PEAT 

 ITS FORMATION, USES AND OOCURRENCE IN NEW YORK 



PART I 



INTRODUCTION 



The purpose of this paper is to give reliable information con- 

 cerning the occurrence, formation and uses of peat, and descrip- 

 tions of the principal deposits of this material in this State. 

 Geologic considerations have not been taken up in detail, because 

 it is chiefly the aim of the author to discuss the economic im- 

 portance of the material in agriculture and the arts. Many 

 attempts have been made by different people at various times to 

 prepare and market peat in New York State, but heretofore the 

 undertakings have soon been given up. During the summer of 

 1902, when it was almost impossible to secure anthracite coal in 

 New York city, peat was brought to the city from some of the 

 swamps on Long Island; but, in spite of the demand for fuel, 

 there was little or no sale for this material. A careful inspection 

 of the more important deposits in the State and a study of the 

 fuel value of peat of average composition and the products which 

 may be obtained from it have forced on the author the conclusion 

 that peat deposits may be utilized to advantage as sources of fuel 

 when the material is properly prepared. In most European 

 countries peat is used quite extensively, and new processes of 

 manipulating the raw material give a product that is finding favor 

 in all kinds of manufacturing establishments. 



Peat is thus defined by the Standard Dictionary: "A sub- 

 stance consisting of partially carbonized vegetable material, the 

 result of the decomposition of various plants (sometimes aquatic) 

 in the presence of water ; found usually in marshes, bogs, etc. At 

 the surface it contains considerable water, but deeper it is more 

 compressed and gradually approaches the condition of lignite." 



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