i873-] P eat - 473 



bogs are to be found in tbe environs of Ath and Antwerp, on 

 the banks of the Escaut and of its tributaries, and in La 

 Campine Beige. Peat deposits form almost the entire soil 

 of Holland. The site of the Haarlem lake, upon which, in 

 1573, the Spaniards and Dutch engaged in naval combat, 

 and which is now drained, and covered with luxuriant farms, 

 consists entirely of a reclaimed peat bog. In Italy, one of 

 the most remarkable bogs is that of St. Martin-Perosa, in 

 Sardinia, which has an area of from 4000 to 5000 hectares, 

 and a depth of from 4 to 8 metres. Piedmont also furnishes 

 peat in some provinces ; and it is stated that many of the 

 paper and cardboard manufacturers about Turin employ 80, 

 and sometimes as much as go per cent of peat in the pulp of 

 their cardboard. Peat is also very generally found in most 

 of the districts of Lombardy. The peat area of Denmark 

 is estimated at about 180,000 hectares. In England but 

 little attention has been given to peat, but the bogs in 

 Ireland are said to cover about one-sixth of its entire area. 

 Bogs of large extent also exist in Germany, Prussia, Russia, 

 America, and Canada. Mouhot,* in his travels in Indo- 

 China, &c, mentions the discovery of a peat bog in the 

 Ko-Man Islands of Siam. In an interesting paper read 

 before the Society of Arts, on the 27th of January, 1871, 

 Lieutenant-Colonel Romaine Wragge produced unques- 

 tionable evidence of the existence of peat in many parts of 

 India; and in China t it is certain that peat exists in one 

 locality at least, and it is not improbable that, if sought for, 

 it would be discovered in other parts, also, of that country. 



Enough has now been stated on this portion of our subject 

 to prove that peat exists almost universally, wherever cir- 

 cumstances favourable to its existence are to be found. The 

 next point for consideration is the chemical constituents of 

 peat, for upon this depends the possibility of its being con- 

 verted into a serviceable fuel. Subjoined are some of the 

 most important analyses of peat obtained from various 

 quarters. 



The specific gravity of peat varies considerably, according 

 to the nature of the peat moss. Its density varies also with 

 the degree of its dryness. Ordinary peat, according to M. 

 Bosc, is about 170 kilogrammes per cubic metre, and com- 

 pressed peat from 600 to 800, and sometimes 900 kilo- 

 grammes per cubic metre. 



* Page 148. 



f " Industries de l'Empire Chinois," par M. Paul Champion, page 10. 



