531 



BOG 



DOID.E. 



gradually raised above the edges until the wbula surface had aluiued 

 an deration mfficient to discharge the surfaoe-wator by existing chan- 

 nels of drainage, and calculated by iU alop to facilitate their paatage, 

 whan a limit would ba in nuuie degree set to its further increase." 



Acourding to the penonal obeerratiuni of Mr. Griffiths, made during 

 many yean, the growth of turf in these bog* U very rapid, amounting 

 sometime* to two inches in depth in one year : thin however U stated 

 to be an excessive growth under peculiarly favourable circumstances. 



The rooU which were attached to the ground decay, and the whole 

 of the iuriace become* a floating mass of long interlaced fibre* 

 which when taken out ha* been significantly called in Ireland ' Old 

 Wire*' Tow.' The black mass of the bog IB a mud almost entirely 

 formed of decomposed vegetable fibres, but not of sufficient specific 

 gravity to sink to the bottom ; thus producing that semi-liquid state 

 which distinguishes a quaking bog from a peat-moss. The vegetation 

 which continues on the surface and at some depth below has the 

 appearance of a fine green turf. In many casos the roots are so matted 

 together and so strong as to form a web capable of bearing the gentle 

 and light tread of a man accustomed to walk over bogs, bending and 

 waving under him without breaking ; and-while a person unskilfully 

 attempting to walk upon it would infallibly break through and be 

 plunged in the bog like a venturous skater on unsound ice, the prac- 

 tised ' bog-trotter ' with proper precautions passes over them in safety. 

 Thi* has often been of considerable advantage in war or in the pursuit 

 of illegal employments. The fugitive escapes over his native bogs 

 where the pursuer cannot venture to follow, or if he does he generally 

 pays the penalty of his ignorance or rashness by sinking in them. 

 Many examples of this were witnessed in Ireland during the last rebel- 

 lion, and many bodies have been found in bogs years after, preserved 

 from decay and tanned in a manner by the astringent principle which 

 is always found where vegetable fibre has been decomposed under 

 wv. r. 



When bogs become consolidated or compressed they are called 

 Peat-Mosses. The consolidation here mentioned must be carried to 

 a considerable extent before the soil is capable of sustaining such a 

 growth of timber as it is seen to have frequently borne. 



An extensive tract of peat-moss (Chat-Moss) in the county of Lan- 

 caster attracted public attention some years ago, from the circumstance 

 of the Liverpool and Manchester railway having been carried through 

 it The length of Chat-Moss is about 6 miles, its greatest breadth 

 about 3 miles, and iU depth varies from 10 to upwards of 30 feet, the 

 whole of which is pure vegetable matter throughout, without the 

 slightest mixture of sand, gravel, or other material. On the surface 

 it is light and fibrous, but it becomes more dense below. At a con- 

 siderable depth it is found to be black, compact, and heavy, and in 

 some respects resembles coal : it is in fact exactly similar to the 

 composition of the bogs of Ireland, as already described. 



The Moss is bounded on all sides by ridges of rolled stones mixed 

 with clay, which prevent the immediate discharge of its waters. It 

 is probable that this bar, by interrupting the course of the waters, 

 originally caused the growth of Chat-Moss. This moss presents at its 

 edges nearly an upright face ; the spongy surface of the moss being 

 elevated at a very short distance from the edge from 10 to 20 feet 

 above the level of the immediately adjoining loud. The immediate 

 substratum to the bog is a bed of silicious wind, which varies from 

 one to five feet in thickness, below which is a bed of bluish and some- 

 times reddish clay marl of excellent quality. This marl varies in 

 thickness very considerably ; in some parts it is not more than three 

 feet, in others its depth has not been ascertained ; below the marl is 

 a bed of sandstone-gravel of unknown thickness. It is this bed of 

 gravel which extends beyond the edge of the bog, and prevents the 

 direct discharge of the waters from the flat country to the north into 

 the river IrweU. (See Camden's remarks on this Moss, in his ' Britan- 

 nia,' voL ii. p. 966, Gibson's edition.) 



About 1797 the late Mr. Roscoe of Liverpool began to improve 

 Traflbrd-Moss, a tract of 300 acres, lying 2 miles east of Chat-Moss, 

 which operation was so successful as to encourage him to proceed 

 with the improvement of Chat-Moss, the most extensive lowland bog 

 in Kngland, including 7000 acres. After making a great variety of 

 experiments Mr. Roscoe gave it as his decided opinion " that the best 

 method of improving moss-land is that of the application of a calca- 

 reous substance, in sufficient quantity to convert the moss into a soil, 

 and by the occasional use of animal or other extraneous manures, 

 such as the course of cultivation and the nature of the crops may be 

 fniiiid to require." 



In June 1833 an ancient wooden house was discovered in Drum- 

 kelin liog, in the county of Donegal in Ireland. The framework of 

 the house was very firmly put together, without any iron ; the roof 

 was flat and made of thick oak planks. The house was 12 feet square 

 and 9 feet high : it consisted of two noon one above the other, each 

 about 4 feet high ; one side of the house was entirely open. The 

 whole stood on a thick layer of sand spread on the bog, which con- 

 tinues to the depth of 15 feet below the foundation of the house. On 

 the same level an the foundation of the house stumps of oak trees 

 were found standing, just such as had supplied the timber of the 

 house; and beneath all this there are still IS feet of peat. 



