1<S96.] FAIKCHII.l) AND liAKNlIM— PINNACLK PKAT MARSH. 20^ 



what was believed to be, from examination made at the time, a 

 seed of the bassvvood. Unfortunately this was broken in the examin- 

 ation and the parts lost. At six feet ele\en inches was found a 

 stick about one and one-half inches in diameter, with the bark 

 intact, which was supposed to be a branch of yellow birch. At 

 a depth of about ten feet, and extending- obliquely downward, 

 occurred a tree limb about four inches in diameter. This was identi- 

 fied by Professor W. W. Rowlee, of Cornell L'nixersity, from 

 specimens sent him, as Acer nibrjcm. Several specimens of peat were 

 also sent to Professor Rowlee, who reported that the specimen taken 

 from a 'depth of nine feet contained leaves and stems of the large 

 cranberry ( Vaccinmm macrocarpoti) . These stems penetrate to some 

 extent throughout the mass. Perhaps the two streaks of stems and 

 roots mentioned above are the result of the cranberry having had 

 complete possession of the bog at periods corresponding to those 

 layers. It may also be added that Mr. Gardiner, who has charge of 

 the grounds containing the marsh, states that he has dug cranberry 

 plants from this bog for shipment. 



Professor Rowlee also states that intact specimens of the roots of 

 a sedge (probably Carex filiforrnis) were found in the peat, and that 

 the minute fibers which are so abundant as to he the main material 

 are the vascular elements of similar rootstalks. 



An analysis of the peat made by Mr. Edward Hirshfield for the 

 percentage of absorbed moisture and ash gives the following results : 



Moisture. Ash. 



Specimen A, from surface, 14.47^/ 2.15',!^ 



" B, " a lower depth, 14.23,"^ 3.05^ 



" C, " still deeper, 14.51'^ 5-o8fc 



The basin occupied by this peat marsh is of the kind character- 

 istic of glacial deposits, and known as "kettles." The form and 

 relation of the ridges surrounding the basin together with the depth 

 of the latter suggest that it was probably the locus of a buried ice 

 block. 



The ridges about the basin are gravel and sand, but evidently the 

 bottom and walls are of less pervious materials. The bottom may 

 not be far above the limestone rock and must be floored by either 

 rock or till. The basin was probably at first a lakelet with level 

 perhaps below the present top of the marsh. Higher accumulation of 

 the peat seems to have been prevented by the inability of the basin 



