250 History and uses of Peat. 



Art. IV. — Information concerning the digging, preparation ^ 

 and. use of Peat ; from a Memoir of Ribaucourt, publish- 

 ed by the Council of Mines* 



Peat and its various uses have long been known in 

 France. Its chief employment, however, has been limited 

 to the departments of Somme, Loire-inferieure, Pas de Ca- 

 lais, some cantons of the departments of Oise, Marne, Eure, 

 Seine et Oise, Meurthe, Vosges, and to a few others. There 

 are many parts of the Republic, where its utility is un- 

 known ; yet, there is scarcely a valley Which does not con- 

 tain this valuable combustible It is sometimes found in the 

 sandy plains, called landes and bruyeres, and indeed upon 

 some mountains, and beneath some forests and cultivated 

 grounds, where it might not be suspected. In the depart- 

 ment of Loire-inferieure, ten thousand persons are employed 

 in working the peat beds, and in the commerce thence aris- 

 en?- 



How very advantageous might it not be, to supply the de- 

 ficiency of wood, which for many years has been experien- 

 ced, by a substance that can be procured in most places, in 

 abundance and at little expense ; which in most cases may 

 be substituted for wood, and even in many instances, with 

 advantage ! 



It is therefore important to direct the attention of our citi- 

 zens towards a substance, the procuring of which would be 

 the means of diminishing the consumption of wood; and if 

 we join to this advantage, that of furnishing fuel at a cheap- 

 er rate than that of the former, which aftbrds in its ashes a 

 manure that is sought after wherever it is known, and also 



* MiDDLETowN, CoD. Nov. 10, 1828. 

 Professor Silliman : 

 Dear Sir, 



My friend, Elisha Norton, M. D. of New-London, who has attended 

 to the subject of fuel more than any one of my acquaintance, lately furnished 

 me with a very interestino; French pamphlet upon the subject of Peat, from 

 which I have made the following translation. It consists of an extract from 

 the Journal of the Mines, published during the period of the French Repub- 

 lic, but the date of the year is effaced from the title page. Should you consi- 

 der it as a matter of importance, to diffuse the information contained in it 

 among the citizens of this State, where there is unquestionably an abundance 

 of this valuiihie article, you will be so obliging as to insert the translation in 

 the Journal of Science. Yours, &c. 



THOMAS MINER, 



