PEAT. 



PEAT. 



which live under the bark of the trunk, and 

 subsist chiefly upon the inner bark. They make 

 their cocoons under the bark, and change to 

 chrysalids in the latter part of the summer. 

 The winged insects appear in the autumn 

 harinir, like others of this kind, left their chry- 

 salis skins projecting from the orifice of the 

 holes which they had previously made. In its 

 winged form, this _<Egeria is very much like 

 that which inhabits the currant-bush ; but it is a 

 smaller species. It was described by Dr. Har- 

 ris in the year 1930, under the name of JE*eria 

 pyri, the pear tree JSgeria ; and his account of 

 it will be found on the second page of the ninth 

 Volume of the New England Farmer. Its wings 

 expand rather more than half an inch; are 

 transparent, but veined, bordered, and fringed 

 with purplish black, and across the tips of the 

 fore-wings is a broad, dark band, glossed with 

 coppery tints; the prevailing colour of the 

 upper side of the body is purple-black ; but 

 most of the under-side is golden-yellow, as are 

 the edges of the collar, of the shoulder-covers, 

 and of the fan-shaped brush on the tail ; and 

 there is a broad yellow band across the middle 

 of the abdomen, preceded by two narrow bands 

 of the same colour. (Harris.) 



Drying Pears. When dried in ovens, the 

 fruit will keep for years. This mode of pre- 

 serving is common in France. Bosc has de- 

 scribed two modes of drying pears, and adds, 

 that, in some of the cantons of that country. 

 the cultivators annually preserve, by these 

 means, supplies of subsistence extremely 

 agreeable and wholesome during winter and 

 spring. He invites cultivators not to neglect 

 this resource. In this mode of drying, those 

 varieties of middle size, melting and sweet, 

 are preferred. After the bread is drawn from 

 the oven, they are placed on the swept hearth, 

 or on hurdles or boards. This operation is 

 repeated a second, a third, and even a fourth 

 time, according to their size and the degree of 

 heat. The heat must not be so great as to 

 scorch, and the fruit must not be dried to 

 hardness. Lastly, they are placed in bags, and 

 preserved in a dry place. The second mode 

 of preserving is practised chiefly on the Rous- 

 selets and finest-flavoured varieties. Bosc 

 states that he has tried them after three years' 

 preservation, and found them still good ; but 

 they are better during the first year. They are 

 gathered a little before their maturity, and after 

 being half-boiled in a small quantity of water, 

 they are peeled and drained. They are next 

 carried on hurdles to the oven, after the bread 

 is drawn, or the oven is heated to a suitable 

 degree ; here they remain twelve hours ; after 

 which they are steeped in the syrup, to which 

 have been added sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and 

 brandy. They are again returned to the oven, 

 which is now heated to a less degree than at 

 first. This operation is thrice repeated, until 

 they are sufficiently dried, or of a clear brown 

 colour, and firm, transparent flesh; and finally | 

 they are packed in boxes lined with paper. 

 (Ktnrirk's Orchardist.} 



PEAT. A collection of vegetable remains, 

 commonly collected together in considerable 

 masses, either on the surface of the earth, or 

 in strata, at various depths. Owing to the 



changes which the plants composing it have 

 undergone, it contains much tannic acid, which 

 preserves the vegetable matter from further 

 decomposition. It contains elements for the 

 formation of the richest manure when sub- 

 stances are added to it to decompose the tan- 

 nic acid, and hasten the decomposition of the 

 vegetable matters, such as lime or marl. Peat 

 has been found, when used alone as manure, 

 not to possess any fertilizing qualities, as might 

 be expected from its nature; but it has been 

 advantageously employed as a mixture with 

 compost. See FARM-YARD MANURE. 



It often happens that in extensive agricul- 

 tural districts at a distance from cities and 

 other places from which they might obtain 

 supplies of animal manures, the domestic re- 

 sources of the farm-yards are entirely inade- 

 quate to preserve the fertility of the extensive 

 fields. It becomes a question of deep interest 

 whether it be possible to enrich barren fields 

 without the aid of animals and the resources 

 of the farm-yard. Under the head of FARM- 

 YARD MANURES it will be seen that by Lord 

 Meadowbank, Mr. Dickson, and other English 

 agriculturists of high reputation, one load of 

 dung has, by judicious mixture with peat and 

 other matters, been made into six loads of ma- 

 nure, possessing equal fertilizing power. 



The regular peat formation of geologists, so 

 extensive in Britain, can hardly be said to ex- 

 ist in the United States. But a substance is 

 found in abundance in bogs and marshes 

 throughout the Union, sufficiently analogous in 

 omposition to answer most, if not all, the va- 

 luable purposes of European peat. 



Dr. Samuel L. Dana, of Lowell, Massachu- 

 setts, has published a work of the highest in- 

 erest to agriculturists, under the title of A 

 Muck Mnnuul for Farmers. After treating of 

 the various matters relating to soil, its ele- 

 ments, and the agencies brought to act upon it, 

 he introduces, under the head of Artificial Ma- 

 nures, chiefly consisting of geine, the subject 

 of swamp-muck, mud, or peat 



Peat, he states, is the result of a spontaneous 

 change in vegetable matter, which ends in the 

 production of geine, a term which he applies to 

 designate humus and humic acid. Among 

 manures, consisting chiefly of geine, peat, he 

 says, is what bone-dust is among manures, 

 consisting of animal matter. Peat is highly 

 concentrated vegetable food. Under the gene- 

 ral name of peat, Dr. Dana comprises several 

 varieties, distinguished as, 1st. Peat, the com- 

 jact substance generally known and used as 

 *uel, under this name. 2d. Turf, or swamp 

 muck, by which is to be understood the paring 

 removed before the peat is dug. It is a less 

 compact variety of peat, common in all mea- 

 dow swamps, and includes the hassocks or 

 tussacks. It includes also the mud of salt 

 marshes. 3d. Pond mud, the slushy material 

 bund at the bottom of ponds when dry, or in 

 low grounds, the wash of higher lands. This 

 seldom contains more than 20 per cent, of 

 geine. These varieties comprise probably a 

 fair sample of all the peat, and swamp muck, 

 and pond mud, which occur in the various parts 

 of the country. Dr. Dana has given analyses 

 of 12 specimens representing the different va 



883 



