PRELIMINARY REPORT ON PEAT.

where it is over 2 to i the peat is coarse and ;mperfectly decomposed. It runs below IY2 to i both in good black plastic peat and in some very impure samples, which might be better des:.Ytated ",s muck.
The sulphur runs highest in estuarine peat, especially in that from Julington Creek (Nos. 6.2i and miscellaneous Nos. 2-5), and is pretty high in calcareous peat and that from Madison County. There is probably not enough of it to be objectionable in any of our samples, however. It is lowest in the samples from small filled lakes, bays, etc. No. 36.11 contains the least sulphur in proportion to other volatile matter, and No. 39.11 is a close second in that respect. (Both of these happen to be from tyty bays.)
The nitrogen determinations unfortunately are too few to warrant much generalization, but in other parts of the world the nitrogen content of peat is rarely less than 1% or more than 3% and the same seems to hold true in Florida, as far as our information goes.
In fuel value our peat compares very well with that in other parts of the world. According to Davis, 5,76o B. T. U. per pound is a good average for wood, 8,500 for pressed peat, and 14,000 for anthracite coal. The average of the 53 determinations given in the above tables is 8,341; but if Mr. Ranson's 26 samples combined (miscellaneous No. 6) had been counted separately the average would have been 8,833. Most of our samples (counting miscellaneous No. 6 as only one again) exceed 9,o5o B. T. U., two thirds of them exceed 8,500 (Davis's average), and three fourths of them exceed 8,341 (our average).
The highest fuel value is as a rule in the purest peat. No: 29.1 1 (the purest) is best in that respect, though No. I6.1 I, with 15"5% of ash, and no plasticity (and therefore not adapted to be made into briquettes), stands very high in the list. It should be borne in mind that the fuel value given in these tables is on a water-free basis, which is never realized in practice, for peat as used always contains some water, which reduces its fuel value. But the v alyses are usually expressed in this way to eliminate differences due to variations in atmospheric humidity.

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