THE STORY OF COAL 



517 



die and fall into water, they undergo changes but not the 

 changes that occur in air. Most of the carbon, which in 

 the air would be oxidized into carbon dioxide, is preserved 

 under water. 



Where vegetation grows, dies, and falls into water year 

 after year for great lengths of time, the plant remains will 



DIGGING PEAT IN IRELAND 



gradually accumulate until they fill the swamps in which 

 they have grown or the lakes which they have bordered. 

 This explains the formation of great peatbogs in Ireland 

 and in other parts of the world. Some of the peatbogs 

 of Ireland are more than forty feet deep, and the spongy 

 peat when cut and dried furnishes the most widely used 



