40 THE SPIRIT OF THE SOIL 



from coal are obtained, and the coke itself forms a 

 satisfactory fuel, which in several ways is superior to 

 charcoal ; but the fact has to be faced that the manu- 

 factory producing it that seemed the most flourishing 

 has been forced to suspend manufacture because the 

 cost of preparing the coke was too high to make the 

 venture practicable. 



Frequently the suggestion has been made that it 

 should be practicable to utilize the peat on the spot 

 as a source of power, and in Germany and Sweden 

 particularly several plants have been equipped for 

 the purpose. Excellent illuminating gas can be 

 obtained by heating the peat in retorts, and the 

 material is also suitable for making water-gas, fuel- 

 gas, and producer gas. There are several plants on 

 the market designed for the manufacture of the gas 

 in one or other of these forms, and the peat bogs in 

 Germany and Sweden have been made use of to a 

 considerable extent in metallurgical operations, in 

 brick and glass making, and in lime burning. 



Unquestionably peat as a fuel has a future before 

 it ; the trouble at present, however, is that the price 

 of coal is so low that it is difficult for other sources 

 of power to compete against it, a fact that is perhaps 

 most emphatically brought out when one considers 

 that it is found to be less expensive to pump the 

 marsh waters off the land in such places as Norfolk 

 by coal-using steam-engines than it is to utilize 

 windmills for the purpose. 



The utilization of peat as a source of chemical 

 products has attracted a considerable amount of 

 attention in recent years. There are processes by 



