34 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



were stacked in jiyi-amids in sncli a manner that the intervals between the pieces jiave 

 the air iininterrnpted circnlation between them. 



When leaving the island in the autumn I found tlie ])ieces of good consistency 

 and took a fair quantity with me to have the properties of the peat tested. They 

 were turned over to ])r. Fred. 1\ Dewey, then curator of metallurgy at the United 

 States National Museum, who kindly furnished me with a report of his analysis of 

 the peat, which he found of good quality. It should be observed that the jieat was 

 from the surface, and therefore not nearly so good as it would have been if it had been 

 taken deeper down. Dr. Dewey's report has never been printed, and, in vicsw of the 

 great im])ortanee of this question, both for Bering Island and the other Aleutian 

 Islands, I think it well to submit it in full : 



RErOUT ON ri5AT FROM IiBRIN(; ISLANI>. 



As received, the samiilo consisted of about 30 slabs of the jieat, most of them of considerable size, 

 so that it can be considered as a fairly average sample; since, however, it had been collected several 

 years, it was umisually dry. It was first tested by Imilding a fire nnder a small boiler. It ignited witli 

 great ease .and gave off its volatile matter at a low temjicratnre, forming a good, solid flame without 

 much smoke and giving off a good amount of heat. It required only a small amountof kindling wood 

 to thoroughly start the fire, and after it was once started and liad been thoroughly oljserved it was 

 left to itself, and at the end of five hours it still had vitality enough to ignite fresh m.aterial, showing 

 that it had good staying iiower. If there had been sufficient material on hand to build a large fire, it 

 would i)robably have held its fire for 15 to 20 hours, but only a, small fire could be built, .and tlie result 

 is very satisfactory. A small jiiece was cut off from each large piece .and the small pieces properly 

 ground and sampled for a chemical .an.alysis, which yielded the following results: 



Water 7.00 



Volatile matter ,51. 97 



Fixed carbon 22. OB 



Ash 18.37 



100. 00 

 As might be expected from the time since the sample was c<dlectcd, the analysis shows .an nniisually 



small amount of water, and while the ash is rather high, the whole analysis shows the peat to bo above 



the average in its contents of actual combustible material, and that, therefore, it would undoubtedly 



form a very valuable fuel in the country where it is found. 



As prep.ared for use by simply .air-drying, peat frei|uently contains from 1.5 to 25 per rent of water, 



and unless .artificial heat is used in drying it is not probable that this one could be drioil to less than 



20 to 25 per cent of water; and on this basis its composition would be — 



Wiiter 20. 00 25. 00 



Vol.atile matter 45. 00 42. 1!) 



Fixed carbon 19. 10 17. 90 



Ash 15.90 14.91 



100.00 100.00 

 Tlie.se results compare favor.ably with tliefollowini; an.alysis of a jioat from Devonshire. Engl.and, 

 wliidi has been used extensively for fuel: 



Water 25. 50 



Volatile matter 35.41 



Fixed carbon 29.30 



Ash 9.73 



100. 00 

 Should itbo necessary to use artilici.al lie.at, it could, of course, readily be obt.aimMl by the combus- 

 tion of a portion of the peat itself in a suitably designed furnace. 



1 am s.ntisfied that this peat will make .an excellent fuel, and that the jiroi)er steps should bo taken 

 to introduce its use .among the natives of thi' region. 



