MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
99 
V 
SOME POSSIBILITIES OF PEAT UTILIZATION. 
\ 
Charles A. Davis. 
For many years now, especially since the strike of the Anthracite coal 
miners in 1902-3, when actual fuel famine existed in most cities, and much 
of the country where anthracite is the principal domestic fuel, the attention 
of those who are familiar with conditions existing in Northern Europe, has 
been turned to peat as a possible undeveloped source of fuel supply. 
The agitation of the subject has now gone so far that it may be said that 
there is a peat question, which, from the view-point of American economics 
may be stated as follows: “Can the extensive beds of peat which are found 
widely distributed over the country, especially in those parts remote from 
the chief centers of coal supply, be used profitably for fuel at present. If 
not, are they available for other purposes?” 
For the proper discussion of this question it is necessary to have very clear- 
ly in mind, not only the existence of peat in sufficient quantity and of good 
quality for the uses intended, and the desirability of its being turned to account, 
but also the numerous other factors, practical, economic, and even psycho- 
logical, which must be taken into consideration before a definite answer 
can be obtained. 
While there is little opportunity in this place for considering the purely 
historical, some attention must be given to the history of the development 
of the utilization of peat in other parts of the world, if a fair start is to be 
made in this country, and the advantage is to be taken of the work, and 
the mistakes of others already well-advanced in ways of handling peat. 
From time immemorial, cut peat, air-dried, has been used as fuel for do- 
mestic purposes in Northern Europe, and more recently in compacted forms, 
has been used, with considerable success as the source of energy for steam 
production on a large scale, the beginnings of experiments in this direction 
probably dating back to the early stages of the use of the steam engine for 
manufacturing purposes. 
Even before the use of peat for the generation of steam, however, much 
experimental work had been carried on to make a better product than cut 
peat, and this resulted in the gradual development of machinery for drying 
peat, for grinding it while still wet, to make it more plastic and compact, 
and for molding it into blocks of regular size, thus making a more uniform 
and efficient product, which could be produced in larger quantities more 
certainly than cut peat. 
These developments were largely made in Germany, a count ry always ready 
to investigate thoroughly any natural resources within her borders and 
develop them, to the greatest possible extent by careful and methodical 
lesearch, and where, at the present time, studies of the possibilities of peat 
are still being pushed forward with energy. 
With the greater demand for fuels which came with the increased use of 
the steam engine, and the industrial awakening in the Northern European 
countries, which has taken place in the past twenty-five years, renewed 
efforts were made to increase the efficiency of peat as a fuel, largely because 
other types of fuel were scarce and expensive. 
