454 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [December 



deposits and what they mean as raw materials to certain industries 

 and to the investigators themselves. 



Whatever the purpose for which a peat deposit may be used, 

 it should clearly be understood that individual deposits of peat 

 material present considerable variation, both in structure (the rela- 

 tive position of different layers) and in content (the character and 

 quality of the different types of plant remains). All deposits are 

 not the same; they will not yield to the same treatment, and they 

 do not have the same value for scientific studies or for crops and for 

 manufacturing purposes. It is largely on account of the failure to 

 recognize these differences in stratification and in the quality of the 

 peat materials that much of the scientific work in chemical analyses, 

 in fuel and fertilizer determinations, in absorption and other data in 

 the field of American peat investigations does not meet practical 

 requirements. Inability to select suitable peat materials and work- 

 able deposits has made the peat-land problem difficult and uncertain. 

 Crop yields and manufactured peat products have been unsatis- 

 factory in many cases because definite information is not available 

 as to the character of peat deposits in the United States, their actual 

 acreage, and distribution. The data are still lacking on which to 

 base the percentage of peat-land now in use and the real value of 

 the unused areas of peat-land in this country. 



This situation is significant in the efforts now being made to 

 use these resources for fuel. It is no doubt possible, in most 

 cases, to extend the agricultural uses of peat deposits and at the 

 same time to meet the industrial needs with suitable deposits for 

 centralized power stations or other manufacturing interests. At 

 present these problems are not being met with the aid and coop- 

 eration necessary for various sections of the country. A com- 

 prehensive national program or policy of peat-land utilization may 

 now be formed with safety. It should provide for the present 

 and future needs of peat problems, for the conservation of un- 

 workable deposits of peat, and for the best methods of combining 

 agricultural and industrial interests where conditions favor the 

 production of fuel and finished peat products as well as the demand 

 for food. Furthermore, the basic principles and characteristics 

 governing the utilization of peat deposits should be set forth for the 



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