154 THE SPIRIT OF THE SOIL 



the time being only a portion of one of the sheds is 

 being used, but there would be no difficulty in 

 meeting an increased demand at once by duplicating 

 or triplicating the present plant. Hitherto it has 

 not seemed desirable to manufacture on a large scale, 

 as the work at the factory has as yet been only 

 experimental. Various samples of peat are con- 

 tinually being tested, as experience shows that 

 different samples of peat show large differences in 

 the quantity of soluble humus that they yield, and 

 it has been thought better to carry through the 

 necessary preliminary work on a small scale before 

 fitting up a plant which might prove better or worse 

 suited to the particular quality of peat ultimately 

 adopted as the standard. 



As regards cost it is difficult to state anything 

 definitely. While the process was in the experi- 

 mental stage the price of the peat was provisionally 

 fixed at 155. for 3 bushels. This price was fixed 

 arbitrarily to meet the convenience of those who 

 wished to conduct experiments, but there is reason 

 to believe that when the substance is dealt with 

 commercially a price will be practicable at con- 

 siderably less than 10 per ton. For purposes of 

 comparison with ordinary fertilizers it may be 

 assumed, for the moment therefore, that the cost of 

 it is about 10 per ton. In view of the fact that the 

 available plant food in peat, as compared with that 

 in rotted stable manure, is as between fifty and 

 eighty to one, the superiority of the peat from the 

 standpoint of its food value alone, when considered 

 in relation to its cost, is strikingly apparent. 



