There is probably no mineral, of all the many that contribute to England's commercial greatness, which is so varied in kind, chemical composition, and appearance, as coal; and an interesting volume might be written on the different forms under which it is extracted from the earth, under the names of brown-coal, oulm, cannel-coal, bituminous coal, anthracite, and the like. Next to the bituminous coals of Great Britain, the most important are the anthracites or stone-coals; and of these I propose to give a short sketch, especially as relates to their development in the coal-basin of South Wales. Of their importance commercially there can be no doubt: for, on referring to the “Mining Records” published during last year, I find that 960,500 tons were raised in this basin alone, for the purpose of supplying 18 blast-furnaces in the counties of Brecon, Glamorgan, and Caermarthen.