i9iq1 RIGG b- THOMPSON —BOG WATER 377 



One means used in the Puget Sound region for bringing these 

 bogs into cultivation is to drain them, scalp off and remove the 

 living vegetation at the surface to a depth of 8 or 10 inches, and 

 then stir up and aerate the partially decayed matter underneath. 

 It seems probable that the success of this plan finds its explanation 

 largely in the removal of much of the toxic material in draining 

 off the water, and the oxidation of the remainder to non-toxic 

 compounds when the soil is exposed to the air. 



The work of Bottomley indicates that a substance or sub- 

 stances beneficial to the growth of higher plants and also increas- 

 ing the rate of nitrogen fixation by soil organisms results from the 

 action of aerobic soil organisms on sphagnum peat. To what 

 extent the beneficial effects of the aeration of bog soils may be 

 due to oxidation independent of organisms, and to what extent 

 it may be due to the action of organisms under the changed condi- 

 tions, have not been determined. It seems hkely that crop plants 

 in bogs that have been brought into cultivation are influenced 

 beneficially by these compounds. To what extent this beneficial 

 effect may result from actual use of these compounds as definite 

 constituents of plant foods, or to what extent it may be due to 

 their general catalytic effects or their part in certain definite types 

 of metaboHsm, is not known. Schroeder (18) found that the direct 

 application of peat alone to sandy soils gave increased yield of 

 crops, although still better results were obtained when lime and 

 stable drainings were used with the peat. Another practice for 

 bringing these bogs into cultivation is that of destroying the 

 surface vegetation by fixe during the dry season. Usually the 

 fire does not penetrate far into the sphagnum substratum because 

 of the moisture beneath. 



This practice results, of course, in the practically complete 

 oxidation of the material in the surface layer of the bog. The 

 preparation of the burned-over bog for the planting of crops 

 and the subsequent cultivation of these crops secure aeration and 

 consequent oxidation of the unburned material and also render 

 the soil lighter by mixing the ashes with it. The acidity of the 

 soil is neutralized to a considerable extent by the basic properties 

 of the ash when it goes into solution. 



