July 15, 1924 
Chemical Examination of Peat Materials 
81 
woody, fibrous, and sedimentary peat 
at different depths, as well as during 
the transformation of drained surface 
horizons to muck and humus. 
CONCLUSIONS 
. Results obtained with 20 different 
kinds of peat indicate the feasibility 
of the application of foodstuff analyses 
for the determination of qualitative 
differences in sedimentary, fibrous, and 
woody peat materials. These data 
point to contrasts between peat 
materials in regard to their nitrogenous 
substances, lignin, cellulose, and other 
carbohydrates, waxes, resins, and simi¬ 
lar plant products. Their value is 
necessarily limited, since it is only 
possible to utilize analyses of the same 
character as those used for crops and 
feeding stuffs. However, they illus¬ 
trate the fact that a close connection 
exists between the botanical and the 
chemical composition of the main 
groups of peat. By the application of 
this method it becomes possible to 
correlate variations in the chief groups 
of organic compounds with structural 
differences in the profile of peat de¬ 
posits, to follow the progress of decom¬ 
position in drained surface peat soils, 
and to determine the degree of chemi¬ 
cal alteration taking place in the sev¬ 
eral layers of peat below the water 
level. The analyses show the wide 
differences in agricultural value of the 
several kinds of peat, on the basis of 
the ratio of nonnitrogenous to nitrog¬ 
enous materials, and the limited use¬ 
fulness of various kinds of raw peat as 
a source of food for livestock or for soil 
microorganisms. 
LITERATURE CITED 
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1920. OFFICIAL AND TENTATIVE 
METHODS OF ANALYSIS. AS 
COMPILED BY THE COM¬ 
MITTEE ON REVISION OF 
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1, 1919. 417 p., illus. Wash¬ 
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(2) Bersch, W. 
1907. DIE MOORE * OESTERREICHS. 
EINE BOTANISCH-CHEMISCHE 
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175-196, 343-374, 429-473. 
(3) Birge, E. A., and Juday, C. 
1922. the inland lakes of WIS¬ 
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(5) Christensen, H. R. 
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( 8 ) - 
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(10) Detmer, W. 
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