46 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



tenths are finisliin;^ nails ; besides, there are 200 to 300 tons of 

 shoe-nails, and about 1,500 tons of ship-spikes and nails made 

 of yellow metal. 



ON THE UTILIZATION OF PEAT AS FUEL. 



An invention of considerable practical importance for the con- 

 densing and moulding of peat for use as fuel, has recently been 

 brought to j)uhlic notice liy ]\Ir. T. II. Lcavitt. Tn a i)amphlet 

 compiled by liim, and pul)lishcd in Boston in IbGG, the Avhole sub- 

 ject of peat fuel is thoroughly ti'eated, showing its economy as a 

 sul)Stituti! for wood and coal, especially where fuel is required in 

 large quantities. 



Tiie discoveries of the more imi)ortant uses of peat are recent, 

 though its use, in an imperl'cctly prej)ared form, has for a long 

 time been known in various parts of Europe and in this country. 

 It is found to coutaiii a ricii supply of the carboniferous oil of 

 whirii our common illuminating gas is made, and is pronounced 

 equal in that respect, pound for pound, to gas coal. It also pro- 

 duces I'osin and some i)araffin. Its analysis shows but five per 

 cent, of ashes, and ,')') of carbon. 



The experiments made last year on some of the railroads in 

 Great Britain prove very conclusively that peat can be advan- 

 tageously substituted for coal on the locomotive. That it is also 

 actually ecjual, if not really sujjcrior, to tiie best charcoal itself 

 for smelting iron ore and for puddling iron, has been demon- 

 strated with equal certainty. The iron thus produced is tougher, 

 finer, more malleable, freer from flaws, than any other. By this 

 use of peat, iron from Englisli mines of admitted inferiority to 

 the famous Old Hill mine in Salislniry, Connecticut, and the 

 equally celebrated Swedish charcoal iron, has been produced of a 

 quality equal to either. 



In all cases where it has been properly prepared, it is found to 

 burn equally well in a coal-stove, wood-stove, or fire-place, and to 

 make a very pleasant fire, with more flame than coal makes ; and 

 it leaves no cinders. Its freedom fi-om sulphur renders it far less 

 destructive than anthracite coal to the iron bars of the grate. A 

 stove lasts much longer with peat. This freedom from sulphur, a 

 point of the first importance in the selection of fuel for the reduc- 

 tion of iron ores, is also a weighty consideration with the railroad 

 men, whose experiences with the destructible action of anthracite 

 on their engines have made them shy of that fuel. 



It comes in good time. Coal has been unreasonably expen- 

 sive ; and a good article of peat, that can be used in the stove, 

 the grate, the old "fire-place," or under a steam boiler, at prices 

 far below those for coal, after making every allowance for the rel- 

 ative capacity of the two articles, will be likely to be generally 

 used. Peat keeps a live coal till all is consumed, and is said to be 

 superior for cooking. Its importance in mechanic arts is likely to 

 be extensive. It already finds favor for the process of melting 

 gold ; it is pronounced a success in working steel ; while its use 

 in annealing is proved by the superiority of the wire made by 

 means of peat. 



