156 A, EF. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands; Geology. 
The lower portions of these peat beds must be of great age, while 
the upper portions are very modern, A careful exploration of the 
lower parts might afford the remains of plants, birds, insects, snails, 
etc, which are now extinct in Bermuda. The only records that I 
have seen in regard to this is the statement that cedar trees five feet 
in diameter have been found buried in the peat, but this is not much 
larger than some found growing by the earliest settlers. The peat 
of these bogs is not composed, to any great extent, of the remains of 
Sphagnum and other mosses,* as in cold climates, but mainly of the 
leaves, stems, and roots of larger plants, such as several large ferns 
that grow luxuriantly, and to the height of 6 to 8 feet,t reeds, 
sedges, palmetto, cedar, with vines and shrubs of various kinds. 
(See figure 440.) 
This peat, where purest, resembles superficially the ordinary peat 
of colder climates, and burns equally well when dried. In some 
localities it has been dug for a fertilizer. I am not aware that its 
microscopic structure has been studied by any one for scientific pur- 
poses. Eventually it may yield many facts of much scientific inter- 
est. The deposition of peat in some of the swamps is still going on, 
but in many places the swamps have been partially or wholly drained 
and are now cultivated. 
Additional note on Bottom Deposits. 
Chapter 22 was in type long before I had seen the following 
valuable paper :—The Shoal Water Deposits of the Bermuda Banks, 
Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sci., xl, No. 15, 1905, pp. 559-592. 
(Cont. from Berm. Biolog. Sta., No. 5.) By Henry B. Bigelow. 
In this work the author has given a pretty detailed account of the 
character of the bottom deposits that he examined from numerous 
localities, representing about all the varieties of bottom to be found, 
within the outer reefs. His results agree pretty closely with my 
own, though he found foraminifera more abundant in several places 
* Several species of such mosses do occur, though of relatively small impor- 
tance. Among them are: Sphagnum cymbifolium, S. cuspidatwm, and Isop- 
terygium tenerum, 
+ Among the larger and more abundant swamp ferns are Acrostichum aureum, 
Pteris aquilina, Osmunda regalis, O. cinnamomea, Woodwardia virginica, Aspi- 
dium coriaceum. See also, ‘‘ The Bermuda Islands,” pp. 162-166, for some of 
the rarer species. ; 
{ For section at Ireland Island, showing ancient submerged bed of peat, see 
figure 58. 
