aspimiie must not bo looked on as a stable and certain compound, tliougii ci.in- 
 posea ol carburets of hydrogen, yet dillorent varieties may have diirerent i)ropor. 
 timis ol tlicse hychocarbons. Uraudanl (mineralogy) thus j.nis forth that view,— 
 AS tiH'y uio jjicseiited to us l)y natuie, bitumens are i)iobably mixtures in all 
 proportions ol carburets of hydrogen of diircrent kinds, with the compounds— oxy- 
 gen, liydrogon and carbon, anahigous to the coiily combustibles. When the latter 
 pievini ihey approach near to the true coals and the lignites ; the more they diminish 
 ana tiio more viscid and luiuid tin, biiumen is, the nearer it approaches the carbu- 
 rets of Hydrogen which are prepared or extracted in the laboratory." 
 
 * i;oin the torcKoing, it is evident that tiie lusing point of asphalto must vary as its 
 constuiition IS diHerent, wlien the proportion of its hydrogen or its volatile hydro- 
 carbon is greater its solubility is increased and vice versa. 
 H,„ r. r. Signed Thomas Antisell, M. D. 
 
 To Dr. G£3ner, ^^^i^ii^ chmiU. 
 
 REPORT OF JOSEPH OUTRAM, Esq. 
 I have carefully examined the substance from Hillsboro', New Brunswick, and 
 am ol opinion that frtun its appearance and characters it is a variety of asphaltum. 
 1 perlecily concur with tho remarks of Dr. Robb. of Fredericton, and in farther 
 reason tor my conclusion, may add .hat I never saw any analysis of any r»al ex- 
 Uibitiiig so much volatile matter and so little ash. The only difference 1 cai: dis- 
 cern b.jlween it and the specimens of asphaltum I have compared with it Js, hat 
 It contains more fixed carbon than tliey do. But this circumstance will nor ^^ ar- 
 rant Its being called a coal. j Outram 
 
 Halifax, 8th May, 1851.. Manvfacluriug ' Chemist. 
 
 The following note, received from Mr. William Rice, an experienced manufac- 
 tnrer ol asphahic paint and varnish in Philadelphia, attbids conclusive evidence 
 ol tho solubility of tho New Brunswick asphaltum, and its adaptation to the pur- 
 poses specified : '■ 
 
 BiCHARD C. Taylor, Esq. 
 
 I find that the asphaltum is easily soluLlo in coal tar, coal tar pitch, coal tar 
 naptha and turpentine, at a heat of about lil'O or 230 degrees of Fiihienheit. It 
 Wakes a beautiful varnish, and, from all appearance, will bo a substantial one. It 
 18 very much like Trinidad asphaltum, but is much more solid, and requires a 
 greater lieat to dissolve; and in my opinion is of the same series of deposites. 
 
 It has very little earthy matter in it. I should like to contract for a .luantity of 
 It Jor the purpose of making it into varnish. Wm. Rice 
 
 I hiladelphia, August 5th 1851, Manvfacturcr of Marine Faint 
 
 REPORT OF MR. JOSEPH OUTRAM, Ju.v. 
 Slit :-|-I have subjected to a careful chemical analysis a sample of your asuhu!- 
 tuni, and have obtained tho following results : ^ iubi""' 
 
 Ash, - - . . 
 f.^urbon in coke. 
 
 0.4 
 31.4 
 
 Coke 
 
 34.8 
 
 Volatile matter. (;5.2 
 
 Culorilc Power, o.'i 
 
 Total Cai'bon 72 
 
 narboii in volHtilp nutitpr, - . r?r r, 
 
 lOd.n 
 
I 
 
 il 
 
 *l 
 
 a6 
 
 The iibuyo gxiiini.lo ,if A»j)hiilliiiii ix ruiiiark«blo lor tlio vory MUiall <iuanlily ol' 
 nnh It contaiim, Icir tho InrKo nniount of volntilo matter and carbon, aud alno for 
 ino ubsoiico ol all iinpuritie*. 
 
 „, ,. . , Vours with resppct, 
 
 lo Dr. A. (Jesner. jo,,,.,, Uutram, Jun. 
 
 REPORT OK A MANUFACTURER oF ARTIFICIAL ASIMIALTUM. 
 A» to the Artphultmn, I h/ivo been eiigiifjed oxp.irimenting upon it. m nUo tinon 
 vunoi.H Horts of f-im ni.d cherry coal, with (.trong nnptha. Having been loni? 
 engag.dll. the umuiilHcturo oi nrlijictal mpkallum, or pitrh, I Imd, whilo in that 
 lm.lo, Hon.o opiH.ituuily of noticing uh vmionn properties. I am perfectly con- 
 vmcod tliut tho substunco undor dispute is Aiii)h8ltum. 
 ,,, „,., ,^ , William McLintock, 
 
 blaHgow, 25th December, 1851. Manufacturing Chemist. 
 
