ter were
not able to compete with the railways, and most of the coal-canals have
been abandoned. The price of anthracite at tide-water (New York) varies
from $3.20 to $4.50 per long ton. At Philadelphia the price is about
one-fourth less. Buffalo is the chief lake-port for anthracite. Steam
sizes are about two-thirds the price of house fuel.

[Illustration: COAL FIELDS IN UNITED STATES]

Bituminous, or soft coal furnishes the larger part of the house fuel in
the United States, and nearly all the house coal used in other parts of
the world. It contains from fifteen to more than forty per cent. of
volatile matter, burning with a long and smoky flame. The coal which
contains twenty per cent. or less of volatile matter is a free-burning
coal that may develop heat enough to partly fuse the ash, forming
"clinkers"; it is therefore called "caking" coal, and is not only well
adapted for use as fuel and steam-making, but it is also a good smelting
coal.

Coal which contains more than thirty per cent. of volatile matter is
known as "fat" coal and is generally used in the manufacture of coke and
illuminating gas. Western Pennsylvania produces the largest amount of
fat coal, but it is found here and there in nearly all soft-coal
regions. A so-called smokeless bituminous coal occurs in various
localities; its low percentage of volatile matter makes it an excellent
house fuel.

Bituminous coal is mined in twenty-five States of the Union,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, West Virginia, and Ohio heading the list. In
about half the mines the coal is cut from the seam by means of machinery
and is known as machine-mined coal. A very large part of the product is
consumed within a short distance of the mines, and this is especially
true of the region about the upper Ohio River.

[Illustration: COAL PRODUCTION]

Most of the product is shipped to the large manufacturing cities of the
middle west, where it is used for steam as well as fuel; a very large
amount also is sent down the Ohio in barges to the lower Mississippi
River. The spot value of bituminous coal varies from $0.80 to $1.60 per
ton; the product of the Pacific coast mines, however, is from $3 to $5.

The output of the mines of the United States aggregates about two
hundred and forty million long tons yearly, and this is about one-third
of the world's product. For many years there has been an export trade to
Canada, the West Indies, Central and South America, amounting in 1900 to
8