AGRICULTURAL TEXT-BOOK. 337 



H 16, 1-1, with, occasionally, an addition of ammonia. The term is 

 now rarely used in agriculture. 



All Peat shrinks by drying, and when perfectly dried at 

 240 F. loses from 73 to 97 per cent of water. When allowed 

 to dry in the air, it still contains about two-thirds of its weight 

 of water, and rapidly re-absorbs moisture. It shrinks from 

 tyro-thirds to three-fourths of its bulk. Taking these data, 

 100 parts of fresh dug peat, of average quality, contain : 

 (Dana.) 



Water, - - - 85.0 



Salts of lime, - - 0.50 



Silicates, - 0.50 



Geine, - - - 14.0 



Owing to the difficulty of rendering Peat soluble, it has not 

 been used in agriculture to the extent it deserves, in its natural 

 state. It is frequently burned (or rather charred,) and the 

 ashes are applied with good effect at the rate of from 50 bush- 

 els to two tons per acre. 



Prof. Norton, says : &quot; They usually contain from 5 to 6 per 

 cent of potash and soda, considerable quantities of lime, mag-- 

 nesia, iron, &c., being therefore worth about as much as the 

 poorer kinds of wood-ashes. In wet land, where varieties of 

 peat abound, which are only decomposed with great difficulty,, 

 it is sometimes advisable to burn them on a large scale for the 

 purpose of obtaining the ash as manure. Heaps are made 

 at convenient distances directly upon the surface of the bo^, 

 and the fire started by means of a little dry peat in the 

 centre of each heap ; as it burns through to the outside, fresh 

 peat is dug up and thrown on, and so the process may be kept 

 up as long as desirable. It is to be observed as to all varieties 

 of ashes, that their value is greatly impaired by exposure to the 

 weather.&quot; But the best mode of using peat is to lay it in cat 

 tle stables, and to mix it with decomposing animal manures* 

 when it will, if sufficiently dried, not only absorb the liquids, 

 but itself undergo,, fermentation. According to Mr. Phinney, 

 22 



