Pueblo chieftain., 1921-08-15
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN

Washington. n. C.. Aug. i5.-wide
use OF the natural peat deposits in
this continent as a substitute for or
a supplement to coal and fuel oil Is
possible as a result OF the develop
meut OF the deposits in Minnesota,
and the perfection OF machines TO
make the raw peat good heat pro-
ducing material. II is estimated that
there are 100000 acres Of peat
bearing land in this country. and 3O.-
0eo. 600 acres in Canada on the land
in the United States there are thirteen
billion tons OF peat. with more than
half OF the supply centered in Min
nesota-
One of the difficulties which has
always stood in the way Of using this
material as commercial fuel has been
getting the moisture out OF II so that
IL would be approximately as good as
coal Machines are now In operation
which so far toward accomplishing
this end.
H W. Richardson. meteorolosist
and official weather forecsster for
the region around Duluth. Minnesota.
has made a study Of the peat question
for a number OF years, and believes
that its use as fuel Is entirely prAc-
teal because OF the low cost that i'm
proved methods OF cutting and drying
make possible. a long series OF tCStH
has been made. and while It was
found that Jumps OF coal were better
than Jumps OF peat as fuel. due 20 the
amount Of moisture retained by the
lump peat. crushed and Atomized peat
was found to be about equal 10
crushed coal in the units OF heat pro-
duced
Crushing coal before feeding II into
the fires OF factories has been found
TO be efflcacious and economical re.
sulting IN economy in the amount OF
fuel needed for the production OF any
particular amount OF heat energy.
and an additional saving In that the
coal could be fed into furnaces oN-
actly "a required, an imposHbility
with lump coal
Atomized coal or peat Is fed into the
furnaces after being mixed with air
the mixture being ioated or waited in
10 the fires y.ithout sutstantlal pres
sure 10 form the feeding stream OF air
crushing coal for fuel purposes is q
growing industry. one concern in
minneapolis alone crushing and dis
iributiug over 800 .ons Of coal daily
for nearby factories. Similar crush
ing plants are being started at Duluth
aud It's aeishbornE city, Superior.
Wisconsin.
Must Use Nnchines
In turning to the American peat
Espuiy for fucl u was realized that
the use OF laborera for digging and
drying peat was out OF the question,
aS u would MAKE the cost OF produc-
tion SO high that the product could
Is and dried by artificial heat or chem
icals was out OF the question also. IL
was found, as the margin OF profit he
irTeen producing ccst and marketing
price must necessarily be small. Ma
chimes were perfected therefore and
trt FEafu~gA H.
ful and practical which viii dig up
tho neat. pulvetise II and lay Il out
in nat strlEs, FOR drying. all In enc op-
alton. These m1cnineg. II IA claimed
can prepare the peat fuel az q cost
less than s. per ton. and a great mar
ket is open to thus fuel at the low
price now possibleg
Peat is nothing more than dscom-
posed or partly dccomposed vsgetah
mIt'er occurring where still out no,
staErart. water has been In tho past
Tho peat occurs also underneath sim
standing water Tho depth Of tho peat
deposits VIII range from hve to ninety
feet, that nearest 'he tor being light
sr and less decomposed than the lower
layers
In its natural sta'a peat contains as
hirh a. 20 per cent Of moisture. and
the problem Of m1kInF the substance
commercially valuable as fuel is 10
eliminate a much as possible OF this
Artificial neat has been used
sucoesstuliy, the iaat heinR put thru
q kind of baking process, but this is
too expensive to make tho finished
product an economical fuel Chon1i-
Gals have been uscd srccessfuilv. but
this also makes the fuel cost too much
money when it Is ready for ure Out Of
tho necessity for cheap hut excellent
method of preparing peat for fuel the
!arnett system vas develope4
the Garnctt M enine runs over the
peat deposit. lifting continuous
broad slice Of peat into Itsa'f a. 4,
moves forward. This peat is macer-