New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1909-08-22

o,s Of the most fascinating and ambitious
w. .c,s az the scientist to-day IL 20 devise some
US whereby raw peat, which apounds in
pcs quantities in all parts Of the wor!d-in
sN,.rS alone there over one million. acres
".st boxs-nay be transformed into L new.
- snd efficient fuel for both Industrial and
ss0~,sfic purposes Needless TO say, the resliza-
-, OF such dream would nave fArrcaching
49, upon commerce as a whole. But there
n' snuumerable difficulties to be surnounted
-. SUBSTANCE is SO heavily impregnated with
t,r that aness the greater Pro portion OF this
s'mbination Of hydrogen and oxygen is elimi-
,sS the substance is impossible OF combustion
~fh any degree OF efficiency. The proportion
~ S-y substance TO water q approximately l2ls
- sTls per cent At FIRST sight IL would seem an
..sy raatter 80 eliminate the excess OF liquid by
-, compression; hut although the bulk OF
satr can thus be reduced, owing ~ the highly
.hsxrAent nature OF the material sufficient is
- extracted 20 render the resultant product a
,isfactory fuel On the Finnish railways
s,re peat is almost exclusively employed the
--ouortion OF water allowed is % per cent and
,sonsh a fair measure OF success is Thereby OBJ
s.ned i cannot be considered in comparison
with coal
,er,ion OF peat into a fuel; but they cornpris.
svposure 10 and air. SO that the create.
nsrt OF the water with which the material Is
'muaEnated may be driven OF by evaporation
and obviously such course has its limitations
hi This temperate zone such outdoor drying can
nnlr be maintained during the hottest months
al the year, which period is on the average
xboui three months. SO that for the greater part
=. the year work is brought TO q standstill
consequently any system for the conversion OF
The peat into fuel, 10 be OF any real commercial
y.lue must be enc which can be carried out AT
snv time OF the rear Independently OF wind and
weather. Hitherto but little success has been
accomplished in this direction; but now a well
.nown swedish scientist. DR. Martin Fkenberg
sster many years research and ceaseless ex-
prments has apparently solved the problem,
su6 has produced at the manufactory erected
upon his own peat bogs in Sweden a peat fuel
which IN appearance, combustiblity and heat
,alsing properties compares very favorably with
epal
Whist is peat? Briefly, il is coal IN the par
sially developed condition. The accumulation OF
decaying vegetable matter in swampy or Doggy
areas has settled down into more or less COM
pact masses. But Nature has only partly COM
Jleled her work. She has failed 10 impart that
enormous pressure arising from the deposit II
s0.l and rock upon the decayed vegetable sub
stance which IS necessary TO compress il into a
hare material, nor has IL been carbonized and
TIE waller eliminated by the interior heat OF the
earth. natural upheaval whereby the peat
hogs were buried under immense Accommodations
al rock and soil would achieve this end. If,
therefore. could, as II were, reproduce the
cycle Of lperations carried out by nature-com-
press TIE peat and drive of the water by a
steady heat-coal would result from the opera
ti0n.-'hederick A. Talbot, IN Chambers's Jour
u6