REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1903 51 



for digging and preparing the fuel. At one end of the barge were 

 trv^o screw augers, 11 feet in diameter, which bored out the peat 

 in precisely the same manner as a common auger bores wood. 

 The peat was then delivered into the barge and elevated to a 

 hopper, from which it passed to a machine which removed all 

 sticks and stones and reduced the peat to a pulpy mass. The 

 pulp was then conveyed by a long spout to the surface of the bog, 

 where most of the water drained -out ; when sufficiently dry, the 

 mass was divided into blocks and stacked up to be removed, when 

 thoroughly air-dried, to market. 



Desiccation of peat} The desiccation of jieat is a subject which 

 requires special consideration because of the difficulty of remov- 

 ing water by artificial means. Thoroughly air-dried peat con- 

 tains not less than one fourth of its weight of hygroscopic water, 

 which during combustion must be evaporated, thus causing a 

 great loss in heat. When wet peat is exposed to artificial heat, 

 the exterior dries into a hard crust which impedes desiccation 

 and causes the mass to become fissured. When peat has been 

 thoroughly dried, if it is exposed to the air, it will absorb so 

 much moisture in a short time that it will be in no respect better 

 than air-dried peat. Among the various methods for drying peat, 

 may be mentioned those of Ekman and Welkner. 



Kilns of a type similar to the one described below are reported 

 to have been used in Oarinthia and Hanover. It consisted of a 

 chamber rectangular in plan, of which tbe walls were vertical and 

 the roof arched. About one fourth of the hight from the bottom, 

 was divided horizontally into two compartments by an arched 

 floor, the upper compartment being intended to receive the peat, 

 and the lower one to supply heated air. This lower compart- 

 ment was connected with an adjoining fireplace on the outside 

 of the chamber. In the wall forming the side of the chamber, 

 opposite the fireplace, was a vertical chimney with a damper at 

 the top which exceeded the hrght of the kiln and communicated 

 with the upper chamber. The floor between the upper and lower 

 chambers was perforated so as to permit gases to pass through 



^ Percy, John. Metallurgy, p. 2.54. 



