Wells of similar character exist in the United States, but they are mostly of artificial origin. They are found in the vicinity of Oil Creek, and that region of Western Pennsylvania which has been baptized as Petrolia. Thousands of devotees have worshipped in the vicinity of these wells, and many of them owe their fortunes to the modern God of Fire; but it is doubtful if many of them worship the wells with that religious devotion and reverence which are found among the fire worshippers of the far east. [Sidenote: A WIRE TRAMWAY.] A novelty in the way of carrying coal may be seen at the Harewood coal mine, at Nanaimo, British Columbia. The mines are situated at a considerable elevation above the sea-level, and the intermediate ground is covered with trees and rocks, while several deep ravines intercept the grounds. Under such circumstances, the construction of a railway would be costly and require much time, as several viaducts would be required, and the road at some places would have to make considerable curves. The proprietor of the mines therefore decided to avoid all these difficulties, on putting up a wire tramway in a direct line from the mine to the port, by means of which the ravines could be spanned without expense, and the timber on the ground could be converted into the necessary posts. There are in all ninety-seven posts, put up to such a height that the wire spanned over them forms a softly inclining plane. The distance between them is from 150 to 250 feet. The wire rope is of the best crucible steel, specially made for the purpose, and is 6-1/2 miles in length; each post having a pair of groove-pulleys two feet in diameter, over which the wire moves. The rope is driven at the lower end by an engine of 20 horse-power, which is sufficient to drive the line when carrying 12 tons per hour. The driving machinery is fitted with drums 10 feet in diameter; at the mine the rope simply passes round a 10-foot drum. Two hundred and fifty iron buckets, each with a capacity of 2 cwt. of coal, are fitted with a patent hanger and box-head, by means of which all jolting, when passing over the supports, is avoided. This tramway has been transporting, during eight months, about 120 tons of coal per day, and no accident or stoppage has occurred. [Illustration: WIRE RAILWAY AT THE HARWOOD COAL MINES, BRITISH COLUMBIA.] Many other tramways of the same nature have been recently put in operation in various parts of the world, as, for instance, in Mauritius, where they have been successfully applied to the carriage of sugar-cane; also in New Zealand, where they are used for carrying manganese ore. [Sidenote: ESTIMATE OF COAL.]