^2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



pumping up to the surface of its tufts the water in which it stands, thus promoting 

 evaporation ; while at the same time, by regularly decaying at its roots, it deposits 

 the detritus which adds to the solid contents of the bog. This process continues 

 until the bog is raised above the level of the surface water, when the sphagnum 

 vegetation ceases, having exhausted the conditions which made it possible. In this 

 way bogs of considerable depth are formed in process of time. As the mass 

 increases, decomposition takes place in the lower portions, which become con- 

 solidated into a black or dark-brown earthy substance, that in various parts of the 

 world is extensively converted into fuel. The usual method of utilizing it as such 

 is to dig up the peat in cakes, or blocks, and dry them by exposure to the wind 

 and sun, after which they are stored and used as required. Hand labor is generally 

 employed, though numberless attempts have been made to facilitate the process by 

 the introduction of various kinds of machinery. The great difficulty in the economic 

 employment of mechanical processes is the tenacity with which the peat retains the de- 

 gree of moisture remaining after it has yielded all that naturally evaporates in the air. 

 Pressure and artificial heat have been resorted to in order to overcome this diffi- 

 culty, but, while the end aimed at is capable of achievement, it has usually beeri 

 attained at too great an expense for economic results. A process which would 

 put us in possession of a good and cheap peat fuel would be a national benefit to 

 Ontario, destitute as the Province is of workable beds of coal. 



It is these absorptive properties of the sphagnum moss which have led to its 

 employment as litter, or bedding for cattle, in lieu of straw or other materials com- 

 monly used for such purposes. Its suitability for litter was doubtless recognized at 

 an early date by people living in the vicinity of bogs, but it was as late as 1880 that 

 the preparation of moss litter as an article of commerce was first begun by Holl- 

 man at Gifhorn, in Hanover. Since that time it has come rapidly into use in the 

 countries of Continental Europe, and in Great Britain, as well as to some extent 

 in America. The advantages claimed for the litter are that it aflfords drier and 

 healthier bedding for horses and cattle than any other material ; that by reason of 

 its great power of absorbing moisture, it binds the valuable portion of the animal 

 excrements, and consequently yields the best manure ; that it acts as a disinfectant 

 and improves the air of the stable, and that a smaller quantity of it is required 

 than would be jtieeded if straw were used. Experience with the litter in European 

 countries seems to show that the claims made for it are well founded, and that it is 

 the best article for the purpose yet introduced. 



The cells of the sphagnum moss in the manufactured article retain much of 

 their power of attracting and holding water, and the litter is in consequence able 

 to take up ten or fifteen times its own weight of moisture. It has the faculty of 

 absorbing gases as well, and hence fixes the ammonia always present to a greater 

 or less degree in the atmosphere of buildings in which annuals are confined and 

 fed. The soft, springy, elastic moss litter forms a more comfortable bed for cattle 

 than straw, and greatly facilitates the task of keeping the animals and stables clean, 

 a fact which has an important bearing on the welfare of man, as in the case of 

 milch cows whose product is used as an article of human diet. 



Careful trials of moss litter in army stables in Germany, where formerly straw 

 was employed, showed its superiority in the following respects : dry beds, and 

 dry, fresh air, free from ammonia ; the ceilings, walls and leather trappings remained 

 free from moisture and mould. If proper care was taken to remove those portions 

 of the litter which became charged with moisture, to shake it up every day and fork 

 it from one part of the stall to another, the horses found their quarters very 

 much improved. Their skins remained clean and in activity, catarrhs of the nose 

 and eyes, generally the result of bad air in stables, were less frequent ; wounds on 

 the legs healed more speedily ; colic was almost eliminated : inflammations of the 

 glands seldom occurred, and rotting of the frog was almost entirely prevented. In 

 cases of contagious disease, the litter proved of great value, and surpassed all other 



