7. Second Left — 19 persons. While I was in this entry, the
furnace-stack, in consequence of the extraordinary fire that was
being kept up and the nearness of the furnace to the shaft,
burnt down, and the ventilating current was, therefore, dimin-
ished. I could, in consequence, make no trustworthy readings
as to quantity of air on this entry ; could only examine into the
arrangements for distributing the air. But all previous obser-
vations show that there is not an adequate quantity of air tra-
versing the bank, and it is not probable that this entry has been
receiving its due supply. The atmosphere was thick and
smoky in the upper part of the entry, but I can not say whether
this is the usual condition, or simply an incident following the
burning of the furnace-stack. My notion is, however, that if the
ventilation had been good before the stack burnt, it would not
have deteriorated so quickly ; since, the shaft being 32 feet deep
and the fire extraordinarily large, a fair draught should have
continued for a considerable time after the accident.
8. First Left—2& persons. Could only examine the arrange-
ments for distributing air. The first rooms working are 42
(right) and 444 (left); the last are 63 (right) and Q\\ (left).
Since there is no connection between rooms 41 and 42 (right),
all the air is forced to pass to the entry, and none of the work-
ing rooms on the right receive air. No. 42 is up 175 feet.
