770 
Peat and its Products . 
a number of years, whilst in Belgium a company has been formed 
for the purpose of collecting the sewage of the several towns and 
mixing it with moss litter, thereby producing a merchantable 
article. 
Although the advantages attaching to the mixture of litter 
and sewage appear to be little recognised as yet, it seems pro- 
bable that through this industry the grey-turf moors may have 
a great future before them. In 1889, the value of 1 hectare of 
this kind of moor was 100/. (= 41/. per acre), whilst only ten 
years previously the grey turf, being considered valueless, was 
recklessly cut up and thrown away, the only object being to get 
at the substratum of black turf. 
The moss-litter industry, which, as already mentioned, has 
taken a start in the Netherlands superior to that in any other 
European country, owes its flourishing condition to the favourable 
situations of the moors, whilst in this respect the provinces of 
North Brabant and Limburg have a great advantage over the 
northern districts. The importance of locality is further empha- 
sised by the fact that whereas 50 per cent, of the selling price 
of the northern moss litter represents freight, the latter item 
amounts to only 20 per cent, of the price of the southern product. 
(3) Manufacture of Black or Factory Turf. — Black turf is 
usually called by the trade factory turf, from its being almost 
exclusively used in the brick-kilns along the Rivers Maas, Waal, 
Linge, Lek, and Yssel. This turf is dug up in the same manner 
as the grey, but care has to be taken to dig only when there is 
no fear of frost, and also to stop digging in time to allow the 
turf to be quite dry before the frost sets in. The period for 
digging the black turf lasts, therefore, only from March 15 to 
June 15, whilst the grey can be worked throughout the whole 
year, except when the soil is too hard through frost. If black 
turf gets frozen before having dried it loses its heating power, 
and consequently its value as a merchantable article, and then it 
is sold at a very low price for domestic purposes. 
The importance of the trade in this article may be gathered 
from the fact that in the Netherlands about 280,000 tons are 
annually consumed in the manufacture of bricks, of a value of 
133,000/., of which 100,000/. represent the cost of labour and 
freight. The value of 1 hectare of good and favourably situated 
black peat may safely be taken at 170/. (= 68/. per acre). 
(4) Cultivation for Agricultural Purposes. — After the removal 
of the black peat the sandy soil is met with, and this is specially 
adapted for cultivation, though immense quantities of manure 
are required. But if the cultivation has kept pace with the 
gradual removal of the turf, the moors offer great facilities for 
