The Uses of Peat

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Excerpt from The Uses of Peat: For Fuel and Other PurposesPeat is partly decomposed and disintegrated vegetable matter that has accumulated in any place where the ordinary decay or chemical decomposition Of such material has been more or less suspended, although the form and a considerable part Of the structure Of the plant organs are more or less destroyed.Water makes an excellent medium for preserving the remains Of dead plants, and hence also for aiding peat formation, since it excludes air and most Of the organisms that are the chief agents that cause wood and other plant structures to rot and finally disappear. The water may contain certain poisonous organic chemical compounds that originated in the growing plants, as the result Of their activities, or were formed as decomposition products. These compounds may act with water to prevent the growth Of the organisms which catise decomposition, but that excess Of water is the paramount factor in the preservation Of the vegetable matter seems capable Of demonstration.The above statement is SO generally true that peat deposits within the limits Of the United States are practically always formed in situations where water for the greater part Of the year either satu rates or' wholly covers the plant débris from which peat originates In those places where vegetable material is saturated with water for only a part Of the time and is subjected to periodical and prolonged drying out, true peat is not formed, but a more nearly complete decomposition takes place that results finally in the formation Of humus, or, if the drying is continued long enough and other condi tions are favorable, decomposition may go on until nothing is left Of the plant material but the ash or mineral part.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.