8TBPHENSON COUNTY. 73 



rather poor quality, and with our present knowledge of preparing fuel 

 from this substance, is, perhaps, of no great value as a fuel. Xear Lena 

 and Burr Oak Grove, very small beds were examined. On the low, level 

 prairies south of Yellow creek, and ranging between Florence and 

 Crane's Grove, almost ever}' swale and marsh has in it more or less peat. 

 One of these beds is quite extensive, and will become valuable as soon 

 as the peat experiment succeeds. It is found in the township of Flor- 

 ence, between sections twenty-five and twenty-six, the section line run- 

 ning along near its middle. It is from forty to fifty rods wide and about 

 one Ian id red and sixty rods long, containing well nigh fifty acres. About 

 one-half of it is owned by G. PURING-TON ; the other half is owned by 

 parties whose names we did not obtain. So far as we could obtain the 

 depth of peat, it ran from six to about nine feet Careful borings would, 

 perhaps, show a greater depth. Through its center, a small stream of 

 pure water runs in a little ditch dug to drain the marsh. The current 

 of the water is rapid, on account of the great fall along the ditch. At 

 the lower end of the marsh large bodies of the peat have broken off, 

 turned over, and sliddeu down the declivity for several rods along the 

 declining, underlying, slippery clay, resembling the action of ice blocks 

 sliding away from the lower end of an Alpine glacier. The peat is 

 somewhat fibrous in texture. When cut out in square, brick-shaped 

 blocks, and dried, it is light and porous, but burns with a light, white- 

 colored flame, making little smoke, and leaving a light, chocolate-colored 

 ash. On account of its lightness, fires made from this fuel would have 

 to be often replenished. Xo peat machines have yet been tried in this 

 marsh, but there is no reason why this peat could not be manufactured 

 into a valuable and pleasant fuel, by the aid of a good condensing 

 machine. The ease with which this bog can be drained, and its prox- 

 imity to one of the depots of the Western Union Railroad, afford pecu- 

 liar facilities for manufacturing the fuel, and transporting it when so 

 manufactured. 



In addition to being used as an article of fuel, peat might be exten- 

 sively employed as a fertilizer of the soil. If dug out of its native bed, 

 slightly dried to reduce the labor of handling, and mixed with a small 

 amount of wood ashes or quick-lime, it makes a fertilizer equal to the 

 best barn-yard compost. The mucks and poorer qualities of peat answer 

 this purpose about as well as the finer qualities. The ashes or lime cor- 

 rect the natural acidity of the peat itself, and sweeten what would 

 otherwise be too sour an application to the soil. Lime can readily be 

 burned from any of the neighboring quarries. The wood used would 

 not only change the kiln into the lime required, but would leave a large 

 amount of ashes to be used for the same purposes for which the stone 

 was burned into lime. 

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