^anufaBure of P'lg-Iron luith Fit-Coal. 45 



The peat, when thoroughly dried, will weigh 3 pounds ; the 

 produd, therefore, will be 3 X 40CO -- i2,ocolb. upwards 

 of 5 tons. The total e.xpenfe of this quantity for this (liare 

 of labour would be, 



The man's wages - - 2^. 6d. 



Two women ditto, is. eaeh 3^. od. 



Girl for dyking - - os. 6d. 



Or equal to is. per ton. ^s. od. 



Suppofe that with additional labour, and the trouble of 

 drying, a fum equal to the firft was incurred, ftill we find 

 that peats may be furnilhed in great plenty at zs. per ton. 

 Ey the former analyfis it appears that 4 tons would do more 

 than make one ton of peat char, containing a portion of ve- 

 getable carbon fuperior even to that contained in oak. Thh 

 quantity of char would onlv coft at moft 8^. per ton, befides 

 the labour of charring, which, by proper erection and exe- 

 cution, would not coft more than 25. bd, making in all 

 105. 6d. The charcoal wood in this country at prefent 

 fells at the enormous price of 4/. 6 s. Sd. per ton, and 

 is fcarce in point of quantity. Should it ever happen that 

 peat mofs (liall become a fubftitute for pit-coal, or obtain a 

 preference from local advantages and cheapnefs by the ma- 

 nufatiurers of iron, we (liall then fee a happy commence- 

 ment to the moft rational and moft likely way of regene- 

 rating immcnfe heaths of country, and of rendering up large 

 trafts of furface, which for ages have remained ufelefs to the 

 wants of man ; this way conquering one of the moft perni- 

 cious evils which the progrefs of agriculture ever encoun- 

 tered. 



It will, however, moft likely be found, that a procedure 

 upon ancient modes of manufaclure already eftabliftied, will 

 be productive of no greater fuccefs than has hitherto been 

 experienced. It is the bufmefs of the manufacturer to apply 

 his knowledge of the principle of his procefs to the exigency 

 of the ftru6lurc and component parts of one or all of his 

 materials. The general introduftion of peat or turf for the 

 manufafture of iron in preferable fituations in our age, 

 oucrht not to excite the fame degree of wonder that Dudley's 



invention 



