432 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [DeC,. 



Good air-dried peat, in stacks or in kilns, yields from thirty to 

 forty per cent of its bulk, and from twenty-five to thirty-five per 

 cent of its weight of charcoal ; much of course depending on the 

 amount of ash which the peat contains. Large quantities of peat 

 and of peat-charcoal are prepared for the market of Paris ; where 

 the latter fuel is largely used for domestic purposes. About fifty 

 miles from Paris, near Liancourt, on the Northern Railway, is a 

 large bog, from which, in 1855, 10,000 or 12,000 tons of peat 

 were obtained. The peat from the whole thickness of the bog^ 

 about ten feet, was transferred to flat-boats, trampled, and turned 

 over with shovels, and finally moulded by pressure into small bricks, 

 which when dried are heavier than water. These were charred on 

 the spot, and yielded about forty per cent of charcoal, which gave 

 27*0 per cent, of ash ; the dried peat itself yielding 10*0 or 11-0 

 per cent. The wholesale price of this compressed peat in Paris 

 was, at that time, S3'75 the ton of 2200 pounds, while the char- 

 coal made from it was $18.00 the ton ; its retail price being about 

 $24.00. Its combustion is slower than wood-charcoal, which was 

 sold at about the same price; while both mineral coal and fire- 

 wood were retailed at from $7.50 to $9.50 the ton weight. These 

 figures will aid in obtaining a notion of the comparative value of 

 the various kinds of fuel. 



The object proposed by the Irish Peat Company, as already- 

 mentioned, was the distillation of peat ; by which it is made to 

 yield a tar, from which are extracted illuminating and lubricating 

 oils, and paraffine ; besides ammonia, acetic acid, and pyroxylic 

 spirit, which are dissolved in the watery products of the distillation. 

 A large amount of combustible gas is also disengaged, which may 

 be employed as a source of heat in various operations, such as dis- 

 tilling, burning bricks, and lime. By distilling the dried peat in 

 retorts, a considerable amount of tar is obtained, besides a residue 

 of coke or charcoal, which, however, is not sufficient to heat the 

 retorts, so that there would be a further expenditure for fuel. It 

 was therefore desirable to devise some more simple and economical 

 way of conducting the distillation, and the works of the Company 

 at Athy were built in accordance with the system patented by Mr, 

 Rees Reece in 1849. This consists in burning the air-dried peat 

 by means of a blast, in cylindrical furnaces of brick, shaped some- 

 what like iron blast-furnaces, but closed at the top, and furnished 

 with pipes for carrying oif the volatile products to a proper con- 

 densing apparatus. The furnaces being filled with peat, and closed^. 



