PEAT AND ITS USES 41 



which alcohol can be derived from peat by means of 

 fermentation, and large experimental plants have 

 been equipped and run for the purpose; but here 

 again it has usually been found that the returns do 

 not allow a sufficient profit for the manufacture to 

 be successfully carried on. Both nitrate and ammo- 

 nium sulphate have been derived from peat, and in 

 the latter case particularly the claims of inventors 

 seem to suggest that the peat might form the basis 

 of a profitable industry. Here, too, however, it is 

 only possible to say that the process is in the experi- 

 mental stage, and that hitherto it has been of 

 theoretical rather than practical interest. 



Paper is another substance that can be derived 

 from certain varieties of peat, but the product is dark 

 in colour, and only suitable for cardboard or coarse 

 brown papers. In this instance, as in so many 

 others, the manufacture has not gone beyond the 

 experimental stage owing to the expense of reducing 

 the peat fibre to a condition suitable for use. The 

 same may be said of the attempts to utilize peat for 

 woven fabrics, and to form out of it a sort of artificial 

 wood. 



To many it may come as a surprise to hear that 

 peat possesses absorbent, deodorizing, and anti- 

 septic properties, and in several tentative ways 

 attempts have been made to exploit them. Mat- 

 tresses made of peat have been constructed for 

 hospital use, and they have the advantage of being 

 light, resilient, soft, inodorous, and very cheap. 

 Further, American surgeons have made use of peat 

 purified and powdered for dressing cuts, burns, and 