 Names of public bodies and indivi<IunlH-nh.-mists, geologiHts, and men ofscience- 
 who biivo exmi.nied tiio n.atciiiil of the llilUboio' mine in New Brunswick, 
 and (leeliired it to bo bitumen or artjjhiiltum. 
 
 Royal I'olytochiiic Institution London 
 
 The Armleniy of Natiiinl Sciences .... I>hila<le!phiu'. 
 
 Andrew Ure, m.d., r.R.s London 
 
 Riclmrd (J,,wling Tuylor.Mate of .... I'hiladelphin". 
 C. .M. Wetiiniiil, Esq ,i 
 
 V''»'ru M ••'"'''"'""■ *'-° Ho^ton. 
 
 .1. R. Chilton jy^^ Y»tV 
 
 The Right Hoiioinble tho Earl of DunJonald . . Lonilon! 
 
 H'>ii. .luhii E. Fail-banks Halifax 
 
 W. Riee, Esq ---,.... IMiiludelphiu*. 
 
 E. Diiiaiid, E.«i. - . .1 . . . . ., 
 
 Professor EEiiimons Albany. 
 
 (/. I owiiseud IlaiTis, Esq. New York 
 
 Cliailes Cogswell, Esq., m.d London'. 
 
 W. D. I epper, m.d London. 
 
 D,.ctor Locock - L„„a„„, 
 
 rrotessor J. t , W. Johnston Durham 
 
 l-iofessor J. Robb Fredoricton! 
 
 William McLintock . Glasgow. 
 
 ■Joseph Oiitiain ! . Halifax 
 
 Jo8..-ph Oiitiam,,jan Halifax 
 
 .loseph Sniith, Esq Cumberland; 
 
 (ioorgo Uiincan, Esq. . Truro 
 
 Professor Ai.tisell New York*. 
 
 W. Woad, FiM[. „ 
 
 Leeds, pJsq. <, 
 
 H. W. Adams, Esq. « 
 
 To the above list, the names of many more scientific and practical 
 men might lie added, were it neceasary to produce any further testi- 
 mony to show conclusively that the combustible of Hillsboro' is 
 Asphaltum, aud not Coal or any vari-jty of Coal. 
 
 * The Proceedings of tho Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, (vol. 
 y. No >) in an obituary notice of the late Richard C. Taylor, record the fact, that 
 this distinguished geologist " was engaged in tho examination of the injected vein 
 ol asphaltum at Hillsboro', in the province of New Brunswick, which is now in 
 ntigation. His testimony m this case, as taken dowu and since published, is a 
 specimen of such thorough knowledge in his profession, such clearness, exactness, 
 and completeness, as to be worthy of all praise. It should have a place in all 
 geological. libraries. He was greatly interested in this singular litigation, which 
 seems, strange as it may apjiear to geologists and mineralogists, to depend on the 
 decision ol ajury, whether an injected vein of asphaltum bo not a senm or bed 
 ot bituminous coa . belonging to true coal measures. Nothing could be more 
 clear n<n- more to the point than Mr. Taylor's evidences to the contrary. 
 
97 
 
 ury ituiall tiuantity ul 
 carbuii, and alau fur 
 
 kM, Juii. 
 
 ASI'IIALTUM. 
 
 iijinn it, BH nUo upon 
 
 llnviii^ l)e«Mi long 
 
 I had, wliilo iii timi 
 
 I am jiurl'ectly coii- 
 
 klcf-IPfTOCK, 
 
 luut'ucturiiig Chomist. 
 
 niul men fifBciunce — 
 ill New llrunswick, 
 
 London. 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 - London. 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Uonton. 
 ■ Now York. 
 
 London. 
 
 Iliilitiix. 
 Philudolphiu. 
 
 Albany. 
 
 - New York. 
 
 London. 
 London. 
 London. 
 iJuihnm. 
 Fredorictou. 
 
 Glll8f,'OW. 
 
 Halifax. 
 Ilalilhx, • 
 Oumberlund. 
 Truro. 
 
 - Now York. 
 
 n,. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Da. A. Gesncr. 
 
 HiLLSBoitUGH, 15th, Jan. 1852. 
 
