Report of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Internal Affairs of ...

No 10. MINE INSPECTORS' REPORT. xxxv
This report is, perhaps, not so complete as it should be, but with
the facilities afforded to perform the labor assigned to the Bureau, it
is the best that could be done, iind had it not been for the kindness
of Hon. Jiimes W. Latta, Secretary of Internal Affairs, in assigning
Mr. Thomas Wilson to prepare the Inspector's reports for publication,
to whom all credit should be given, I do not see how that work could
have been done.
The following papers on the method and cosl of flushing culm into
anthracite" mines, I have copied by permission from the Anthracite
Coal Operators' Association letter, which I believe will be read with
profit by all who are interested in mining methods.
THE METHOD AND COST OF FLUSHING CULM INTO ANTH-
RACITE MINES.
At the meeting of the association held October 13th, 1897, a committee
of three was appointed to investigate this subject and report
at its earliest convenience. At the meeting, January 12tli, 1898,
Mr. Haddock, chairman of the committee, presented the following
report, which had been prepared at his request by Mr. James B.
Davies, superintendent of Mr. Haddock's "Black Diamond" and
"Dodson'' collieries, near Wilkesbarre. Before reading the report
the chairman acknowledged his obligation to the Hon. John J. Shonk,
for the suggestions looking to the flushing of culm into the mines,
which had been so successfully carried out under the direction of Mr.
Davies,
Flushing Culm at the "Dodson" and "Black Diamond" Collieries.
deferring to your rec^uest for a full
report of our mode of filling
the mines with culm, the expenses, and suggestions for any improvement
that might help to make the present system more successful,
I submit to you the following, which I trust may cover th(>
ground 30U desire.
Beginning of Flushing.
In January, 1891, we built a small portable washer in order to experiment
iu ch^aniitg the Dodson culm bank. This was rei)laced by
a larger and moi'e permanent one, which is now our jig house. On
running our culm cleaners we found that getting rid of the dirty
water was a ])robl('m not easily solved. The law was against us and
would not allow us to run it into the Sus(iuehanna river, so we made
several sumps on the top of the culm bank and pumped this water
into them, in the hope that it would filter through and leave the
impurities behind. This it did, but the mud filled our sumps faster