43 



Crude peat, cut from the bogs with spades and piled in the open to 

 dry, has fed the tires of peasantry in Europe for centuries. Extremely 

 light and spongy in character, burning slowly, with only a moderate 

 amount of heat and considerable smoke, it made a very poor fuel 



Till- rnnle process of Peat mining as practiced in many European couutries 



indeed. Its great bulk, its friable character and the readiness with which 

 it absorbed water, made the problem of transporting it almost insur- 

 mountable, even had there been a market for so crude a fuel. 



As the European forests were destroyed or protected from further 

 destruction by the governments, wood as a fuel became scarce and the 

 price of coal arose accordingly. 



