t^KOCEKDINGS OF THK CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 5^ 



disinfectants. In other cases, too, moss litter, mixed with superphosphate, has had 

 the effect of protecting cattle from foot and mouth diseases, even while the infec- 

 tion spread to an alarming extent on neighboring farms. This property would 

 doubtless make it valuable for use in railway cars employed in the transportation of 

 live stock. Many cases have been known in which disease was introduced or 

 spread by cars in which infected animals had been carried. 



The manurial value of moss litter, after it has served its purpose in the stable, is 

 greater than that of straw, for the reason that there is less evaporation of the li(|uiil 

 and volatile constituents. It would appear that no greater proportion of the potash, 

 lime, or phosphoric acid is recoverable by means of the litter, but the easily-soluble 

 nitrates are retained to a much larger extent than in the straw, which allows of 

 their escape in the form of ammonia. As the agriculturist well knows, the nitrogen 

 thus rendered available for plant food is a most valuable element of manure. 



In the manufacture of moss litter, as carried on in Europe, a fine dust is sifted 

 out at a certain stage of the process, which, as well as the litter itself, is used as a 

 deodorizer and absorbent of sewage and fecal matter, especially in small cities, 

 where no proper systems of sewerage or drainage exist. Accumulation of noxious 

 matter of this sort often gives rise to epidemic and infectious diseases. The use of 

 moss litter and peat dust not only remedies this evil, but actually transforms dele- 

 terious waste into valuable fertilizers. The absorbent properties of the litter check 

 the growth of bacteria, and retard the decomposition of organic substances. Fresh 

 fish, fruit, and vegetables are all said to have been preserved in excellent condition 

 for a long time by being packed in peat moss. There are many other uses to which 

 moss litter is put, such as raw material for coarse textile fabrics, a non-conductor of 

 heat or noise in house building, paper pulp, etc., with greater or less success. 



The peat bogs of Canada, and of Ontario in particular, are of vast extent. By 

 virtue of their immense stores of carbon, they constitute a potential source of fuel 

 supply when the right process of manufacture shall have been invented and applied. 

 Meantime, a beginning has been made in the utilization of these bogs in the manu- 

 facture of moss litter. In the townships of Wainfleet and Humberstone, in the 

 County of Welland. between the feeder of the Welland Canal and Lake Erie, and 

 about five miles from the town of Welland, lies a peat bog of some 5.000 acres, 

 owned by the Canadian Peat Fuel Company of Toronto. At the northern edge of 

 this bog the company has erected a plant for the manufacture of the litter, according 

 to a process which in some respects differs from that prevailing in Europe. The 

 upper layer of the bog consists of undecomposed sphagnum moss, varying in depth 

 from 18 inches to 4 1-2 feet, is said to be free from sand or inorganic material, and 

 to be well fitted for litter. The works have been erected and i)Ut in operation, and a 

 considerable quantity of product has been turned out. The first stage of the process 

 is to cut the moss into pieces al)out eighteen inches scjuarc. which are piled together 

 in rows on the surface of the bog. When the moisture has sufficiently evaporated 

 these blocks are gathered and wheeled in small cars, over a portable tramway, to the 

 storing sheds. They are then passed through the picking machines, two of which 

 stand side by side. These are provided with heavy revolving cylinders, armed with 

 strong teeth, which act upon similar teeth set in the concave surface of a bre;isr. 

 against which they work. In the pickers the moss is torn and loosened apart, the 

 object being to separate the fibres, rather than break them. The pickers discharge 

 the moss upon moving carriers, three in number, to each machine, ranged above one 

 another, which carry it horizontally through a drying chamber, or tun- 

 nel, 116 feet in length, 8 feet high, and 16 feet wide. These carriers 

 travel against a current of hot air. drawn through the tunnel by a disc fan 

 revolving at the farther end, the object being to rernove the greater part 

 of the iTioisture remaining in the moss. The heat for this purpose is 

 generated by a furnace, situated parallel to the tunnel, whence the hot air is drawn 

 by the suction of the fan into a mixing chamber, where the temperature can he 



