AN IMPROVED MODE OF DRAINING PEAT MOSSES SO AS TO RENDER THE PEAT OBTAINED THEREFROM MORE USEFUL AS FUEL, ALSO IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND PREPARING THE PEAT FOR FUEL
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jasper Wheeler Rogers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
April 1860.
I, JASPER WHEELER ROGERS, of Peat House, Robert's Town, in the
County of Kildare, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF DRAINING PEAT MOSSES SO AS TO RENDER
THE PEAT OBTAINED THEREFROM MORE USEFUL AS FUEL, ALSO IMPROVED MEANS OF
AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND PREPARING THE PEAT FOR FUEL," to be as
follows:-
My Invention of "An Improved Mode of Draining Peat Mosses so as to
render the Peat obtained therefrom more useful as Fuel, also Improved Means
of and Apparatus for Drying and Preparing the Peat for Fuel," relates, in the
first place, to the draining of the moss so as to prepare it to be cut into blocks
for fuel, the object being to allow the peat to solidify to a certain extent in
situ. To this end the tract of peat or bog land intended to be operated upon
must first be drained somewhat on the principle of the system described in the
Specification of my Patent dated 1st June, 1848, (No. 12,169,) with the
addition that the whole space it is proposed to operate upon at one time must
be isolated and cut off from all other parts of the bog, so that no moisture
from the surrounding peat can reach that part of the area that is intended to
be drained. After the area intended to be operated upon in the first instance

page_text: has been isolated from the rest of the bog by cutting a deep trench or drain
all round it, the branch drains are cut in terraces or steps, descending from
the surface to one or two feet below the surface of the substratum or
solid ground at the bottom of the moss. The drains are arranged at such
distances from each other as the nature and depth of the bog may require.
In cutting the drains, care must be taken to begin with sufficient width at
top to admit of narrowing the drain by steps or terraces as the depth of the
drain increases. By this means the atmospheric pressure will act upon the
whole horizontal surface, and free egress being provided for the escape of
water which trickles down the steps or terraces throughout the whole, it is
carried away by the main drain or outfall; the escape of the water from the
upper part allows this latter to consolidate. The drain may then be deepened
by cutting out another step, and allowing more water to run away. Thus the
mass will in time become firmly compressed together, and will, if permitted
by time, expel the whole moisture, and become as hard as coal. To avoid
delay, however, when the pressure has arrived at that point that the fibres or
particles of the peat are sufficiently condensed, the peat is cut out in sods of
about twelve inches long by three inches square by means of a peculiarly
shaped spade or implement with wings which form the sod into the size
required. These sods are then arranged by children on wicker trays or frames
of any convenient size, and are carried to a frame prepared to receive them
by sliding the loaded trays in, like the action of a drawer.
These frames form part of a rotatory machine, constructed somewhat on the
principle of a "merry-go-round," to be seen at fairs, and it is set in motion by
animal or any other power conveyed to it by means of a shaft or band acting by
gear on the upright shaft of the machine. When all the frames have been
filled with the sods of peat, the quantity being according to the size and
power of the machine, it is set in rotary motion, and is made to traverse
through the air at such a speed that the action of the atmosphere, resem-
bling that of a storm, quickly dries up the moisture in each sod, and to
facilitate this drying operation, space is left between each tray and also between
each sod to allow the air to pass, and this effect of the cold blast has been
proved to contract and draw together the fibres, whilst the action of heat has
a tendency to expand or open theni. In this manner the sods may be dried
and made as hard as coal or hard wood in from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours. The peat having been dried and hardened by the above described
operation, each sod is to be cut into cakes or blocks of uniform size, or nearly
so, by means of a simple arrangement of circular saws of twelve inches

page_text: diameter, mounted on a horizontal shaft. The sods are conducted to the
blades by an inclined plane, and fall from thence as they are cut on to a
travelling band; they are by this means carried off to be piled, when they are
fit for use. The sawdust produced by the cutting operation will be found to
be a most valuable manure. Thus the whole operation is productive of profit,
the cutting of the drains being without cost, as the peat taken out may be con-
verted into peat charcoal for sanitary and agricultural uses, and when the bog
is sufficiently drained, the whole operation of cutting and drying it for market
may be accomplished within a fortnight or less, if necessary, whilst the removal
of the peat and drainage makes the land valuable for cultivation.