119 
per annum, and this may be high, as Liebig gives only 
half this amount, and hay and straw, which he considered 
able to produce the same amount of dry material, do not 
produce more. The value of the peat and the wood as 
combustibles would differ little. The value of the ten tons 
may be considered as equal to four tons of coal. These 
four tons, then, were grown on land which could scarcely be 
said to have agricultural value. Of course, all bogs are not 
always growing at this rate, and there is a limit in time to 
their increase ; on the other hand, by care and proper feed- 
ing, we may be able to grow the material much faster than 
ever it has grown, and the black bogs may become for 
us rich coal fields, oil wells, and whale fisheries. The 
fuel is not important for those places where coal is cheap, 
but there are many places in Great Britain where coal 
is difficult of transport. Since peat will not bear much 
carriage, its value is limited in distance, and in many places 
now without any it would be well to grow along with oat 
and potato fields a field also of this despised fuel. This is 
actually done, but it is rarely systematic, and in many places 
peat is driven out where a portion of land otherwise almost 
useless might be set aside for it. The systematic fostering 
of peat so as to increase the produce is advocated for many 
places, although this may appear absurd in the eyes of 
those who are desirous of removing entirely all its traces. 
The peat which had grown rapidly was fine in texture and 
became heavy on drying; not of the heaviest kind, as 0’92 
is high but not of the highest class. (The lightest peat 
examined was 0 2.) The first had grown from fine or small 
mosses, hypnum chiefly, and the fineness of the fibre was 
apparently the cause of the rapid breaking up. It is not 
time alone then that is always required to make fine dense 
peat. Large pieces of wood may endure and be preserved 
long. Henceforth a new classification of peats is necessary, 
and this is according to the prevailing plant. To grow good 
