“ Peat varies from a pale yellow or brown fibrous substance, resembling turf or compressed hay, containing conspicuous plant remains, to a compact dark brown material, resembling black clay when wet, and some varieties of lignite when dry. ”

“ It seems that the disintegration of the vegetable tissues is effected partly by moist atmospheric oxidation and partly by anaerobic bacteria, yeasts, moulds and fungi, in depressions containing fairly still but not stagnant water, which is retained by an impervious bed or underlying strata. As decomposition proceeds the products become waterlogged and sink to the bottom of the pool; in the course of time the deposits attain a considerable thickness, and the lower layers, under the superincumbent pressure of the water and later deposits, are gradually compressed and carbonized. ”

“ The low value of ordinary dug peat as a fuel has led to processes for obtaining a more useful product. In M. Ekenberg’s process the wet peat is pulped and milled so as to make it of uniform composition, and the pulp passed into an oven maintained at 180°–200° F., where it is carbonized by superheated water. The pressed product, which resembles lignite, still contains 8 to 14% of water; it is is driven off by heat, and the residue briquettes. ”