REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1901 f75 



structed with a hollow, lined with cement 3 inches deep, below 

 the level of the floor paving. This is filled with the litter. 

 About an inch is removed daily from the surface, the fresh sup- 

 ply being laid at the manger end, while the supply of the day 

 before is raked from the head to the hinder end. The litter so 

 removed forms an excellent manure. The peat moss litter is de- 

 livered in compressed bales of 150 pounds each, but care must be 

 taken that it should be almost free from any moisture in order 

 that it may be able better to absorb all moisture when in use. 1 



Hollman's system of manufacturing moss litter is as follows. 2 

 The moss peat is cut out of the bog in sods in precisely the same 

 manner as fuel peat. The autumn and early winter are chosen 

 for work so as to allow the moss peat to freeze before drying. 

 It is dried in stacks in the open air. At Carolinenhorst about 

 6J acres, 58 inches deep, are cut each season, and yield about 

 3000 tons of moss litter. The sods when dry are taken to the 

 factory, placed in elevators and carried to a machine called the 

 " toolf" which tears them into small fragments. The moss thus 

 produced is passed over sieves to separate the peat dust from 

 the fibrous substance, which forms the litter. It is then put 

 into a press, and with 4 H. P. about 6 cubic feet of loose material 

 is pressed into a space of 2 cubic feet, and then baled. 



It is claimed for moss litter that, (1) it affords a drier and 

 healthier bedding for horses and cattle than any other material, 

 (2) that in consequence of its great power of absorbing moisture 

 it binds the valuable portion of the animal excrements and 

 consequently yields the best manure, (3) that it acts as a disin- 

 fectant and improves the air of the stable, (4) that a smaller 

 quantity of it is required than would be needed if straw were 

 used. 



Moss litter absorbs eight times its weight in urine, while 

 straw takes up only three times. 



The smaller particles which are separated, the torf mull, are 

 powdered and sell at Is 3d per owt. It is said to be used as a 

 disinfectant, as a material for making antiseptic bandages, in 

 absorbing the lye resulting from the treatment of molasses 

 with strontium in sugar factories, as an admixture with salts 

 used in powder, as chemical manure, and as packing material 

 for breakable or perishable goods. 



A mixture of peat dust, India rubber and sulfur, has been 

 found to be excellent material for insulating subterranean elec- 

 tric cables. 



Pure moss peat powder, free from admixture of grass peat or 

 particles of sand, has been used for some time in the manufac- 



1 Ontario Bureau of Mines. Rep't. 1892. p, 211. 

 2 Ibid. p. 214. 



