dug from a PeaUMoss in Ayrshire. 55 



that the sleiii liad originally been of greater length than we 

 found it. But of course this is only conjecture. 



As I was anxious to preserve this memorial of the ancient 

 forests of Scotland, I had it cut into pieces and removed to near 

 my residence, at the distance of three miles. The upper entire 

 part was then again united, by enlarging the hollow in its cen- 

 tre and fitting into it a strong square piece of timber. We at- 

 tempted to raise it on its end by means of pullies and proper 

 tackle ; but from its great weight, and from the unfavourable 

 :position in which it lay, we failed till we first raised it to the 

 sloping posture by means of levers. It was then elevated by 

 the strength of above twenty men, assisted by pullies fixed to a 

 neighbouring large tree. The entire part of the tree now stands 

 erect. The decayed part is placed extending horizontally from 

 it. 



I am quite sensible that we have authentic accounts of trees 

 being found in mosses in Scotland, of greater length and cir- 

 cumference than the one which was found at Barhill, but I am 

 not aware of any record where a trunk of large size is said to 

 have been so entirely and so extensively covered with bark as 

 this one was. The entire state of one part of this tree affords, 

 therefore, a proper basis for reasoning ; at all events, I conceive 

 that several conclusions may be fairly formed from this decayed 

 tree, and from the situation in which it was found. 



The peat moss formed dijlat circular surface, containing about 

 five acres, surrounded by dry gravelly ground. This margin 

 gradually rose from the level surface of the moss on all sides, 

 except at one point where a most abundant stream of water 

 issued. Around the edge of the moss there were several other 

 trunks of oak trees covered with the peat, but no one of these 

 was at all equal to the one which has been described. It appears 

 probable, therefore, that this oak tree, along with others, origi- 

 nally grew on the dry margin of a small shallow lake ; that, from 

 various causes, it, along with the rest, had fallen into the lake ; 

 that it had gradually become covered and embalmed in aquatic 

 plants, so as ultimately to fill up completely the hollow with 

 peat moss. We cannot account for the entire preservation of 

 the tree immersed in the moss, on any other principle than that 

 it had fallen into water, and become gradually covered with aqua- 