 .v«?,7iy •/?•'• my opinion as a practical miner respecting the Albert minn, 
 
 n?.,n 1 t " '" ""^'''S "'"^ '^'■- ^- '^'- •''"^•^""n '■» "'""••''y ""der a mistake in 
 pampn et m very nri'iy particular«, and I cannot understand how he could 
 
 Ilhve 
 
 ISri'! If '"";.*"'•'' "'■'•'",•''• I h«v« '•«'•" well ucquaintml wit"h the Albert mine 
 2!p,1 hlU l"^"' "■ "'"'"';''• \ '"'^'' wrought in it for month., and when not en- 
 «ge t e e have been employed by Mr. Foulis or yourself, in M,e immediate vici- 
 
 ffi- 11 ?,/l •"•''"';• >''"'^'''r^ '■'"'' 1''"^ '"»'"' A'^x-'^' >"""■■'"■ i" "'" O"!' 
 teE .f.o m" '?1 """■ ' " '^ '""!"»• ""^"'g ''««» <» Pr-tctical miner, .Mnpioyed 
 
 hav 
 eoal 
 beoi 
 
 8 oi coal, anthrnc. e m well as bituminous, and the appearances of coal bods, I 
 o o.eason to d„nbt the opudon Hirst formed, that the Albert mine is not a 
 tmme In {mrticular my reascm ure-because the mine has no roof or floor; 
 auso It has no hre clay of fossil plants ; because thn shales lie most gouerally 
 Ji tie, edges to the substance of the mine, which adheres to them ; becaUHe 
 
 vrjfii ti..,;.. 1 ~ --..J ,,.u...... , uLuiiuBi! uiM pij/iius no most I'd 
 
 WUfi then edges ^U, the substance of the mine, which adheres to them ; b 
 
 ■ """c fdlsall the crevices in the shales, and spreads out arms 
 
 the substance of the m 
 
 to wh'!^* llltil, ^''"'^ 'l''-"'-''/'" tlno.ighout the surr..uiidinssliale;"in l.mnnnerVimiiar 
 ill r, ,''""'"^""*''' '""'"* tniversing limestone, and becaus,. the sub- 
 
 Sin h .If ,"."•!" iwf '" • ^"y ^-^i""""" f'-"'" coal. I have found petr.deum 
 Mws, «•? r' • "''^'"^^^^ similar to that of the mine in tho 
 
 behi. . ;,.A ^ feet roin the vein, in an elastic state like Indian rubber, tho last 
 Dr f,.rU '■ i' "'^^ !" t.''" ■'^%'l>l^o'"l'""'l. Another particular in which 
 
 melt nml - l"" "7,"'"""'?'' '" !'"" "'" «"''^l""C" <d' the Albert mine will not 
 melt and dissolve. I Imve done both, and I think Dr 
 
 tak 
 tho 
 
 en specimem, from the lower levels to experiment upon. T 
 ^m.ne was dissolve,! lust summer by John Edgett, Esq., in uo,u u-, i.. my 
 to bri;'': .'''r''"^ 'J'toa Wacking.bottlepaper,°on boards &c. for speclmeZ 
 
 ^„: .'" . ""'^ P''^"'*.'"' ^y '*""'" "'■ i"' 'non working at the mine, and nut on 
 
 Jackson could not have 
 ho substunco of 
 coal tc, in my 
 
 tific and practical 
 
 any ftiither testi- 
 
 of Hillsboro' ia 
 
 if Philadelphia, (vol. 
 record the fact, that 
 I of the injected vein 
 k, which is now in 
 since published, is a 
 clearness, exactness, 
 have a place in all 
 lar litigation, which 
 s, to depend on tho 
 not a Benin or bed 
 ling could be more 
 contrary. 
 
 Hove htty persons have seen it done, or done it themselves. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Yours obediently, 
 
 John Rodertsom. 
 
 fanh;^,;rV'nr*''''''V'''*'*^°"^''''''*'^'''"»>"Al^'='"* "'•"'' »••« no' the horses or 
 taults of coal mines. I never saw any thing like them in coal mines. 
 
