ISO ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



of the highest part, and it is fairly wet over mucli of the Carex bog north 

 of D. In general it becomes drier south and east from this part. The 

 explanation, probably, is that the storage basin from which the main 

 sujjply comes is under the part northwest of X. and from it the water 

 works out to the other parts. Perhaps a channel connects with the wet 

 area at C, though this may be another basin. This is confirmed by the 

 depths, which are greatest over the northwestern part. The wet strip at 

 E, probably, is caused by the stoppage of the s]n-eading of the water by 

 the high land. At the Seely's Cove bog there ai'e, probabl}', two basins 

 under the two Carex parts. It may be a general rule that the wettest 

 places are over the basins, and these would usually be the highest parts. 

 An important feature of water supply, on which I have no data, is 

 the relation of varying quantities upon the height of the bogs. Is the 

 bog higher in a wet year, or series of years, than in drier tiuies ? It 

 seems probable ; and, if well marked, and cycles of drier alternate with 

 wetter j^ears, they might periodically increase and recede as the glaciers 

 do in Europe, and for a similar reason. If they are now increasing, we 

 would have an explanation for the belief of the dwellers in their vicinity 

 that they are rapidly growing in height. This is universally asserted by 

 them, and each one has a favourite illustration to otter in evidence. There 

 are, however, sudden variations in height, as the following fact will show : 

 On September -Ith, in the evening, a stake was set on the edge of the bog, 

 near A, on the Lepreau bog, and di-iven into it four or five feet, and 

 so adjusted that by standing in a certain position upon it, I could just see 

 the top of a newl}' shingled b.irn beyond the bog, in the direction P (fig. 

 2;. This was to give a basis for measurements to be made another year. 

 The next morning, after a frosty night, on trying again to see the barn, 

 it wa'^ not visible, and it required an elevation of nine inches above the 

 stake before it could be seen. As there was no possibility of settling of 

 the stake, the bog must have risen in the night. As the distance of the 

 barn and of the part of the bog intercepting the view were unknown, the 

 rise could not be exactly calculated, but it must have been three or four 

 inches. An intei'esting problem is thus opened up. Possibly the warmth 

 of the rising sun, after the cool evening, had something to do with it, or 

 possibly a change of bai'ometric pressure may allow the elastic mass to 

 rise. That day a storm gathered, which broke the following day.' 



1 In July, 1«!)7, I built a stand near A (Fig. 2), supported on the tirni earth, and 

 by sliding sights tried to measure and determine the cause of the rise and fall of the 

 surface. I .«ettled that it does rise and fall a few inches witliin a few hours, but in 

 spite of carefjil observations, I could not tell to what it is due. It seems not to be 

 connected with the height of the barometer. In general it seemed to rise in bright 

 sunlight and to fall in the evening and in dark weather. The whole question of 

 this mov.'ment, as well as that of water levels and temperatures in these bogs, oflfers 

 some line problems in physics. 



