Excerpt from United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Vol. 6: Transcript of Record; James B. Smith, F. C. Mills and E. H. Mayer, Plaintiffs in Error, Vs. The United States of America, Defendant in Error; Pages 1921 to 2304, Inclusive Q. Supposing it is exposed on a mountain side, where it gets all the oxygen that it is possible for it to get, and plenty of rain, plenty of snow, wouldn't that 10 lb. Lump of coal decrease in size and decrease in weight by reason of the process of oxidation dur ing a period of 10 years? A. It undoubtedly would in 10 years go to pieces, but it might still have its weight. Q. You say it might still have its weight. Wouldn't the volatile gases escape during that time? A. Some of them might; a great deal depends on the composition of the coal; if it were a hard coal and was exposed there it would remain for a long period of time without any decrease in weight. Q. Ultimately there would be no more left of that lump of coal than there would be of the cabbage head; is that not so, by reason of this oxidation? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.