resembling hard coal, in the best varieties. It is non-caking and
burns with a bright but slightly smoky flame with moderate heat. It is
easily broken, will not stand much handling in transportation, and if
exposed to the weather will rapidly disintegrate, which will increase
the difficulty of burning it.

Its composition varies over wide limits. The ash may run as low as one
per cent and as high as 50 per cent. Its high content of moisture and
the large quantity of air necessary for its combustion cause large stack
losses. It is distinctly a low-grade fuel and is used almost entirely in
the districts where mined, due to its cheapness.

Peat is organic matter in the first stages of its conversion into coal
and is found in bogs and similar places. Its moisture content when cut
is extremely high, averaging 75 or 80 per cent. It is unsuitable for
fuel until dried and even then will contain as much as 30 per cent
moisture. Its ash content when dry varies from 3 to 12 per cent. In this
country, though large deposits of peat have been found, it has not as
yet been found practicable to utilize it for steam generating purposes
in competition with coal. In some European countries, however, the peat
industry is common.

Distribution--The anthracite coals are, with some unimportant
exceptions, confined to five small fields in Eastern Pennsylvania, as
shown in the following list. These fields are given in the order of
their hardness.

Lehigh or Eastern Middle Field
Green Mountain District
Black Creek District
Hazelton District
Beaver Meadow District
Panther Creek District[33]

Mahanoy or Western Field[34]
East Mahanoy District
West Mahanoy District

Wyoming or Northern Field
Carbondale District
Scranton District
Pittston District
Wilkesbarre District
Plymouth District

Schuylkill or Southern Field
East Schuylkill District
West Schuylkill District
Louberry District

Lykens Valley or Southwestern Field
Lykens Valley District
Shamokin District[35]

Anthracite is also found in Pulaski and Wythe Counties, Virginia; along
the border of Little Walker Mountain, and in Gunnison County, Colorado.
The areas in Virginia are limited, however, while in Colorado the
quality varies greatly in neighboring beds and even in the same bed. An
anthracite bed in New Mexico was described in 1870 by Dr. R. W. Raymond,
formerly United States Mining Commissioner.

Semi-anthracite coals are found in a