The San Francisco call., 1905-02-11
PEAT DISCOVERIES
PROMISE MILLIONS
Hundreds of Miles of Fuel Are Re
ported to Be Available for
California's Use.

At The State Mining Bureau yester-
cay lAere were placed on exhibition
samples of combined California prod
uels' IN which, ii is said. reside the
possl0llltes Of great and widespread
i1e results. The exhibits are Califor-
l'la peat and California crude petro-
Ieuin. The peat a porous, absorbent
substance. has been thoroughly satu-
fated with petroleum from the ex-
haustless fuel supplies of the Kern
i1Ner district. 1t will burn. The crude
petroleum, united with the peat. in
creases the infammability of the first
mentioned substance. Together they
constitute a new sort Of fuel, which, if
expectations are fulfilled. may be a
very great factor in the future domes-
iie and industrial life of California
and save many millions of dollars.
Information has been largely de-
rived at the State Mining Bureau from
H. Woitmann. who says he is informed
eoncernlng the extent of the existence
@. peat IN this State and also TO be en-
lrely conversant regarding its proper
YES as lueL Woltmann has told the
state A1ineralogist that the supply of
peat IN the San Joaquin Valley along
lne san Joaquin River is beyond COM
putaUon. The levees that extend many
miles on both sides Of the San Joa-
qCln River and also the protecting
lsNees that surround islands in the
san Joaquin River are made almost
entirely of peat 1t is generally sup
POSED that the material that leyees are
made of in California is mud, but
Molrmann says he cannot be mistaken
~hen he asserts that they are peat
levees.
In the first place this question has
been settled by burning samples of
The peat that have been taken from
several San Joaquin localities. In the
second place Mr.. Woltmann says that
IN the part Of Germany where he
oEce lived the only fuel known was
peat, and he knows peat when he sees
l. For many years peat had been
found in sufficient quantity to satisfy
lhe local German demand and there
was promise Of enough to last for a
great many years near his boyhood's
home.
The somewhat staggering PROPOSE
ton is therefore suggested, If Mr..
WOltmann makes no mistake in this
matter, that for centuries to come,
possibly, California viii have for the
picking up and for the slight expense
OF pumping oil from the prolific wells
Of a vast territory, g. fuel that can be
used IN manufacturing and in domestic
stoves and ranges and in the furnaces
Of locomotives and steamships. Each
of the two materials supplements the
other in the making Of the new COM
bUsuble.
MINERALOGIST INTERESTED.
The consequences OF the discovery
are SO momentous that probably the
state Aineralogist will make some
practical tests before he renders any
official opinion about it. At present
Aubury IS interested intensely in the
exhibits and called attention to them
yesterday. The samples that he has
are black, like coal, by reason OF the
entire impregnation Of the peat by the
crude petroleum.
The peat was taken from the tule
lands along the San Joaquin River.
some Of the samples were compressed
between boards to squeeze out the
water AS found IN the tule marshes
the peat is about so per cent water.
Slight pressure crowds the water out.
The mass remains spongy until the
crude petroleum is applied. Peat gives
an object lesson concerning the pri-
mary process Of the conversion Of veg
etsble matter into coal, from which TO
the final appearance Of coal is q matter
Of centuries
Concerning his discovery Mr.. Volt
mann said to a Call reporter that
while there is peat IN other parts Of
the earth and also crude petroleum, the
two are not found together outside of
California in any large quantities, If
AT all
Woltmann has paid as high as s6 a
barrel for crude petroleum from the
Pennsylvania fields. The oil In the
East is valuable because of the by
products aud the great demand there
for such products. In California the
crude oil can be procured for Is cents
e barrel, or at something near that
price. and the quantity is without limit.
The crude petroleum in California, de-