>It appears to me that grasses would be unable to provide the woody
>tissue which comprises the bulk of vitrain coal.
I consulted a friend and former co-worker, Harold Illich, a geochemist about
the origin of vitrine which is the major component of vitrain coal. He left
a message on my answering machine responding to my message on his answering
machine. At 7:56 this morning he told me that vitrine which is the
component of vitrinite and vitrain coal is not just from wood or reeds.
Instead, it is from all the higher plants, and is associated with the decay
of the structural molecules of the higher plants.
So, Harold confirms what I wrote in my note of Wed, 15 Apr 1998 20:16:03 -0500
>>>Now, it is true that some vitrinite or vitrain is coalified wood. But
vitrinite also occurs in the oil and this is where I deal with it.
Vitrinite is a product of the decay of organic matter. Oils sourced from
Cambrian or Ordovician shales have no vitrinite in them (a fact itself which
is contrary to a global flood hypothesis since there should have been
terrestrial plants in the pre-flood world). But post devonian oils all have
vitrinite in them.
So, while you may be correct that a given coal or a given area has coals
predominantley associated with bark or wood, it is not necessary that the
coal came from wood unless there is preserved wood in the coal.
Unfortunately most coals show no microscopic structure.<<<<
If you doubt Harold's credentials, do a literature search on his name.
glenn
Adam, Apes, and Anthropology: Finding the Soul of Fossil Man
and
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm