254 THORODDSEX 



eruptions have constantly been influencing the soil-formation, peat 

 is rare. In the peat there often occur quantities of stems, roots 

 and branches of Betula odorata, and Francis J. Lewis 1 has found 

 remains of Betnla verrucosa in peat-bogs in South Iceland. Even 

 in districts where birch-copses no longer thrive, as e. g. on Horn- 

 strandir north of Jokulfirdir, birch-stems are found in the peat bogs. 

 The Icelandic peat is largely utilized as fuel, and as regards its 

 fuel-value it compares favourably with peat from other countries, * 

 only the amount of ash is rather considerable, especially in peat 

 from South Iceland, perhaps on account of the presence of volcanic 

 ashes and blown sand. In the Icelandic peat-bogs there usually 

 occur several, or a few, bands of volcanic ash of various thickness, 

 usually basaltic ashes, but yellowish liparitic pumice -ash occurs 

 also. In districts situated in the neighbourhood of active volcanoes 

 the ash-bands in the bogs are very numerous. Bog iron-ore occurs 

 also in the Icelandic bogs; in some places in rather considerable 

 quantities. In olden times it was much used by the inhabitants, 

 and tor the smelting of the iron many coppice woods were destroyed. 

 Parts of various boggy stretches wet meadows have great 

 economic importance, and the hay (uthey) is largely used as fodder 

 for sheep and cattle, especially as winter fodder for horses and 

 sheep; the best part of it, only, is used for the cows, which live 

 mainly upon hay from the home -fields (tun-hay). In 1910 about 

 14,300 tons (each ton 1000 kg.) of this uthey were harvested. Of 

 the largest and most productive meadows of this kind may be 

 mentioned Hvanneyri in the district of Borgarfjord, Forin in Olfus 

 and Safamyri in Holt. At the mouths of various large glacier-rivers 

 are large and very fertile stretches of meadow-land, which either 

 constantly or else at times are flooded by glacier water, e. g. in 

 Lon in East Iceland, at Hvanneyri in Borgarfjord, and in several 

 other places where a kind of marsh is formed by the deposited 

 glacier-clay which contains fertilizing substances; in such places 

 the river-water is no longer very cold, and has a very slight current 

 or none at all. In water from Icelandic rivers the following sub- 

 stances of use for plant-food were found: the figures given are those 

 for five million pounds of water (one pound = half kg.). 3 



F. J. Lewis: Stratification of Peat Deposits in Iceland (Transactions of the 

 Koyal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. 47, Part IV (No. 26), Edinburgh, 1911. pp. 827 831). 



Analyses of Icelandic peat by A. Torfason are found in Eimreidin, XI 

 (190!i), pp. 4041, and in Bunaoarrit, XX (1906), pp. 116119. 



The analyses are found in P. Feilberg: Gnesbrug paa Island. 1897, p. 22;. 



