The Story of a Piece of Coal

A lump of household fuel becomes a subject for geology, chemistry and industrial history in Edward A. Martin's account of coal. He begins with ancient vegetation, explaining how buried plant material, pressure and heat produced coal seams. Thin slices viewed under a microscope reveal traces of the plants that contributed to them. The book's wider scope includes different forms of carbon, early uses of coal, gas production, oils, dyes and questions about future supplies.

Mining brings these scientific explanations into the working pit. Martin describes the hazards of flammable gases and the development of lamps intended to give miners safer light, including the wire gauze used in Davy's design. His discussion connects the fuel at the hearth with the risks of obtaining it underground. Readers interested in the history of energy can use this account to see how natural science and everyday industry were explained in the late nineteenth century.