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


One Of thc most interesting AVID attract
I've exhibits 40 the Vienna ext o,ition OK
last yrlr was hg '.ag run'aining the
most divers articles made from peat.
Everything be 81, Dr., ,dia-. from the car
pets on The door tn TN. curi.i;S ii the
window and thri per oi the wall. had
been made from p T. These were but rep
rcscntaiiNcS 81 Nn.t wll undoubtedly
soon hopnr grca, Industry and give tn
the peat bors ~ the world value never
before drancd of
Credit for tie discovery az the possihili-
ties Of peat belongs chiefly toa Vienna gen.
tlcman. Herr Carl \. Xschorner His iuvcs-
LEGATIONS into its nature began some l2
years ag" with study by means of the
microscope 81 what is called in Austria
"toristreu This T. the layer Of moss
which covers the surface Of most peat
boys. II has hitherto. by those who have
made u.s. 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 peat straw win alb.
sorb ten times its weight The peat straw,
moreover possesses the antiscptic and
disinfcctant qualities Of peat, qualities
which have long been known. but OF
which little use has been made
Herr Ischorncr accordingly hit upon
the idea ~ drying the straw and using Il
a an absorbent In stables. brcwcrics and
various manufactures For such purpose
1t proved most admirably adapted. and the
demand for the product soon grew large.
Having GREATER absurhtiyc power than
ordinary straw, the peat straw can be used
much longer I'm any given place, and yet
will have pruportionately greater manurial
value II gives healthy, resilient footing
also for animals For packing OF both
perishahlc and hrakablc articles Il Is also
better than ordinary straw, since l: is
more elastic and less easily penetrated by
heat and cold.
Herr Zschorncr did not rest his investi-
cations here. \ further study of the peat
itself showed that IL was very largely
made mp of fibcrS These flbcrs 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
tItliiltti tiltFaNifF itAAiuc tHtfFtly ullltT-
ent. The organic substance of the plant
became inorganic, - that nothing capable
of fermentation or decay was left, while
the flhrous structure remained intact.
These fibcrs then were found To have I'M
usual physical properties. They were
found To b. very durable. very elastic. to
be nonconductors of heat and noncom-
bustiblc.
IL n fnf,ris. cnFaI6 hn
IL would he one possessing unique prop
critics. To the toughncss of linen 10
would add the warmth of wool, an alb
sorbent power greater than that Of cotton
and the indcstructibility Of asbestus. 1t
must, however bc woven without the aid
of oils or water or much of its value
would be lost.
After IL years of experimenting Herr
Zschorner succeeded in making the peat
fibcrs wcavahle. 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 10 have in practice over
fabrics made from other fibcrs only time
will tell, Some of them have, however,
already been proved Ia he immensely SUI
pcrior To any other fabrics. This is cspc-
cially true of the blankets and other cover
ines used for horses and cattle. for they
greatly excel in warmth. absorbent power,
cleanliness and durability The unspun
fiber promises To be- IA valuable substitute
for absorbent cotton. since IL will not
only absorb much greater quantity 81
blood and other fluids than cotton, but IL
Possesses powerful antiscptic properties as
we'll The coarscr fiber II Is expected will
come into favor for Use I'm upholstery
work, its extraordinary elasticity making
it most valuable for this purpose
The latest achievement of the discovcrcr
of the uses of peat has been the making Of
paper from the fiber. This has been car
ricd 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 hut few OF the uses Ia which this re-
markahlc fiber can he put, hut they indi-
cate possibilities which may vet rank peat
bogs among the most valuable of the
worlds resources. Scientific American