A sign of the times is now to be observed in some of the streets of the East-end.  Vendors of peat, loose or pressed into lumps, are met , wheeling their hand barrows, with displayed announcements -- "Burn peat",  "Save your coal."  From the appearance, the quality does not seem to be of very high merit, though it may burn tolerably well and act as a substitute for coal in the fireplaces of the poor.
 
Mould with an admixture of coal dust, or "slack" is being used to a considerable extent in some districts throughout the country, but the poor cannot now, as formerly, procure much of that article in London.
 
The first large supply of prepared peat for the London market is expected shortly, as extensive operations are being carried on in the West of England and in Ireland.  This may probably have some effect in assisting the downward tendency in the price of coal.