TURF, a brown or blackish fossil, consisting of a rich earth combined with the fibrous roots of vegetables, mineral oils, &c.
Turf differs from peat, only in its harder consistence; the latter being obtained from peat-bogs, and the former is dug out of more solid ground, such as dry commons, on which cottagers exercise the right of turbary, by prescription: both species are chiefly used as fuel, in those counties where coal and wood are scarce. After the turf or peat are consumed, their ashes are employed either as Manure, or they may be advantageously strewed on land infected with Chafers. See vol. i. p. 485.—Farther, it appears from the experiment of M. Sage, that turf may be charred, or reduced to a state of cinder, in the same manner as Charcoal; and thus serve as an excellent substitute for the latter; because it not only burns with a more intense heat, but is also of a longer duration.