no A TREATISE ON THE CONNECTION OF 



When hot, or newly calcined lime is broken into pieces 

 of a small size, and mixed with peat, moderately humid, 

 heat is disengaged, and that heat, by the slacking of the 

 lime, when it is applied in too great a proportion, is so 

 increased, as completely to reduce the peat to charcoal, 

 and to dissipate, in a gassious state, ;ill its component 

 parts, excepting the ashes, part of the carbonaceous 

 jnatter, and such a portion of fixable air, generated in 

 the process, as is absorbed by the lime, by w^hich that 

 substance is made to return to the state of chalk. No 

 benefit can, therefore, arise by this method of preparing 

 peat with lime, the objedt not being to destroy and dissi- 

 pate in a gassious state the component parts of the peat, 

 but to make such a combination with the lime, and the 

 gas generated in the process, as will, on the application 

 of the mixture to ground, promote the growth of 

 plants. 



This objecSt is best attained by mixing newly made, and 

 •completely slacked lime, with about five or six times its 

 weight of peat, which should be moderately humid, and 

 not in too dry a state. In this case, the heat generated 

 will be moderate, and never sufiicient to convert the 



peat 



