802 DIGGING AND PREPARATION OF PEAT. 



1. Peat Dug by Manual Labour. 



Only fairly compact peat can be dug by means of spades, and 

 the pieces, termed turves, are then dried in the sun and by 

 exposure to the air. The different operations in this case are 

 the preliminary works, and digging, drying and storing the 

 peat. 



(a) Preliminary Works. 



i. Subsidiary Drainage. 



After the main drain and the most important side-drains have 

 been dug, further subsidiary drainage must be done annually. 

 This is effected by making a trench a little way from where the 

 peat is to be dug, parallel to the line of digging and per- 

 pendicular to the main drain, so that either the whole or a 

 portion of the area to be dug in a year may thus be drained. As 

 soon as the season's digging is over, the junction of each of these 

 drains with the main drain is closed in order to keep the bog 

 sufficiently moist. 



ii. Laying Out the Line for Digging. 



The area where the peat is to be extracted in accordance with 

 the plan of operations, should then be measured and marked 

 out with shallow trenches, so that the workmen may know 

 where to dig. 



As a rule, the peat should be dug in successive years from 

 immediately adjoining areas and no wall of peat left standing 

 between them, which is usually a sign of bad management, 

 though sometimes necessary where there is a superfluity of 

 water. Each year's area should consist of a long, narrow strip, 

 parallel lengthwise to the subsidiary drain. Such a shape 

 allows a number of men to work simultaneously, renders drain- 

 age by means of a single trench possible and allows sufficient 

 room for drying the turves, which are generally piled on a strip 

 of land previously marked out and adjoining the digging trench. 

 All vegetation should be cleared from this strip, so that the 

 turves may be piled easily and exposed thoroughly to the air. 



