One of Ireland's best industries is the winning of turf, or what is usually known as peat in England. Every spring and early summer thousands of men, women and children take advantage of fine weather to try and win enough turf for at least a year's supply of fuel. This task is all the more urgent today owing to the scarcity and high cost of coal, which has to be imported from England and America, for apart from the small coalfields at Arigna in Co. Sligo and Castlecomer in Co. Kilkenny, the country has no coal fields.

Geologists say that long ago, Ireland had plenty of coal, but in the last Ice Age, this coal being near the surface, was taken away by the glaciers which then covered Ireland, and deposited in the Atlantic Ocean. Britain's coal, being deeper underground, escaped this fate. However this may be, the abundance of turf helps to make up for the lack of other fuel.

How did Ireland come to have so much bog land? The country may be likened to a saucer. Her centre, consisting of the far-famed Bog of Allen, is the saucer's depression, while the mountains around the coast are the rim.

Long ages ago, this depression was a vast shallow lake, whose water was unable to escape to the sea. This lake gradually became more and more shallow as water plants and mosses grew on top of one another, until eventually, they reached above the water forming a thick mass which slowly hardened. Drainage schemes helped to take away a lot of the water. The abundance of roots and trunks of trees which are found in bogs show that great forests existed also. Bogs are also to be found in many of the mountainous districts near the coasts.

How is turf won? The modern way of winning it is by machinery. Within the last few years, machines have been introduced to the Bog of Allen, where they greatly speed up the cutting of turf. This machine-cut turf is compressed into hard briquettes for burning in grates and for supplying power stations recently built for producing electricity. But the commonest way of winning turf is by hand. Using this method, the tools one needs are a turf spade - which is like the garden spade, except that it has a side on it - a sod cutter, a grape or fork and a turf barrow.

The first task is to get a 'spade' of turf. A 'spade' is the amount of turf which should supply a household for a year. It consists of a stretch of bog some one hundred and fifty yards long, two feet wide and three feet deep. This 'spade' may be obtained from the owner of the bog on payment of a small sum and it should, if possible, be alongside an old 'spade'. In the early spring, the grass and heather is burnt off the place where the turf is to be spread - known as the 'spreading ground.' Care has to be taken that the fire does not spread, otherwise it might set the whole place alight. Then the part to be cut is marked off with a line parallel with the old spade. The next stage is to 'pare' the part to be cut. This means taking off the top soil and roots to a depth of about six inches. For this process the sod cutter or knife is used to cut into the ground so that large sods can be taken off. These sods are thrown away or they can be dried and used for putting at the back of hearth fireplaces. The turf can then be dug out.

A person known as the 'holder' stands in front of the digger and throws out the turf as it is cut to the 'spreaders' who spread it on the ground at a distance so as to allow room for the next row of turf to be spread. The 'spreaders' can carry the cut turf with grapes, but usually a turf barrow is used for transporting it. When it is first cut the turf is soft and of a light, brown colour. Exposure to the air soon turns it black or dark-brown. It is surprising how quickly turf can be cut: three or four hard-working men can cut a 'spade' in about a day and a half.

The next stage in the saving of this fuel is to 'foot' it. 'Footing' turf is to put it into such a position that the wind and sun can get at it as fully as possible. In good weather, this can be done three or four days after it is cut, when it has dried sufficiently to enable it to be lifted without breaking. In 'footing', it is stood on end, four pieces leaning against one another. The important thing is to put it in such a way that it can be dried as quickly as possible, for this is the secret of wellwon turf.

A few days in this position should in dry weather, enable it to be 'ricked', that is, put into heaps on the 'brew', which is a name given to ground firm enough for carts to travel on. Often indeed people have to carry it in sacks on their backs for considerable distances before reaching ground firm enough for carts.

If the weather is wet, the turf may have to be 'lumped', which means building it up in the form of walls so that the wind can get at the ends of each piece. The last stage, when it has been well dried, is to build it in stacks in places as near the road as possible so that it can be conveniently got at for bringing home in lorries or carts.

The speed of turf drying wholly depends on the weather. In some wet seasons, much turf can be lost, as happened in the wet summer of 1950, when the heavy rains made the bogs inaccessible. Unless it is very well dried and stacked, turf left on the bog for the winter can be ruined by the rains and frost.

In some parts of the country, where the turf is too soft to be dug with a spade, a different method of saving it is used. Using this method, a hole is dug in the bog and water is put into it. The turf mould and water are then mixed until a certain consistency is reached. This mixture is then taken out and spread over the ground to a depth of about four inches. Cuts are made on this, which enables the mixture, when it has dried sufficiently, to be broken into small squares. This 'mudturf', as it is called, makes excellent fuel.

The wood known as fir or bogwood, found in bogs burns like tinder and is largely used for kindling. Well-won turf gives grand hot fires. It is at is best when it is burnt in hearth fireplaces. Many a cottage in the turf burning districts can boast of having a fire burning continuously for decades. For the ashes when put on the embers at night, keep the embers hot till morning, when all one has to do is to take off the ashes and put some turf on the embers. In a short while, a good hot fire is blazing. The hard black turf burns well in grates and ranges.

Occasionally, the turf cutter has the thrill of finding a lump of bog butter, which at first is quite soft, but soon hardens on exposure to the air. Or he may even find some ancient weapon or even an ancient gold ornament. The National Museum in Dublin has many valuable articles found in bogs.

Were it not for turf, many Irish homes would be without fires. Saving it means hard work, but the peacefulness and the balmy air of the bogs are healthy and rewarding. And then, too, the satisfaction of having saved one's own fuel fills one with pleasure and thanksgiving that our land provides a worthy substitute for coal.