74 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



would be eflfected in water wasted in the streets, and that there is 

 the collateral advantage of the surface of the roadways being 

 maintained in su])erior condition, a saving of 20 per cent, in the 

 cleansing being due to this cll'ect. The sj'steni has also been 

 tested in Greenock, and is reported upon equally favorably by 

 Mr. Barr, C.E., the master of the works. 



PEAT MANUFACTURE IN OHIO. 



According to a writer in *'Putnam\s Monthly," for November, 

 the following is the method employed in the manufacture pf peat, 

 near Ravenna, Ohio : — 



♦'The peat is dug to a depth of from 8 to 15 feet with shov- 

 els and slanes, the latter being a kind of spade, with a wing 

 at the side bent at right angles with the blade, so as to form two 

 sides of a square, and loaded into dump cars, which are drawn up 

 an inclined plane upon iron rails by friction gearing, and the con- 

 tents rapidly emptied into an immense hopper containing 150 tons 

 of crude peat. At tlie bottom of the hopper is a large elevating 

 belt, running over drums, upon which the i)eat is thrown and rap- 

 idly carried into the condensing and moulding machine. Two men 

 are all that are required to keep the machine full. The condens- 

 ing and manipulating machine is run by steam power. It receives 

 the crude peat from the elevating belt in a wet or moist state, and 

 delivers it in a smooth, homogeneous condition, through 10 oval- 

 shaped dies, each 3| inches by 4| inches in area, from which it is 

 delivered on drying racks, passing horizontally under the ma- 

 chine. Each rack is '26 by 72 inciics, constructed of light pine, hold- 

 ing 5 bars or canes of peat, which, when dry, will yield, to each 

 rack, from 30 to CO pounds of fuel, according to the density of the 

 peat. The racks are carried from the machine on an inclined 

 tramway made of light friction wheels, so that the racks will 

 almost glide from their own gravity. Tiiese racks are taken from 

 the tramway, and setup like an inverted V, on the drying-ground, 

 where, being exposed to the sun, and the air circulating freely 

 around and between the bars, they dry in from 10 to 12 days, 

 and are ready to be loaded into cars for shipment and use. The 

 distance between the legs or base of the V bein<r the same as their 

 length, the drying ground is greatly economized. An acre will 

 hold about 5,000 of these racks, from 15,000 to 20,000 being a 

 requisite complement for the machinery. Sixteen men and 10 boj's 

 on the rackway will makt; 80 tons of preparcul fuel per diem, — 

 indeed, there is hardly a limit to the capacity of the machinery, if 

 labor enough is emplo3'ed. With 37 men digging and clearing 

 off the racks from the tramway, 150 tons of dried fuel can be 

 made per diiy. This fuel ran be. delivered at a less price than the 

 best coal, and the cost of preparing it lor market is lighter than 

 that required in coal-mining. It can be afforded as low as 4 dol- 

 lars 50 cents per ton, and even lower, within a reasonable distance 

 ft'ora the bogs, and it is more economical than coal. 



'♦ An analysis of the surface peat of tiiis bog gives the following 



