74 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXIX* No. 2 
relative agricultural possibilities of the 
several types of peat in this country. 
The presence of a narrow carbon-nitro¬ 
gen ratio in sedimentary kinds of peat, 
as in the case of intensively cultivated 
fibrous and woody “muck” soils, 
may be considered to show not 
only advanced decomposition but also 
a deficiency in fresh carbonaceous ma¬ 
terials. To restore a more balanced 
ratio, an application of green manure 
might be advantageous. On the other 
hand, organic materials of a wide ratio, 
such as represented by the sphagnum 
type of peat, may not favor decompo¬ 
sition processes or an increase in nitro¬ 
gen except upon the addition of peat 
materials of much narrower carbon- 
nitrogen ratio or upon the application 
of liquid stable manure, tankage, sew¬ 
age sludge, or mineral fertilizers sup¬ 
plying more soluble nitrogen. 
Since carbonaceous substances con¬ 
stitute by far the greater part of the 
organic matter in peat, the relative 
importance of some of the different 
forms of nonnitrogenous compounds 
deserves consideration. In the present 
method of classification the carbohy¬ 
drates are grouped as crude fiber and 
nitrogen-free extract. 
Crude fiber is the term applied to 
the more resistant lignose and cellulose 
substances of plant products. It is 
determined by digesting a sample 
successively with weak acid and alkali 
(1.25 per cent) and by washing out the 
soluble material. What remains un¬ 
dissolved, free from ash, is termed 
crude fiber. 4 The analytical data 
obtained on various types of air-dried 
peat are shown in Table I. A very 
considerable portion of the fibrous 
light types of peat derived from 
mosses, sedges, and reeds, constitutes 
crude fiber. The largest percentage 
is 41.86, found in the sphagnum peat 
from Alaska. Partially disintegrated 
phases of the fibrous group of peat 
contain relatively less fiber. The well- 
decomposed and cultivated “muck” 
derived from reed peat yields the 
minimum of 9.05 per cent. The de¬ 
crease noticeable in the amount of 
crude fiber varies with the degree of 
decomposition rather than with age or 
depth of the peat layer below the sur¬ 
face. To a great extent, the plant 
remains in shrub and forest peat also 
are fiber; .homogeneous structureless 
peat material of sedimentary origin 
likewise responds to this test. Finely 
divided, gelatinous peat and the 
coarsely macerated water-laid organic 
matter furnish between 12 to 15 
per cent of crude fiber. The differ¬ 
ences between the quantity of crude 
fiber are of similar magnitude when ex¬ 
pressed in terms of ash and moisture- 
free materials (Table II). The amount 
of crude fiber ranges from a minimum 
of 12.5 per cent in the reed “muck” 
from Ohio, to a maximum of 48.37 
per cent in the Alaska sphagnum peat. 
In general, the percentage is com¬ 
paratively lower the greater the degree 
of decomposition. 
Chemical analyses show that 
pentosan forms a considerable portion 
of the fiber component; it is usually 
associated with cellulose. Peat ma¬ 
terials yield measurable amounts of 
furfural when distilled with hydro¬ 
chloric acid, the furfural being collected 
as the phloroglucide, and the result 
calculated to pentosan. This con¬ 
stituent belongs to a complex less 
stable towards decay, diminishing in 
percentage progressively as the peat 
material becomes chemically altered. 
Von Feilitzen and Tollens ( 12) have 
shown that pentosans and methyl 
pentosans are quite generally present 
in layers of peat and that sphagnum 
mosses or the upper and less decom¬ 
posed horizons of sphagnum peat con¬ 
tained as much as 14.7 per cent 
and 12.75 per cent of pentosans, 
respectively. As a rule these high 
percentages were accompanied by rela¬ 
tively high percentages of nitrogen. 
Leavitt {25) obtained pentosans in 
appreciable amounts from a peat 
material of the Florida Everglades. 
Since the amount of pentosan present 
in most plant products is roughly in 
proportion to the amount of fiber, 
von Feilitzen and Tollens {12) sug¬ 
gested the possibility of employing 
the pentosan determination as a 
means for indicating quantitatively 
the degree of decomposition of peat 
materials. In the light of Rose and 
Lisse’s work { 40 ) and the investigation 
extended by Gorbenko {15 ), it may 
now be accepted that the assumption 
is justified by proof. According to 
Street {49), it is possible to adopt the 
phloroglucin method in use for the 
determination of pentosans in cattle 
feed, as a means of detecting the 
presence of peat in commercial ferti¬ 
lizers. 
The outstanding components of 
crude fiber are lignose and cellulose 
substances. Both classes of material 
have been found in peat by various 
investigators. 
The lignose group of organic mate¬ 
rials consists of a base of true cellulose 
* The filtering of the fiber proved to be very difficult on account of the gelatinous nature of the treated 
peat sample. 