Bogs not unfrequently burst out and suddenly cover large tracts. 

 This phenomenon happened in 1835 in Ireland, on a part of Lord 



O'Neill's estate, on the Ballymena road, in the neighbourhood of 

 Randalstown. On the I'.'ili Si p(< mber an individual near the ground 

 was surprised )>y hearing a rumbling noise as if under the earth, and 

 immediately after a portion of the bog moved forward a few perches, 

 when it exhibited a broken rugged appearance, with a soft peaty 

 substance boiling up through the chinks. It remained in this state 

 until the 22nd, when it again moved suddenly forward, covering corn- 

 fields, potato-fields, turf-stacks, hay-ricks, Ac. The noise made by its 

 burst was so loud as to alarm the inhabitants adjuinin.-. \\li ..u 

 perceiving the flow of the bog immediately fled. It directed it* 

 course towards the river Maine which lay below it ; and so great was 

 its force that the moving mass was carried a considerable way across 

 the river. Owing to the heavy rain which hud f.illi n for some time 

 previously, the river forced its channel through the matter deposited 

 in its bed, and considerable damage was thus obviated which would 

 otherwise have occurred from the forcing back of the waters. 



The Irish Amelioration Society, the British and Irish Peat Company, 

 and other associations, have of late years been engaged in converting 

 turf and peat into charcoal and other products. Charcoal from turf 

 and peat to a considerable amount has already been made in Ireland. 

 There are two methods of carbonising the turf or peat, either to 

 subject it to heat in close vessels, by which the other products are 

 saved as well as the carbon, or to pile it in heaps and apply heat, in the 

 same manner as for wood-charcoal The beating in close vessels is 

 expensive, and there is not sufficient compensation in the distilled 

 products. The acetic acid and the tar are generally small in quantity 

 and the gases are deficient in illuminating power : hence the charcoal 

 is the only product of much value. The charcoal obtained is frmu 

 80 to 40 per cent, of the weight of the dry turf. The more economical 

 mode of piling up the turf in heaps has hitherto been found prefer- 

 able. The sods are regularly arranged, and laid as close as possible ; 

 they are better for being Urge, say 15 inches long, 6 inches broad, and 

 5 inches deep. The heaps are built henuspherically, and are smaller 

 than thorn) of wood. The mass is allowed to heat more than is necessary 

 for wood, and the process is very carefully attended to, on account of the 

 great combustibility of the material. The quantity of charcoal obtained 

 by this method U from 25 to 30 per cent, of the weight of dry turf. 

 The charcoal so obtained is very light and very inflammable, and 

 possesses nearly the volume of the turf. It usually burns with a 

 slight flame, as the volatile matters are not entirely expelled. 

 A specimen subjected to analysis gave the following result : 



Carbon 89"90 



Hydrogen 1-70 



Oxygen and Nitrogen . . . .4-20 

 Ashes 4-20 



100-00 



For many industrial purposes charcoal so prepared U too liglit. Imt 

 compressed turf converted into charcoal may attain a density far 

 superior to wood-charcoal, and even equal to that of the best coke 

 obtained from coal. 



It is of peculiar importance in the preparation of charcoal from 

 turf that the material selected should be as free as possible from 

 impurities. Surface-turf generally contains less than 10 per cent, of 

 ash, whilst that of the dense turf of the lower strata sometimes 

 contains from 20 to 30 per cent, a quantity which renders it unfit 

 for most practical purposes, 



BOG-IKON-ORE, a loose earthy ore of iron, consisting of Peroxide 

 of Iron and water. It is of a brownish-black colour, and occurs in 

 low boggy grounds. 



BOG-MANGANESE, a native 1ml rated Peroxide of Manganese; 

 also called Wad. 



BOGMARUS, a genus of Fishes, to which the Vaagmaer, or Deal- 

 Fish is referred by Schneider under the sj>ecific title of U. Iriandifiu. 



[TRACHYWKRU8.1 



BOG-MYRTLE. [MTKICA.] 



BOHEMIAN CHATTERER. [BOMBYCH.LA.] 



BOHEMIAN WAX WINii. [BoMBYcn.i.A.J 



Hi )1 D.-K, the fourth family of the second order (Ojihulia) of Reptiles. 

 This family is known by the following technical characters: The 

 ventral shields narrow (except in Solycria), transverse, baud-like, often 

 six-sided ; the hinder limbs developed under the skin, formed of 

 several bones and ending in an cxHcrted homy spine, placed one on 

 each side of the vent ; the tail short, generally prehensile ; the pupil 

 oblong, erect (except in Turtrir). 



The species live in marshy places. Fixing themselves by the tail to 

 some aquatic tree, they allow themselves to float, and thus entrap their 

 prey. They are without venom, the absence of which is amply com- 

 pensated by immense muscular power, enabling come of tin- sj .-i. -. 

 to kill large animals by constriction, preparatory to swallowing them 

 whole. 



There are few fables which have not some truth for their origin. 

 The voyages of Sinbad have become proverbial ; but the stories of 

 the monstrous serpents in the valley of diamonds, and of the "serpent 

 of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling as he 

 wound himself along," that swallowed up two of his companions, 

 probably had their foundation in traditions of the size and strength 

 of a family of serpents belonging to the Old World, but nearly allied 



