BOGS IN A BOG 



QOME really remarkable objects are so familiar as to attract 

 *^ no especial notice. An excellent illustration of this 

 statement is found in certain small knolls which occur In wet 

 lands. In parts of the United States and in England such 

 hummocks are known as bogs, though this term, by common 

 consent, is more usually applied to the regions in which such 

 bogs are found. Doubtless the original bog-trotter was found 

 stepping from hummock to hummock in order to keep his feet 

 dry when crossing the bog. At any rate, this is one of the 

 uses of this kind of bog at present. 



The exact cause of such elevations above the general 

 level of swamp and bog does not seem to be known. Physio- 

 graphers and ecologists are equally reticent concerning them. 

 Among country people they are usually assumed to be due to 

 the trampling of cattle, but such causes are not likely to produce 

 the regularly rounded forms shown in our illustration. Ecolo- 

 gists incline to attribute the hummocks to the activities of 

 various species of plants. Several wet ground species tend to 



