of depth, do not ship coal, and employ only a few miners. Both of these mines have been long in operation and are opened in splendid coal.

The shaft of Hamley's Run was examined in the spring by request of one of the miners working there, who complained of bad air, and his complaint was well founded, for there was no proper means applied for getting air into the mine. The workings were nearly new, and there was a partition in the shaft (it had but one opening) for ventilation, and a steam-pump also, the exhaust from which was intended for rarefaction, but the partition was leaking, and the heating power of the exhaust steam too ineffectual for any result. The exhaust pipe, instead of being at the bottom of the upcast, where it would have been of some service, was carried well up the shaft before the steam was discharged. I suggested the closing up of the leaks in the partition and the discharge of the steam at the bottom of the upcast as an improvement, until an airshaft was sunk, the sinking of which was then in contemplation.

This shaft is sunk in low ground, in what must have been at one time the bed of the Hocking River, for there is no roofing, except a few feet of soft and rotten shale, over the coal, while the shaft is sixty-five feet deep. It is sunk on the high ground of the coal (which dips off under the hill), and has caused a great waste of money pumping and bailing water. New mining operators are tempted to choose the low ground on which to sink, as it is the most promising to view; but the practical miner, acquainted with the inequalities of the coal floor, and of the fact that the dip is always under the bluff, would advise against choosing such a place, as fraught with expense to the mine after the coal has been reached.

All the mines above this shaft on the Hocking River are level-free, and are drift mines, the rise of the coal being south and west. The mines are all provided with two openings, and, in general cases, are well ventilated. Sometimes the workings of a butt entry are suffering for want of air, because the entry has not been got out to daylight. In the mines where the conditions are against getting through the hill before the air becomes too foul for work, an air course is driven from one butt entry to another for a circulation. By driving double entries there could be fresh air kept up to the faces all the time, and there would be no more cost in driving two entries on parallel lines than in driving an air-course, which is simply an entry costing the same, if not more, money-for men must be paid extra for working in bad air so far in the fast.

The mines of W. B. Brooks & Son, particularly those on "Section 19,” in Hocking county, were in most excellent order for getting air along. There are seven different openings from which coal is hauled, four of which are opened in the butts of the coal, and all are driven out through

the hill. The other mines have each air-passages directly forward. Nature has done every thing which the hand of man could desire to assist the practical miner, and it is gratifying to see her advantages taken, for all these air arrangements have been made with prudent forethought, and with the desire of having every thing in accordance with approved mining experience. So complete are the arrangements for mining and shipping coal of Messrs. Brooks & Son, that two thousand tons daily could be sent to market were a call made for the amount.

During the progress of the miners' strike of last spring in these regions, a band of miners, fifty or sixty in number, conceived the idea of opening a mine of their own on a sort of co-operative plan. With this object in view, a company comprising fifty-seven members was organized on the 9th of July last, under the name of the Nelsonville Mining Company. Each member took one share of five hundred dollars. They leased an eighty-four-acre tract of coal land just below the village of Nelsonville, and forthwith commenced operations, having elected John F. Welch president and superintendent, and A. Poston treasurer. By the 13th of August they commenced shipping coal by canal, and by railroad on the 29th of the same month, having built more than a half mile of railroad, with an embankment averaging six feet high, building also a very substantial bridge over the canal. At the time of my visit to the mine in last October, the company was shipping one hundred and eighty tons of coal daily, and were increasing their trade, having more orders than they were able to fill.

The mine is opened up in approved manner, and the workings have been advanced with skill and prudence, communication having already been provided with another mine for ventilation. It is to be hoped that this enterprise, so auspiciously begun, will prove a success. Many movements of this character have sprung up among workingmen in various places in the Union, most of which have ended in failure for want of business ability to guide and direct the concerns, and because of an unwarranted spirit of fault-finding among the mass. The following is the form of lease of this company:

THIS AGREEMENT,
day of

Made and entered into this
A.D. 187, by and between Ashford
Poston, Charles Robbins, John F. Welch, and William Poston, all of Nelsonville,
Athens county, and State of Ohio, parties of the first part, and

second part:

party of the

Witnesseth, That the parties of the first part, for and in consideration of the covenants and agreements hereinafter mentioned, have let and leased, and doth hereby let and lease, unto the said party of the second part, heirs or executors, for mining coal

for ten years, more or less, until the coal therein is all mined and exhausted, the equal and undivided one hundredth (100) part of that eighty-four-acre lot of coal land, being a subdivision of the Watkins lands adjoining the village of Nelsonville, and recently purchased by the said parties of the first part from E. H. Moore and others, of Athens, Ohio, together with the right of way for shipping coal to the canal and railroad, and all the timber on the premises necessary for bank use, track, screen, hoppers, etc. The share hereby leased and conveyed, with the privileges attached, valued at five hundred dollars, and the said parties of the first part hereby agree and bind themthemselves to the party of the second part that they will each take a like share, and will each do, and perform, and be governed in all respects according to the obligations and covenants herein imposed upon the party of the second part. In consideration whereof, the party of the second part hereby agrees and binds himself, his heirs, executors, and assigns, to the said parties of the first part, that he will commence work on the premises immediately; he will work faithfully and to the best advantage in opening and preparing the track, screen, hoppers, etc., at two dollars per day, until mining operations shall commence, and thereafter to mine the coal in a proper and skillful manner, and to deliver the same into boat or car, as the case may be, for whatever is or may be the ruling price for digging coal in the valley at the time; to pay to parties of the first part sixty cents per one hundred bushels of coal, rent for all the coal mined under this lease; to mine and take out the full proportion of four hundred thousand bushels of coal the first year after mining commences, and of five hundred thousand bushels each succeeding year during this lease, according to the number of leases taken; to settle and pay the rent each and every thirty days, and if not paid within ninety days this lease shall be forfeited; and to leave in the hands of the treasurer of the company fifty per cent. of all wages accruing to said party of the second part under this lease, until the five hundred dollars is paid, or until the mine is out of debt and self-sustaining, and such per cent. thereafter as may be agreed upon by the parties at interest, to defray contingent enpenses; and not sell or transfer this lease without permission given by a two-thirds vote of all the parties in interest who may be present at a meeting for that purpose, after due notice given. It is further agreed by the parties, and made a part of the contract, that no rent shall be charged for entry coal, where the entry is nine feet wide or less, and that all the parties to this contract shall share equally in all the profits and losses of this mining association, according to their respective interests therein, and that all moneys, property, or fixtures belonging to the concern at the end of this lease, except the real estate, shall be equally distributed in like manner; and that if the party of the second part shall at any time fail or refuse to comply with any of the provisions of this lease, or to perform any obligation or any covenant herein expressed or provided, such failure or neglect, unless clearly providential and unavoidable, shall be a forfeiture of this lease, together with all privileges, payments, or emoluments arising therefrom.

This lease is not to be construed to inclue any of the surface except what will be necessary for hoppers and tracks.

In witness whereof, the parties aforesaid have hereunto set their hands and seals the date above written.