332 DR. ANGUS SMITH ON PEAT. 



did so in six months. There were indications, it seemed to 

 me, that it was allied more to the paraffin oils ; bnt I found 

 no solid paraffin in it, and gave np the inquiry until more 

 of the substance should be obtained. 



Dr. Schorlemmer, however, who has had more expe- 

 rience in separating these oils, appeared to be very certain 

 that a paraffin did exist in it. We are thus led into the 

 belief of a great variation in the composition of this soluble 

 part of the peat, as, indeed, the indications in the writings 

 of former observers would show. 



When one of the specimens, namely that from a heavy 

 peat from Stornoway, was boiled with caustic soda, nearly 

 all was dissolved, and the solution, when acidified, gave a 

 resin closely, in all external characteristics, resembling 

 shellac. The insoluble was a thick oleaginous body; of 

 that, however, I had little, and so I must leave this portion 

 for another time or for other persons. It was at first no part 

 of my plan to examine it all, although it has now become 

 more interesting than it was at first. 



I considered a little if this could be made a manufac- 

 turing process, and made an experiment with 6 gallons of 

 naphtha and dried peat; but I did not obtain above half 

 the amount found on a small scale. This was owing to 

 the difficulty of washing large quantities. It seemed to 

 me too that it would require too much labour to boil down 

 the naphtha, and to remove it all from the peat, which ab- 

 sorbs enormous quantities. These difficulties cannot be 

 solved except by trials on a considerable scale. At the 

 rate of 6 per cent, on the dry peat, an acre of good mate- 

 rial ten feet deep would give 67 tons of the crude material, 

 which, even allowing it to be worth no more than three- 

 pence a pound, would be worth about £1800 sterling. Bu^. 

 I have no idea of the expense of obtaining this, although I 

 think its value would be more when obtained. It might 

 be a better mode of clearing peat-ground than some plans 



