Coking Indiana Block Coal

THE typical block coal of the Brazil (Indiana) District differs in chemical composition but little from the coking coals of Western Pennsylvania. The physical difference, however, is quite marked ; the latter has a cuboid structure made up of bibuminous particles lying against each other, so that under the action of heat fusion through- out the mass readily takes place, while block coal is formed of alternate layem of rich bituminous matter and a charcoal-like substance, which is not only very slow of combustion, but so retards the transmission of heat that agglutination is prevented, and the coal burns away layer by layer, retaining its form until consumed. This property permits the use of raw block con1 in the furnace but theo-