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KIL
brittle blackish, slate impregnated with iron ochre, and
more or less inlaid with, nodules of iron ore; it extends
from the collieries to the south and west, forming the
banks of the Dinan almost to its confluence with the
Nore. The same stone forms lower hills which stretch
towards the river, hut in that part it is generally found
of a fine soft grain, some of which is quarried for polish-
ing marble, and the finer specimens are sometimes used
as hones. In several parts are numerous escars, mostly
near the banks of the rivers; some are seen near
Urlingford, approaching the verge of the Bog of Allen,
and they are also frequently found far removed from
either river or bog; they are mostly composed of
rounded masses of limestone, quarts, clay-slate, and
ironstone, but most commonly of the first. They form
gently rising hills, and may be traced from the banks
of the Shannon, in the county of Limerick, through
Tipperary and Kilkenny, to the banks of the Suir,
whence they range through Carlow, Kildare, and near
to the sea shore a little to the south of Dublin: along
their entire extent the surface is generally fertile and
very picturesque.
The Kilkenny collieries are situated two miles north
from Castlecomer, twelve from Kilkenny, eight from Car-
low, and forty-one from Dublin, and extend in length
from Cooleban to the river beyond Maesfield, continu-
ing thence into the Queen’s county. In this county the
coal field may be estimated at six miles in length by
five in breadth, and the collieries are distinguished by
the names of Firoda, Ballyouskill, Clogh, and Maesfield.
The mines were discovered in 1728. A great number
of men had been for several years employed in raising
iron ore, which was smelted with charcoal from the
numerous woods of the country; and having worked
through the seam, came unexpectedly to a vein of coal.
The first pits were sunk near the southern termination of
the coal field, and were consequently unprofitable; others
were then opened on the ridge of hill at Cooleban, where
three separate seams were worked at little expense till
exhausted. The present colliery is in the plain west-
ward from Cooleban, and is much flooded: two power-
ful steam-engines are constantly at work, but the water
frequently accumulates to such a height as to interrupt
the operations. In this field are 24 pits, varying from
31 to 39 yards in depth, and only the upper seam of
coal has yet been worked, which varies from 34 to 38
inches in thickness: more than 700 men are constantly
employed. The soil of the entire district is a stiff clay,
below which is a rock composed of argillite and silicious
limestone, resting on an argillaceous deposit here called
grey or curled rock, below which is black shale, with
thin layers of rich iron ore, and beneath these are thin
layers of slate, here forming the roof of the coal. The
seat of the coal is a soft, black, brittle stone, or fire-
clay, containing impressions of various plants: it has
never been applied to any beneficial purpose, although,
when pulverised and worked into cement, it becomes
fire-proof, and would be very valuable for crucibles,
glass-pots, and other vessels exposed to intense heat.
Since the woods of the country failed, no attempt has
been made to smelt the iron ore, and vast quantities lie
scattered about in every part. Wheaten bread is the
principal food of the colliers, which they take with
them into the pits: their earnings are generally con-
sumed in the purchase of spirits, whence it happens
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KIL
that, though their wages are higher than those of other
workmen, they are the most wretched class in the county.
Their habitations are miserably mean, being generally
built and covered with sods, sometimes without chim-
neys or windows; their children naked, themselves ill
clad and unhealthy, few arriving at the age of fifty. A
consumption of the lungs is the most fatal disorder
among them: those who work in wet pits live longest,
as they do not inhale so much of the volatile dust of
the coal. The excellent qualities of this coal for par-
ticular uses occasion a demand for it in all parts of the
country. It burns dully, with little flame, but lying
like charcoal in an ignited state for seven or eight hours,
casts a steady and strong heat. No fuel dries malt so
well, and this without any preparation; it is excellent
for the forge and for all works in iron; indeed in
every manufacture in which steady heat is required
void of smoke, it cannot be excelled; nor does it dirty
the flues where it is used. On being analysed, it appears
to approach nearly to pure carbon, without any bitu-
minous matter; the proportions being 97.3 per cent.
of pure carbon, and the remainder uninflammable ashes.
Iron has been successfully smelted with it; and it seems
peculiarly calculated for cementing steel and for potteries.
In the town of Castlecomer very good, tenacious, brown
potters’ clay is found, and different clays for potters’
use exist in the neighbourhood: a pottery commenced
here many years since failed from want of capital.
Indications of coal present themselves in other parts,
extending for a considerable distance into Queen’s
county, and in one direction stretching to the border of
Carlow. Yellow ochre is found in different parts; pipe-
clay of good quality, and potters’ clay lie in the south-
ern part of the county as well as in the northern.
Manganese is considerably dispersed: it is seen on the
banks of the Barrow, and in limestone quarries, parti-
cularly near Freshford. Of copper, no certain indica-
tions have been found: lead ore has been met with in
small quantities between Innistiogue and Ross; large
pieces of fine-grained galena are frequently taken up
near Knocktopher, imbedded in limestone quarries.
But the only lead mine ever worked was in the park of
Floodhall, which was continued for some time with
considerable profit: the ore was rich, and contained a
considerable quantity of silver. Limestone is the base
of the central part of the county, and of detached por-
tions of its north-western and south-western extremities.
The quality of the stone varies considerably: that to
the north of Gowran, which appears good to the eye,
cannot be burned into lime, on account of its hardness,
or of the quantity of silicious sand which it contains.
Near Callan is a kind of white limestone, splitting into
laminæ, which is little esteemed: near Durrow, the
stone is full of flint. All the limestone of this county
contains impressions of shells or corallines: it is stra-
tified more horizontally than the rocks around it usually
are, and appears to fill all the lower lands between the
hills; no other stone lies above it, and it is generally so
deep that scarcely any other has been found beneath it.
In most cases the limestone district is terminated by a
broad bed of gravel, composed chiefly of rolled calca-
reous pebbles. The most important quarry is that
which produces the Kilkenny marble; it is called the
black quarry, and is situated about half a mile south of
the town. The stone, when polished, has a black