10

GOAL MINES OF

different formation, until arrested in its courseby some hard and impervious stratification.

Mr. Bakewell made some very interestinginvestigations relative 'to coal, but they werenot thought sufficiently concise. Various othergeologists have thrown further elucidation uponthe subject; and there is no doubt from thegreat attention which has lately been paid to it,but that the secret beauties of nature, whichhave so long remained in darkness and obscu-rity, will in future form new and highly in-teresting subjects for philosophy and science.

The boundaries of any particular formationcannot be exactly defined ; but from the mostcorrect examinations which have been made,it appears that the whole of Durham andNorthumberland is occupied by three dis-tinct formations. These two counties form atriangle, having its apex at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and its base upon the river Tees. Onthe east it is bounded by the sea, on thenorth by the river Tweed, on the west byScotland and Cumberland, and on the southby Yorkshire. Its greatest length north andsouth is eighty-eight miles ; and its greatestbreadth, from Crossfell in Cumberland, whichforms part of the formation of these counties,to Hartlepool, is about fifty-two miles.