THE QUESTION. 323 



WHAT IB PEAT ? 



There are few persons in Massachusetts who could not readily 

 furnish an answer to this question ; hut, as there are several 

 kinds of peat, varying in quality for fuel purposes as much as 

 the several kinds of wood, it will he proper to descrihe them, so 

 that the possessor of a hog may he ahle the hotter to judge of 

 its value. 



The peat deposits of Massachusetts are most commonly com- 

 posed of aquatic grasses, mosses and other plants in a state of 

 partial decomposition ; and they arc never found upon localities 

 which are not, or which have not been, at some previous time, 

 subject to the overflow of water. Both the plant and the root 

 of the plant enter into the composition of the material. With 

 each successive year the process of growth and partial decay 

 goes on. The winter snows, the autumnal rains and the spring 

 freshets help to consolidate the mass, and in course of time, 

 where the location is favorable, these deposits attain the depth 

 of many feet. It would be a mistake to suppose, however, that 

 all the peat, even in the same location, possesses the same degree 

 of density. Sometimes several distinct strata will be found 

 upon the same bog ; and it is by no means uncommon to find a 

 light and spongy deposit of several feet in thickness near the 

 surface ; another of much greater density below it, and still 

 another below that and near the bottom, which, when dried, 

 becomes as light and fibrous as hay or straw. 



The lighter peats, by reason of their rapid combustion and 

 want of substance, do not afford a strong fire, and when not 

 artificially mingled and consolidated with the more substantial 

 portions of the bog, will hardly pay the cost of working. 



Besides the variety of peat referred to above, deposits are not 

 unfrequently found in the State, where ligneous substances pre- 

 dominate ; and we have observed at Edgar town, and in some 

 parts of Worcester County, deposits of several acres in extent, 

 and of great depth and density, in which the peat seems to have 

 been formed chiefly from the bark, limbs and trunks of trees. 

 This description of peat is accounted the most valuable ; and, 

 where the pine predominates, it is said to take fire more readily, 

 produce more heat, and maintain its combustion for a longer 

 time than any other. 



