[ganong] 



PEAÏ BOGS OF NEW BRUNSWICK 



141 



I formerly supposed (U), nor the wetness of the bog, for lioih ol' these 

 conditions prevail in the flat bogs as well. There must be a cause con- 

 nected with physical conditions prevailing in the raised and not in the 

 flat bog, and we find such a diflference in the poverty of the raised bog in 

 mineral salts necessary for growth, particularly Potassium, Calcium and 

 Phosphorus, and the all-essential Nitrogen. All analyses emphasize the 

 ]>overty of the Hochmoorein these substances, and the following, abridged 

 from Baumann (1), is typical : * 



A kilogramme of dry peat, contained in grammes, from the 



It is well known that raised bogs form only over waters with little 

 lime-salts in solution, because the latter are inimical to the growth of 

 Sphagnum. The scarcit}' of Nitrogen compounds in the raised bogs is. 

 no doubt, connected with the scarcity, even the absence, of Bacteria from 

 the bog, which is shown by the entire absence of any decay, and caused, 

 doubtless, by an actively antiseptic quality of the bog water. As the 

 fixation of free nitrogen in the soil, and the transformations to bring- 

 nitrogen compounds into the nitrates utilizable by the plants are 

 eftected by Bacteria, their absence means depauperation ro higher vege- 

 tation. It is possible the Sphagnum can use simpler nitrogen com- 

 pounds than the other plants of the bog. 



Another peculiar nutrition-condition is the presence of mycorrhiza 

 on the roots of the dwarfed Larix Americana. As pulled from the bog. 

 the young roots, frequently in dense clusters, are at the tips swollen and 

 whitish, and under the microscope, in very thin sections, this appearance 

 is found to consist of the fine threads arranged as figured for mycorrhiza. 

 In the fresh moss there can hardly be an}- humus for this to absorb, and 

 another meaning may have to be found for it. 



The plants on the high bog put out both leaves and flowers later 

 than the same species on the flat bog. While Ledum, Kalmia, etc . are 

 in full bloom on the margin, they are only in bud on the raised pan. 

 This is probably due to the much slower warming up of the high bog in 

 spring, a fact proven by the temperature measurements to be given later. 

 It can hardly be connected with difficulty of obtaining minerals, for the 

 buds develop from mateiials laid up the year before. 



' Other figures of similar import are given by Drude in Botanisches Centraiblatt, 

 LXVIII. 173. 



Sec. IV., 1897. 8. 



