[ganong] peat bogs OF NEW BRUNSWICK 181 



There seem to be no re^-ular outlets foi- water from the bog. unless u 

 series of remarkable holes on the slopes of the Seely's Cove bog", but 

 found upon it only, are of that nature. (See tig. ;}). These are of various 

 sizes, from 30 by 12 feet down to a few inches. They are a foot or two 

 deep, have perfectly level bottoms of black muck, sometimes so dry as to 

 crack in the sun, in others moist, and in others covered with water, the 

 latter being at the lower and the former at higher levels. Nothing what- 

 ever grows on the bottoms, except that a bright red Sphagnum grows 

 out from the banks in places, forming over the muck a thin radiating 

 carpet which one can roll up. for it has for some distance from the tips 

 no roots into the bottom. The banks go down very steeply, and in places- 

 islands of moss have tioated away from them and lie in such a position 

 as to make it evident that at some times the holes contain water. There is a 

 suggestion in them of the presence of something inimical to the Sphagnum, 

 and one wonders whether they may not be places where springs of linie- 

 cariying water l>reak through, bvit in most of them the sounding iron 

 showed depths of 10 or more feet of moss-peat. They do not com- 

 municate with one another, nor have they outlets, and if they are out- 

 lets for water they must be used onl}^ at certain seasons. These appear 

 to be the ])laces spoken of by Blytt (2 b, p. 81), who considers them evi- 

 dences of the drying u]) of the bog, but this does not ex])lain them. 



The temperature of the bogs is well known to be low, and the expres- 

 sion, •' cold bigs," is frequent in our floras. No measurements of tem- 

 perature, however, are known to me. though thej^ have undoubtedly been 

 made. The European students of the bogs seem to consider the low tem- 

 perature as due to evaporation Irom the immense number of tiny leaves, 

 etc., but this seemed to me altogether inadequate. I have supposed it 

 due rather to a persistence of the winter cold, which in such a huge non- 

 conducting mass would last through the summei'. It is easy to test these 

 two hypotheses, for if the former be true there should be little change in 

 the temperature conditions after the summer average is once attained, or 

 even the bog might be somewhat lower in temperature when the season 

 is hottest, and hence evaporation most active ; if the latter be true the 

 bog should steadily rise in temperature through the summer. To test 

 this, very careful temperature measurements were made on the Lepreau 

 bog with the following results, fiood standard chemical centigrade 

 thermometers, carefully selected, wei'e used.' The station shown at B- 

 on Fig. 2, was placed on a typical part of the raised bog. The thermome- 

 ter over the hos, was well shaded from the sun. 



1 They were set in nockets in slender wooden stakes, pushed down to the proper 

 depths. They were read by rapidly pulling up the stakes and observing them before 

 the warmer air had time to alTeot tliem. 



