Peat and its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel

by Samuel W. Johnson

In this country attempts have been made to apply Challeton's method. In 1865, Mr. S. Roberts, of Pekin, N. Y., erected machinery at that place, which was described in the "Buffalo Express," of Nov. 17, 1865, as follows:—

"In outward form, the machine was like a small frame house on wheels, supposing the smoke-stack to be a chimney. The engine and boiler are of locomotive style; the engine being of thirteen horse power. The principal features of the machine are a revolving elevator and a conveyer. The elevator is seventy-five feet long, and runs from the top of the machine to the ground, where the peat is dug up, placed on the elevator, carried to the top of the machine, and dropped into a revolving wheel that cuts it up; separates from it all the coarse particles, bits of sticks, stones, etc.; and throws them to one side. The peat is next dropped into a box below, where water is passed in, sufficient to bring it to the consistency of mortar. By means of a slide under the control of the engineer, it is next sent to the rear of the machine, where the conveyer, one hundred feet long, takes it, and carries it within two rods of the end; at which point the peat begins to drop through to the ground to the depth of about four or five inches. When sufficient has passed through to cover the ground to the end of the conveyer,—two rods,—the conveyer is swung around about two feet, and the same process gone through, as fast as the ground under the elevator, for the distance of two rods in length and two feet in width gets covered, the elevator being moved. At each swing of the elevator, the peat just spread is cut into blocks (soft ones, however) by knives attached to the elevator. It generally takes from three to four weeks before it is ready for use. It has to lie a week before it is touched, after the knives pass through it; when it is turned over, and allowed to lie another week. It has then to be taken up, and put in a shed, and within a week or ten days can be used, although it is better to let it remain a little longer time. The machine can spread the peat over eighteen square rods of ground—taking out one square rod of peat—without being moved. After the eighteen rods are covered, the machine is moved two rods ahead, enabling it to again spread a semicircular space of some thirty-two feet in width by eighteen rods in length. The same power, which drives the engine, moves the machine. It is estimated by Mr. Roberts, that, by the use of this machine, from twenty to thirty tons of peat can be turned out in a day."

Mr. Roberts informs us that he is making (April 1866,) some modifications of his machinery. He employs a revolving digger to take up the peat from the bed, and carry it to the machine. At the time of going to press, we do not learn whether he regards his experiments as leading to a satisfactory conclusion, or otherwise.

Siemens' method.

Siemens, Professor of Technology, in the Agricultural Academy, at Hohenheim, successfully applied the following mode of preparing peat for the Beet Sugar Manufactory at Bœblingen, near Hohenheim, in the year 1857. Much of the peat there is simply cut and dried in the usual manner. There is great waste, however, in this process, owing to the frequent occurrence of shells and clay, which destroy the coherence of the peat. Besides, a large quantity of material accumulates in the colder months, from the ditches which are then dug, that cannot be worked in the usual manner at that time of the year. It was to economize this otherwise useless material that the following process was devised, after a failure to employ Challeton's method with profit.

In the first place, the peat was dumped into a boarded cistern, where it was soaked and worked with water, until it could be raised by a chain of buckets into the pulverizer.

The pulverization of the peat was next effected by passing it through a machine invented by Siemens, for pulping potatoes and beets. This machine, (the same we suppose as that described and figured in Otto's Landwirthschaftliche Gewerbe), perfectly breaks up and grates the peat to a fine pulp, delivers it in the consistency of mortar into the moulds, made of wooden frames, with divisions to form the peats. The peat-paste is plastered by hand into these moulds, which are immediately emptied to fill again, while the blocks are carried away to the drying ground where they are cured in the ordinary style without cover.

In this simple manner 8 men were able to make 10,000 peats daily, which, on drying, were considerably denser and harder than the cut peat.

The peat thus prepared, cost about one-third more than the cut peat. Siemens reckoned, this greater cost would be covered by its better heating effect, and its ability to withstand transportation without waste by crumbling.

b. Condensation of fibrous peat.