426 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Bec. 



also on tlie Le Breton Flat, in which locality they possess no small 

 degree of interest, and have called forth considerable remark, 

 owing to several of them appearing as natural wells. Of these, 

 the one most recently discovered is in the foundation just excavated 

 by Mr. Richards, Chaudiere, near the residence of the Hon. 

 James Skead. It was exposed after the removal of a bed of 

 alluvium, about two feet in thickness, and was filled above for two 

 feet with drift material, containing numerous recent shells ; and 

 below, with sand, pebbles and boulders of various sizes. These 

 being all removed, the dimensions were shown to be in diameter 

 three feet, and in depth thirteen feet. At present this pot-hole 

 is filled with pure water, of excellent quality. Within the last 

 few weeks several hundreds have visited this interesting locality, 

 and a few have taken away a portion of the water, from a belief 

 that it possessed medicinal properties, but in my opinion its pro- 

 perties are equal to those of any other well in that locality, but 

 not superior. A pot-hole in the floom of Mr. Perley's mills, is 

 ten feet in diameter, and fifteen to twenty feet deep. — Extracted 

 from a lecture on the Geological Structure of the Ottawa, read 

 hefore the Ottaioi Natural History Society. 



ON PEAT AND ITS USES. 



By T. S. Hunt, A.M., F.R.S. 



The peat dep3sits of Canada have been made the subject of re- 

 peated notice in successive Annual Reports of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, and are at length attracting the attention of practical men. 

 A few years since attempts were made by Mr. C. M. Tate to work 

 the peat of Chambly, which were partially successful ; and more 

 recently we learn that Mr. Hodges, having purchased a large area 

 ©f peat-bog in Bulstrode, on or near the line of the Arthabaska 

 railway, has imported machinery of the most approved construction, 

 for the purpose of compressing the peat for fuel. We think there- 

 fore that the following pages extracted from ''Geology of Canada" 

 published in 1863, will not be without interest to our readers, as 

 d. -scribing both the principal applications of peat, and some of its 

 localities in Canada. 



Great deposits of peat are met with in various parts of Eastern 

 Canada, which seems to present conditions of soil and climate 

 peculiarly favorable to its growth and accumulation. The peat- 



