38 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEKT. 



dn^ilgetl, appears loatlod with much adniixod earthy matter; 

 from this it is separated by grinding; up, lari^o dihitiou with water, 

 and deeantalion of the water bearing the ligbt peat particles still 

 in suspension from the heavier earthy matter which has deposited. 

 This is left to dry in hiyers exposed to the air hke " hand-turf," 

 and compressed in moulds by power. From other sources of in- 

 formation on the subject of ariihcially picpared peat, we conclude 

 that these results admit of being contested. As a locomotive fuel, 

 turf, at the best, is a bad and troublesome one; it; gives much 

 smoke and sparks, leaves an evil smell after it, experienced in 

 the train, and is so bulky as often to need supplementary wagons 

 to feed the tender on a long run. There is also great waste by 

 the broken particles passing through the fire-bars. As to com- 

 parative heating powers (not theoretic, but taking into account 

 all these circumstances), the result of 9 years' working on the 

 Bavarian State Line indicate that 100 cubic feet, or 2.48G cubic 

 metres, of the prepared turf of average quality and dryness, are 

 equivalent to 312.5 kilograms of coke, or to 3.135 cubic metres of 

 white firewood, that is, of wood principally of birch, beech, and 

 alder. Thus, during^ this interval of working, the cost of firing 

 with turf was about half that of coke in Bavaria, and two-thirds 

 that of wood. By taking everything into account, as derived from 

 the accounts of the line for 1861-62, it may be shown that even 

 this is too favorable, for that the fuel account per kilometre per 

 engines stands thus : — 



Fir^d with Coal. Fired with Peat. 



Piissenger Engines, 0.1G6 f. 0.172 f. 



Luggage Engines, 0.249 f. 0.207 f. 



It is thus, though rather cheaper than coal for .slow traflic, a 

 trifle dearer than coal for fast, and that even in Bavaria, whei-e 

 C(jal was then exceptionally dear. — Van Nostrand's Eng. Mag.^ 

 Oct., 1869. 



BRIQUETTES. 



The general use on the Continent of '* Briquettes" as fuel foe 

 locomotives is a matter of deep interest to our railway companies, 

 both as respects economy of consumption and room required for 

 storage. They are composed of finely powdered, washed coals, 

 cemented with a material which forms the refuse of starch facto- 

 ries, or with coal tar. The mixture is subjected Co the pressure 

 of a piston in a cylindrical or polygonal case, and then exposetl to 

 a current of hot air in a kiln for about 3 hours. The resulting 

 blocks weigh on an average 8 pounds, and burn with a residue 

 of from 4 to 7 per cent, of ashes. The experience of the Austrian 

 railways is, that they evaporate 7.2 pounds of water per pound of 

 coal. 



NAPHTHA AS FUEL FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES. 



M. Portski, a Russian engineer, has run a railway train success- 

 fully for a distance of 53.6 English miles, the only fuel applied 



