HAEVESTING THE PEAT. 743 



Moulded turves generally dry more quickly than cut turves, 

 especially when they are moulded like bricks and dried like 

 ordinary turves. 



When the peat is very watery and moulds of several compart- 

 ments used, it is better, after the preliminary drying on the 

 ground (which is not required for brick-moulded turves) to place 

 the turves under cover, as they cannot withstand prolonged rain. 

 Turves made in multiple moulds may be entirely destroyed by 

 rain, so that this method can only be adopted in fine weather. 



(d) Quality. — Moulded turves generally afford a better fuel 

 than cut turves, in ratios of 5 : 3 or 5 : 4. This is due to their 

 greater homogeneity, the removal of extraneous matter, greater 

 density and the use of amorphous peat, which is often wasted 

 when the turves are cut from the bog. 



3. Manufactured Peat* 



Manufactured peat is so prepared as to be capable of compet- 

 ing with other fuels in the market. 



Turves cut from bogs or moulded by hand will not bear distant 

 transport, firstly, on account of their large volume compared with 

 their value as fuel, and secondly, on account of their brittleness 

 and property of absorbing much moisture in damp air and of 

 falling to pieces when frozen. These turves are, therefore, 

 saleable only in the immediate neighbourhood of the bog ; the 

 price obtained for them being low does not encourage an 

 extensive working of the bog. Owing to the high price of 

 fuel which prevailed a few decades ago, the large demands for 

 industrial purposes and the extensive supphes of peat available 

 in certain districts, the question arose as to whether peat might 

 not be so improved by machinery as to yield a fuel approaching 

 coal in value. Owing to the subsequent depression in the price 

 of fuel, the demand for manufactured peat has somewhat abated, 

 but the industry is still carried on in many places. 



In order that manufactured peat may compete with coal and 

 wood, it must be utilizable for heating boilers, preparing gas and 



* Au interesting account of peat manufactured at Schussenried in "Wurttemberg, 

 is given in Baur's Centralblatt, 1881, p. 88. 



