Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-02-11
SOME NEW USES OF PEAT.
fcRrccIy Ary Textile Fabrics which
Cannot he Made From "a.


One Of thc most inscre,ting ard attract
i've exhibits ~ the Vienna cxr rosition o.
last ycIr wnS u hV,'.ii;.g rcn,,tiuing the
most divers article, made from peat
Everything il IL, o." ldn.- from the car
pets nn hc Ho,r tn the curi-liS at the
windoWs and the Ter o-i the wall. had
been made from =. O. Thcsc were hut rep
rcscntaiiNcs oi l.n.i VIII undoubtedly
soon hocomr a great in'lustry and give to
the peat hors of the world value never
before dreamed Of
Credit for The discovery of the possibili-
ties Of peat belongs chiefly To n Vienna gen
tleman, Herr Carl A. Xschorner His inyes-
LEGATIONS into its mature began some is
years agn with "a study by means of the
microscope cf what is called In Austria
"torfs,rcu This Is the layer OF moss
which covers the surface of most peat
bogs II has hitherto. by those who have
made use Of the peat for fuel, been. at con
siderable expense, removed and thrown
away Herr XSchorncr's examination
showed that the plant remains which
make up this layer abound i'm hollow,
spiral cells. These absorb water and other
fluids with great avidity. While ordinary
straw cannot absorb over four times its
weight OF fluids, this Teat straw will alb
sorb ten times its weight. The peat straw,
moreover. possesses The antiscptic and
disinfectant qualities of peat, qualities
which have long been known, but of
which little use has been made
Herr LSchorncr accordingly hit upon
the idea of drying the straw and using II
as an absorbent In stables brcwcries and
various manufactures. For such purpose
II proved most admirably adapted, and the
demand for the product soon grew large.
Having greater absorbtivc power than
ordinary straw. the peat straw can be used
much longer in any given place, and yet
will have prnportionately greater manurial
value. Ii gives healthy. resilient footing
also for animals. For packing of both
perishahle and brcakablc articles IL is also
better than ordinary straw. since IL Is
more elastic and less easily penetrated by
heat and cold.
Herr Zschorner did not rest his investi-
cations here. A further study of the peat
itself showed that ii was very largely
made up of ilbcrs These fibcrs come from
the remains of reeds and grasses, which,
growing and drying in successive genera
tions, form the peat In their submer
gence the reeds and grasses suffered no
anatomical change, but their physical and
chemical character became entirely differ
ent The organic substance of the plant
Became inorganic, 80 that nothing capable
of fermentation or decay was left, while
the flbrous structure remained intact.
These iibcrs then were found to have un-
usual physical properties. They were
found To be- very durable. very elastic, to
be nonconductors of heat and noncom-
bustihle
f.l l.,-g.. H.. a.
IL would be one possessing unique prop
critics. TO the toughncss of linen it
would add the warmth Of wool an alb
sorbent power greater than that of cotton
and the indcstructibility Of asbestus 1t
must, however. be woven without the aid
of oils or water. or much of it's value
would be lost.
After i2 years OF experimenting Herr
Zschorner succeeded in making the peat
fibers wcavable There is now, therefore,
scarcely any textile article which cannot
be made from peat. Coats, hats, carpets,
rugs, ropes. mating and pillows are some
of the articles which have been made and
have been found useful What superiority
these will prove To have in practice over
fabrics made from other flbers only time
will tell Some of them have, however,
already been proved to he immensely SUI
pcrior 10 any other fabrics. This is cspe-
cially true Of the blankets and other cover
inRs used for horses and cattle. for they
greatly excel in warmth absorbent power
cleanliness and durability. The unspun
fiber promises 10 be n valuable substitute
for absorbent cotton, since Il will not
only absorb much greater quantity Of
blood and other fluids than cotton, but 1t
possesses powerful antiscptic properties as
well The coarser fiber it is expected will
come into favor for Use In upholstery
work, its extraordinary elasticity making
it most valuable for this purpose
The latest achievement Of To- discovcrer
of the uses of peat has been tie making Of
paper from the fiber This has been car
ried to such AN extent that paper of almost
every variety of weight and quality can
be made, while the toughncss and dura-
bility Of each is equal To that of paper from
any Kind of vegetable pulp. The above
are but few of the uses To which this re
markablc fiber can he put, but they indi-
cate possibilities which may yet rank peat
bogs among the most valuable of the
worlds resources Scientific American.