 John Robertson. 
 
 fes^ecfbr./uirtl*?^^''-. ^"^W'^'^^f'^^on, I certify that what he states above, 
 respecting the geological position of the Albert mine, and the dissolving and 
 me ing properties of the substance, is correct; and further that t ere are^veins 
 of the material traversing the walls on both sides of the s ibs a ce, one ?"south 
 
 Ztti S on"l£th"^.l r T-r'^t" ""If't "''^^' ""^ '''° "--ks with their e"X 
 BDutlmg on both sides of It. Some of these veins run parallel with tho main 
 body and others entirely contrary. When the mine caug'ht fire list fa ll^aw 
 
 ?},« \1"''P.* """^r ,"* ^,"- 1 ^^^•°'' ("^'^^ below No^8)on so th-west sT 
 £here tho substance had melted and rmi like pitch on the bottom of the level' 
 
■IH' 
 
 38 
 
 seven or eight yards, what had melted and run was f. jm eight to twelve Inches 
 thick, and when broken up, looked as it did before it was melted. John Foster 
 and I broke it, and sent it up to the top with the other. I never saw any coal 
 nlants in the Albert mine or shale. There are all the same irregularities at the 
 bottom of the mine that there are at the top. 
 
 HiUsboro', 15th Jan. 1852. Jo„n Cown. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 New York, Feb. 28th, 1852. 
 
 Your communication of yesterday to hand, and in reply I have to say, 
 that I have tried a few experiments with the New Brunswick Asphalte and have 
 succeeded in dissolving the same in rosin oil and in whale oil perfectly, by 
 heating the oils m a retort until they commence to decompose. I have also tried 
 that portion ot coal oil called retinole, and have dissolved the Asphalte in it 
 partially in an open vessel; and am confident, that when heated in a retort, in the 
 bame manner with the other oils, that it will dissolve readily. I will try this and 
 let you know the result. I think that the Asphalte can be dissolved readily in 
 those oils that have a high boiling point. Having tried to melt a piece of the 
 Asphalte, I have noticed that it chars on the outside, and thus forms a coatiii-r 
 that prevents the melted matter within from running ; but if you should puncture 
 or scrape off this coating, the matter will then run freely. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Wm. M. Leeds, 
 
 Manufacturing Chemist. 
 
 havins 
 
 To all whom it may concern— Be it known that T have made fires in a house- 
 grate, of the Asphaltum of the Duffy mine, in the county of Albert, province of 
 New Brunswick, and t!ie same melts and runs down through the grate into the 
 ashes. I have observed it to do so several times when a bright lire was made 
 of It. I have also seen it melt ond drop down in the flame of a candle. 
 
 . r. GOIMARKN, M.D/ 
 
 Bend of retisodiac, 
 22d January, 1852. 
 
ht to twelve inches 
 lelted. John Foster 
 lever saw any coal 
 irregularities at the 
 
 John Cown. 
 
 t, Feb. 28th, 1852. 
 
 reply I have to say, 
 Asphalte, and have 
 lo oil perfectly, by 
 I have also tried 
 the Asphalte in it, 
 id in a retort, in the 
 
 I will try this, and 
 lissolred readily in 
 nelt a piece of the 
 us forms a coating 
 'ou should puncture 
 
 EDS, 
 
 facturing Chemist. 
 
 de fires in a house- 
 Albert, province of 
 the grate into the 
 ight fire was made 
 I candle. 
 
 *. GuiMARKH, M.Dv 
 
 39 
 
 Dkar Sir; — I have received your note, requesting a statement of my experi- 
 m99,ts with the Hillsborough Asphaltum, from the Albert Mine. 
 
 When Professor R. 0. Taylor, Dr. Robb, and several other gentlemen were in 
 Hilliborough, 1 dissolved the asplialtum in coal tar ; my boat wanted graving, and 
 having no pitch, I thought I would try the asphaltum, of which I had a few bush- 
 els. _ i found it would dissolve, and in the presence of several persons, put a quan- 
 tity in a pot with coal tar, and wholly dissolved the asphaltum by boiling them 
 together. It took more time to dissolve than pitch , but the work was completely 
 done. When in the process of dissolving, the asphaltum becamo elastic, stretching 
 out and contracting like iudian-rubber. I graved my boat with it, and after I had 
 finished, I poured part of the remainder into various moulds, and as it cooled, 
 twisted it up into coils like pieces of rope. I gave Professor Taylor specimens, 
 which ill his pamphlet he states he gave to Dr. C. T. Jackson. I have seen Dr. 
 Jabksou's report on the Albert coal, and he may say what he likes about coal tar, 
 pit9bi and specimens being changed, but I can tell him there is not the necessity 
 iox[fhauging specimens, that there is for bringing fossil plants from the South Jog- 
 gins, in Nova Scotia, 15 miles from the Albert mines, and saying they are from the 
 vicinity of the Hillsborough mine, as Dr. Jackson and his associate Mr. Foulis did 
 last Bumnier, Dr. Jackson may accuse mo of a fraud on Professor Taylor and 
 others, but when Dr. Jackson brought to my wharf in Hillsborough, a boat load of 
 fossil plants from the South Joggins, many of them given to him by Mr. Patrick, 
 and sent some of them from Hillsborough boxed up, and a large fossil tree brought 
 from the Joggins, was seat in the shooner Edwin Botsford, John Edgett, junior, 
 master, to St. John, with directions to leave it with Moses H. Perley, Esq., and 
 afterwards in a communication to the Boston Society of Natural History, which was 
 repablislied in the Courier of 12th July last, asserted these fossils as coming from 
 the vicinity of the Albert mine, which he knew they did not, for the purpose of a 
 fraud; he reminds me by his gross charges of want of integrity in others, of the 
 pickpocket who cries stop thief, to prevent suspicion being fastened on himself. 
 Another most extraordinary thing is, the Stigmaria, recently sent by Mr. Foulis to Dr. 
 Jackson, when the former has actually not been in the parish of Hillsborough since 
 the latter left here, so that Mr, Foulis could not have discovered any fossil plants 
 in Hillsborough since he exi)lored the country in company with Dr. Jackson, al- 
 thoagii he possibly might have been at tli-? South Joggins again. 
 
