7-iG 1>IG(;1NG AND PKErAKATIUX OF PEAT. 



the bank of peat cuts each turf free by one vertical or slightly 

 oblique stroke of the spade (fig. 319) and tears it ofl" from below, 

 raising it with the same spade on to the bank of turf. As by 

 this method the turf is broken off above and below, it has not a 

 regular cubical shape ; control is thus rendered more diffi- 

 cult, while there is more refuse from crumbling than in the 

 horizontal method. At the same time the vertical method is less 

 Inborious and cheaper than the other. According to the skill of 

 the workmen and the difficulty of cutting the peat, with 

 horizontal cutting, 3,000 to 5,000 turves may be cut in a day, 

 and with vertical cutting under favourable circumstances 6,000 

 to 7,000 tui-ves. The vertical method is obligatory whenever 

 the bog is insufficiently drained. 



Before beginning to cut the turves the topmost layer of soil 

 must be dug up in sods, as long or double the length of the 

 turves, by means of the Frisian spade, or the spade shewn in 

 fig. 321 ; these sods should be removed from the bog in wheel- 

 barrows or carts. 



The methods of cutting turves also vary, in the case of either 

 horizontal or vertical cutting, according as the peat-bank is cut 

 in continuous or alternate strips. 



When the turves are cut in continuous strips, a commence- 

 ment is made on the longer side of the area marked out for the 

 year's cutting and strip after strip of peat is removed until the 

 work has been completed. In this case, the work going on 

 continuously down to the bed of the bog, there is either a 

 vertical bank of peat left, or this bank may be in steps and the 

 work proceed by cutting first from the top-most step, then from 

 the second step, and so on. In this case the turves are removed 

 from the bog as soon as they are cut, so as to leave room for the 

 workmen to dig. 



When the turves are cut in alternate strips, they are 

 stacked close to the cut, like a wall, the strip on which they 

 stand being left uncut and a new strip commenced immediately 

 beyond it. In this case also, a deep bog cannot be at once cut 

 to its full depth, but the work must be done in two operations. 

 As soon as the stacked turves are dry and have been removed, 

 the work of cutting the intermediate strips is undertaken. 



Cutting in alternate strips is cheaper than in continuous 

 strips, as a separate labour force is not then required for removing 



