820 DIGGING AND IMSM PA NATION OF PEAT. 



and bearing successive flat pieces of wood, 20 inches long and 

 6 inches broad, through which passes a slowly moving flat chain 

 supported by rollers. This chain takes up the peat-paste, and a 

 car (W), like a snow-plough, throws it down uniformly on to the 

 drying platform x y. The drying platform is made of sods of 

 grass well-levelled and serves as a filter by absorbing the 

 water from the paste, so that the latter dries rapidly (even in 

 rainy weather in 24 hours). The paste is pressed flat by 

 the workmen with planks on their feet, and cut up into 

 turves. 



The machinery is driven by steam-power, and 100,000 turves 

 are prepared daily on a peat-moor at Oldenburg. Kain is no 

 impediment. 



(iv.) The Weber-Mattei method is employed at Staltach in 

 South Bavaria. This long-approved method macerates the peat, 

 mixes it uniformly, but forms it into turves by hand. The 

 peat dag from the moor is conveyed to the factory in waggons. 

 It is then raised by elevators on to a platform and thrown 

 into the macerating machine, which is an improvement on 

 Schlickeysen's machine. At Staltach, it consists of four long 

 buildings forming a square, three of which are the air-drying 

 sheds and the fourth a hot-drying shed. The air-drying shed 

 is made of posts supporting a strong roof and provided with a 

 succession of horizontal trays 18 inches apart. A tramway 

 passes through the middle of the sheds, by which the peat 

 paste is brought in. The workman places a plank on the 

 lowest tray, presses on it a mould of 7 cells, kneads in the 

 paste, lifts up the mould and places it close to the 7 turves, 

 and continues to make turves till the first plank is covered 

 with them. Then he proceeds in a similar way with the next 

 tray, and so on till the shed is full. After the turves have 

 remained 3 or 4 days under cover they acquire a consistency 

 like leather, but are still porous enough to part with their 

 interior moisture. They are turned over, placed on their ends 

 and dried gradually till they contain only 25 per cent, of water, 

 bring then suitable for fuel. If they aro to l>r rlmnvd, tho 

 air-dried turves are placed for some lime in tho hot drying-shed 

 and lose another 15 per cent, of water. 



(v.) Eichorn's Method differs from the preceding ones, 



