1851.] OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. 5 
2. By the various products derivable from what is called its 
destructive distillation. 
When it is desired to convert peat into charcoal, the plan adopted 
by the Irish Amelioration Society is to carbonize blocks of peat, 
partially dried on trays of wicker work, in moveable pyramidal 
furnaces. The charcoal so obtained varies in character with that of 
the peat which produces it; and when the peat is compressed 
previous to its carbonization, (which may be well effected by means of 
a machine invented by Mr. Rogers, and which was explained by 
reference to a diagram,) the resulting charcoal exceeds the density of 
common wood charcoal. In stove-drying, dense peat loses about 
one-third, and the light and porous, half of its weight: 4 tons of 
dried peat will give about one ton of charcoal. The efficacy of this 
charcoal in the manufacture of iron, in consequence of the small 
quantity of sulphur it contains, was mentioned; and its deodorizing 
and purifying qualities experimentally exhibited. 
2. The products of the destructive distillation of peat were then 
described. The elements of peat are essentially those of wood and 
coal; viz. Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. If there- 
fore peat were distilled in close vessels, the products obtained, 
would, as might be expected, resemble the products of a similar 
operation on coal or wood. Hitherto, however, the expense of 
such a process in the caseof peat has precluded its general adop- 
tion. Mr. Reece however has invented for this purpose a Dlast- 
furnace, which differs in principle from that in which iron is melted, 
by having an arrangement to collect the products of combustion ; 
and he has thus succeeded in obtaining ammonia, acetic acid, pyroxy- 
lic spirit, tar, naphtha, oils, and paraffine, together with large 
quantities of inflammable gases, from the peat. It has been 
found convenient to place two of these furnaces close to each other, 
so that one may be at work when the blast is turned off the other in 
order to allow of its being charged. 
In two furnaces of this kind, 10 feet in diameter and 35 feet 
high, 100 tons of peat may be decomposed every 24 hours, 
and produce 10,000 gallons liquor (A.) 
OOO varet Se tar (B.) 
6,270,000 cubic feet of inflammable gases (C.) 
A. The liquor holds in solution sufficient ammonia to yield when 
saturated by sulphuric acid 1 ton of sulphate of ammonia; enough 
acetic acid to give, when saturated by lime, 14 cwt. of grey acetate 
of lime; and, lastly, it contains 52 gallons of pyroxylic spirit. This 
process was described in detail, and a diagram of the furnaces, 
and of the apparatus employed for distilling the spirit was exhibited. 
B. The tar is quite different from what is obtained from coal or 
from wood. It is a peculiar greasy-feeling substance. This sub- 
stance is heated to about 100° at which temperature it melts; and 
being then treated first with about 3 per cent. of sulphuric acid, and 
afterwards with hot water, it separates after a time, into two 
