PEAT BOGS AND TURBARIES. 



99 



" Peat," according to the definition given by Mr. Park- 

 inson, " is a congeries of various sorts of vegetables 

 collected in water, which to the last degree of their de- 

 composition, retain their combustible property, and may be 

 deemed a secondary fossil." 



" Peat," says Professor Brande, " is a superficial Stratum 

 of vegetable matter, which at difFerent depths is under- 

 going, or has undergone various stages of change and 

 decomposition. Its superficial appearance is that of a mass 

 of half-decayed mosses, rushes, heath, and grass. The 

 roots having successlvely died away, though the upper 

 part of the plant coutinucd to vegetate. The mass is 

 ligneous, and imbued with humus and humic aeid, among 

 other producta of slow decay ; and the abundance of 

 moisture pervading the bog reflects the character at once 

 of the peat and of the district." 



" The Upper layers of the bog are usually loose and 

 fibrous, and of a pale brown colour. Beneath the surface 

 the density is found to increase, sometimes to a great ex- 

 tent. At length, the distinct characters of the vegetables 

 cease to be discernible, and the mass appears nearly 

 homogeneous, and of a dark brown or blackish colour. 

 Trunks of trees, and some geological phenomena occa- 

 sionally present themselves." 



Peat may be rendered val nable either from the char- 

 coal which may be obtained from it, and by the various 

 products derivable from what is called its destructive dis- 

 tillation. The Clements of peat are essentially those of 

 wood and coal, viz., carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and 

 oxygen ; and when distilled in close vessels, the products 

 obtained would, as might be expected, rcsemble the pro- 

 ducts of a similar Operation on wood and coal. The 

 efficiency of this charcoal in the manufacture of iron, in 



