Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1867-12-20

Iowa Cry, Iowa, Dec. 2, 1867.

Iowa CRY, Iowa, Dec. 2, 1867.
/ En-. JouRSAL:-Upon examining my lats
article on peat in Northern Iowa, find al
insdverten, error. Il says peat, then, in .
1 country so dry ~ ours can nerer be found
where there have been no ponds 1t should
/ have read % can seidom be found, etc. Tha
was slip Of the pen, a. might have been
inferred from the general tenor OF the article
Those acquainted with the localities mum,
bered 10 and - in that article can readily
zee that the pea. there was nc. probably J
formed in . pond. An uninterrupted sup
I ply Of moisture is Indispensable to the form
alton Of peat. and il is from ponds or d.
! p-essions that the great majority Of the peat
marshes must derive this necessary moist>
ure, but the two marshes just mentioned,
| one referred To in my article on Frankiin
county and others since examined have oil
, derived their moi,tare from springs or
, spiingy ground, and thc accumulation OF
| peat ia these cases has been, not in o basin,
but upon very gentle deciiviiy. the deposit
Of peat having lis gensrAl surface even |.
| little rounded il the centre. Such deposits
can usually be completely drained by simply
| cutting ditch through the peat alone.
Since M last Communication have Wis.
tied three important marshes in the central
parts Of tie State, and also . large one in
Illinois Peat has been Manufactured frJm
all bat one Of these during the past s4ascn,
and from these sources have obtaiued some
| very encouraging data concerning lis mana>
fxcture and the great favor with which il is
received a. a fuel by those who have tried
il.
Tie FIRST marsh visited is situated in Nus
catins county, princidally upon section Is,
IL. 1, eight miles south Of West Liberty,
aud about twelve miles from Nasca,ina. Il
contains about one hundred and fifty acres
Of peat, and the depth is reported to reach
thirteen feet in some places. This marsh is
on the line of the Burlington and Ced-,
Rapids railroad, three quarters Of mile
from the righ. bark of Cedar river. and oc>
cupies An ancien, bed of tha, river, which
was deserted rs II cut lis channel deeper so
as to leave poad there which, j. nov beyond
its highest foods. This pond, supplied with
. large part Of the necessary moisture By
springs which ocze OF. from the bese of .
sandy bluff about twenty feet high. which
partly cncircles TIE marsh, has become filed
with peat.
The reason Why other similar Depression
LEFT BY the receding river have not become
so filed may perhaps be fou.i il the fee,
| that they d not possess the surroundings
that this one does, Misunderstanding away
frc N the low blGI shich borders the marsh
i level trsc; of land which is i;sel. bor>
derei on the vest by anoiae. low rilge hav-
ing TIE general direction CT tie course Of
the river Along the base c. tbs ridge Is
n..sky ground, hut it is not . peat -aa-sh.
although j. doubtless occupies more ,ecsas
bed Of tue sane river. Between these tso
marshes the soil and suhsoi is sandy 50 that
the wster which falls upon the leva. track
quickly perfora.es through to the peat marsh
O. 10 tae r;ser. The peat o. this marsh is
good, and il viii Be of grea. value 20 tie re-
yioa where It j. located.
The mex. marsh visited contains about -
acres, and ia situated cn secsicn 81, SS, s,
abou. four miles vest CT Marion. Linn coQa-
ty. II IS reported to reaca ter feet in thick
ness. BIZ. where it :s nos worked it u about
five fee. deep Of drained peat. Mr.. Hof.
man and Mr.. Goag;ll are the owners Of the
land, bit Messrs. Traer ana Bunay have
leased it. and t1ye commenced nsnriacter>
ing the peat icr market, using L.chiue
which ! believe IS al inv a.ioa of the ,lst
named gentleman. Il was no. N Operation
at the time of my visit. but some very good
specimens OF the peat prepared BY 1t were
obtained for the State collections.
This is one Of the best examples of
sar;ng marsh / have vet seen. 1t lies
wholly rpon the gentle slope cosier.as enc
Of The upper branches OF as.gi5a.ary o. the
Cedar river, hacdly .o.ching lie branch It.
SELF /, is fei with moisture BY springs
which issue along the slope, and upon tie
opposite one .he.e IS l..tle or no pest, doubt
less because few or 60 springs ex:s, there.
The deposit is so rounded in its general per-
tons that in general aspect it has very much
the appearance Of one OF tae ordinary elevA-
tions OF the undulating surface of that vieiui>
ty. The marsh has been easily drained By
border, in which pure water hows, perpe:>
ual spring. The above named firm are pro-
ducing Q good arGcsl of fuel, and will no
doubt be able to supply the demand next
year.
Another marsh containing about two hun
dred and fifty acres, two hundred acres a.
which contain pea. of good workable depth,
10 found in Clinton county upon section 29,
81, 2. about two and half miles south Of
Calamus station on the Northwestern rail
way. A dense fog prevailing during the
whole day this marsh was visited, the sur
rounding features Of the country could not
be seen, but there are some indications that
i, was formerly pond. The subsoil Of the
region around ii, however, being sandy. II
is quite probable that it has derived lis moist
ure largely from springs.
A firm have established machinery here
for the manufacture of peat, but the season
closed before they were fairly able to intro>
duce the fuel to the market. Mr.. Isaac
Heald of West Liberty, one Of the proprie-
tors, informs me that they expect TO prose-
cute the business energeticAlly As sooa ss
the spring opens.
In Illinois about seven miles eastward
from Clinton there is q very large peat
marsh, where two or three machines have
been in effective operation during the past
season. l had he.e An opportunity to see
very satisfactory results Of the manufacture,
although none Of the machines were in op-
Grafton. The blocks Of peat manu- iactured
here are almost IS dense as coal, and Mr..
Dodge, one of the proprietors, informs me
that he has not been able to supply the de-
mand which already exists for it at seven
dollars per ton. He also tells me that the
| cost Of manufacture does not exceed two
dollars per ton. Here is aproft then, which
| ought to satisfy any one. From these state
ments We also get some idea Of the value OF
the large deposits in our own State, partic>
| ularly when we remember that ton OF man.
ufactured peat is fully equal to cord Of
hickory wood, and that the wood will aver
age at least Eve dollars per cord Throughout,
| the State and further, that il costs no more
to manufacture ton OF peat than It does &c
| manufacture . cord OF stove wood.
LIE. US see what this value is.
Il is considered a reasonable estimate thai
An acre Of drained peat will produce two hun
dred and ffty tons Of dry fuel for every foo
in depth. Four feet is moderate depth fol
an Iowa peat marsh, and an acre OF this vii
| furnish thousand tons Of good fuel, worth
as fuel averages in the State, five Thousand
dollars, and Of this three thousand dollars i
profit to the owner Of the marsh. il he manu-
taetures it. A hundred acres OF such marsi
and there are many rs large in the Stas'
are worth half million OF dollars, incia
| ding the labor Of manufacture! But this i
not the only estimate to put upon this fuel
II supplies want which would otherwis
prevent the full settlement Of large district
Of our State for generation to coue.
/ G. A. WHIrE.
State Geologist.
DRIEE ITEMS.
Gen. Thomas Francis Meaghsr lett hi
| v,dow AlOn 000-The managing edito