Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-12-09
Tho Now Fuel.

The Now Fuel. ~
An interesting and instructive article,
under this head, appears In Putaan's
Monthly for November. The writer cali
peat the new fuel, yet shows that II VA
in use In the time of Pliny, and has bssu
used since then up to the present time.
He says the per centage Of carbon II from
90 TO IS, with Less than four per cont. Of
ashes He gives the result Of expert
nsnts made with peat in running cars on
the Grand Trunk Railway, and shows q
great saving Of expense over the use OF
wood, even in Canada, where wood fuel 10
cheap.
1t may interest our readers to be in
formed of the number OF uses to which
peat Is applied in the arts. We therefore
copy the following from the article re-
ferred to:
Peat is beginning to be used for domes-
tic purposes, and during last winter was
tested in Lexington, Mass, in Stewart
cooking stove, and said to be better adapt
cd to culinary purposes than wood or
coal, especially for broiling and baking,
acd also for heating irons, as peat fire
can be graduated to suit the weather and
the occasion. 1t takes but fifteen min
utes from the starting of the fire to heat
ing the oven preparatory to baking, and
the bakers of Cleveland, Ohio, who have
recently tested 1t in their ovens, say they
prefer it to any other fuel they have ever
used. In stoves, the receptacle for fuel
should be smaller than that used for coal,
and of less depth; and so it shonld be
with CRATES and furnaces, as from its rapid
combustion, it, requires to be renewed
more frequently than coal, and should be
burned with much less draft. When its
real value is appreciated, stoves and
ranges will be readily constructed so as TO
regulate the draft required.
In the manufacture of gas, its properties
have been tested in the United States and
Europe. and when mixed with coal, ii
produces a highly illuminating power.
Gas manufactured from peat has been used
in Paris and Berlin for some years. Elk.
periments have been made with success at
the Portland Maine Gas Works and at
Utica, NJ Y. In pyrotechnics it is su-
perior to charcoal manufactured from
lockwood and alder.
The elements Of peat derived by distil-
latiop. are described by Professor Brandc,
AZ follows: jSuipltate IF ADumonia, en-
ployed in the preparation Of carbonate
and muriato Of ammonia, Of caustio am
rnonia and in the manufacture OF fertiliz'
ing oomposts, 1octate NJ Lime, largely
consumed by calico printers; Iyrogyttc
Shirt commonly called wood alcohol, used
IN vapor lamps, emitting brilliant light
also in the preparation Of varnishos
NaplUia for making yarnishcs, and dis
solving crude India rubber; heavy and
fixed oila for lubrioating, for a chceP
oil, and in tho manufacture Of lamp
black, and parafnc, largely used in tho
manufacture OF candles
Peat has been used for pavemont5 and
when combined with an artificial asphalt
tum composed Of carbonate Of lime and
coal tar, it forms a solid and elastic road
bed, superior in many respects to native
asphaltum. The tendency Of this natural
asphal to crack and break is counter
acted by the strong fibre of the peat
which, if added to chalk and tar while
warm, acts as a binder when the mass is
cooled, obviating its brittleness. Fibrous
portions reduced to pulp, mixed with from
five to ten per cent. of rag pulp of the same
consistency, has been used III France tor
making coarse paper, and experiments
have been made in some OF the paper man
ufactories Of the United States.
For building and ornamental purposes,
peat has been used in Dublin, Ireland, for
oornioes, roofing and other parts of build
ings, being prepared in solid blocks by
hydraulic pressure and artificially dried.
Toys, fancy articles and rings, have been
produced from the same material On
account of the resinous and vegetable
matter in some of the peats, they form an
excellent material for tanning purposes.
Peat has strong antiseptic qualities.
1t is a valuable disinfec.ant and deodoriz-
ing agent, and an absorber of all noxious
vapors. 1t will prevent cholera and fever
from spreading. 1t renders the air of o
sick room pure and agreeable. AS COM
post, two cords of peat mixed with one
cord of clear stable manure forms valu-
able fertilizer; and the ashes of peat,
which abound in carbonate, phosphate
and sulphate of lime are used to great
advantage for clover. They make very
serviceable cement, and are used for poll
ishing photographic stones and metallic
plates Free alkali may always be traced
in peat ashes; but alkali exists in it
rather as silicate az in leached ashes.
These ashes certainly possess value and
should not be allowed to waste
When we consider that every acre of
peat form ID in the United States Is oalcu-
late TO be good for one thousand tons of
condensed fuel, at a cost of about two
dollars and half for preparation, the
amount of solid wealth which these i'm
mense beds, when worked, will add to the
country, leaves coal and petroleum far in
the background.