 The Hillsborough Asphaltum is soluble in all s.-Tts of oil or grease. 1 have dis- 
 solved it in fish oil, paint oil, and in common grease, by boiling them together, and 
 faave used it altogether this winter on my boots to make them waterproof, and it is 
 so used by many persons in tliis place. The first person I heard who used ii in 
 that way was Captain William Bennet, who applied it in that way in 1850. It 
 melts, runs, and drops when held in the flame of a caudle by removing the crust 
 that forms on the outside, this experiment is frequently performed, indeed hardly 
 anyone in this place disputes that it runs and melts. 
 
 Vou are at liberty to make what use of this letter you think proper. 
 
 I am Sir, 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 Dr. A. GfSNER. John Edgett. 
 
 Copy of Analysis is by W. G. Ward, Esq., pupil of Professor James Renwick, and 
 to whom the specimens were handed by Professor Renwick for examination 
 
 Manhattanville, June 30tli, 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen : — In pursuance with your request, I beg leave to hand in the follow- 
 ing report of the examination of the ' Hillsboro' formation.' 
 
 First. Its fracture is perfectly conchoidal. Lustre vitreous, or resinous. Sp.gr,, 
 1. 181. 
 
 Second. Under the microscope it does not exhibit the slightest trace of ligneous 
 ■teucture. 
 
 Third. At a tolerably high temperature (about 450 " F..) it softens, but does not 
 iptrfectly fuse until it begins to decompose (about 550 " to 020 ° .) 
 
 ^fourth. It partially (more than J) dissolves in Chloroform, not quite so much in 
 tibtha ; about as much in Benzole, and consideraldy in hoi Spirits of Tvrpent'ne._ 
 
 fjQTg. — I do not- consider iny nr nenmeuts with theso solvents as quite couclusive, 
 for in my opinion, I did not use sutCciout excess of solvent. 
 
40 
 
 Fifth. Its geological position, as per copy of the report of Messrs. Richard C. Tav 
 lor and James Robb, is that of Asphaltum, and not of Coal. 
 
 Sixth. Its analysis gives the following results: 100 gr. ofthe mineral carefully dis 
 tilled in a CounU-r prised hard glass retort, by the highest heat of an Araand BPirii 
 lamp, gave "^ ' 
 
 Volatile Matter 60.8 
 
 oils, etc. 45.7 
 gas, 15.1 
 
 Residue coke, 392 
 
 ()0.8 
 
 lOO.O 
 
 The gas although not carefully measured, was about70cubic inches measurement 
 Seventh. I cou d not detect any trace of sulphur in the mineral, nor of any i.v. 
 nteous compounds. ^ *• 
 
 Finally. In view of the above statements, and most particularly as regards the 
 Ecological Situation, I '^i\e it as my opinion, that the aforesaid mineral is Asphal. 
 turn, or !i variety of Asphaltum, and not Coal, or a variety of Coal. 
 I have the honor Geatlemen, 
 
 to remain your most obd't. serv't., 
 
 W. G. Wart). 
 
'Messrs. Richard C. Tav 
 
 he mineral carefully dij 
 loat of an Argand spin' 
 
 45.7 
 15.1 
 
 (J0.8 
 
 )ic inches measuremen' 
 iiineral, nor of any y\ 
 
 ;icularly as regards tlic 
 resaid mineral is AspLrI^ 
 jfCoai. 
 
 rv't., 
 
 W, G. Wakt).