THE THIED ZONE. 43 



country. Amid them are numerous swamps or morasses. One 

 of great size, extending to not less than forty miles from north 

 to south, and twenty-live in its greatest width, is called the 

 Great Dismal Swamp. The soil, black as in a peat-bog, is 

 covered with all kinds of aquatic trees and shrubs ; yet, 

 strange to say, instead of being lower than the level of the 

 surrounding country, it is in the centre higher than towards 

 its margin ; indeed, from three sides of the swamp the waters 

 actually flow into different rivers at a considerable rate. 

 Probably the centre of the morass is not less than twelve feet 

 above the flat country around it. Here and there some 

 ridges of dry land appear, like low islands, above the general 

 surface. On the west, however, the ground is higher, and 

 streams flow into the swamj), but they are free from sediment, 

 and consequently bring down no liquid mire to add to its 

 substance. The soil is formed completely of vegetable matter, 

 without any admixture of earthy particles. In many even 

 of the softest parts juniper- trees stand firmly fixed by their 

 long tap roots, affording a dark shade, beneath which numer- 

 ous ferns, reeds, and shrubs, together with a thick carpet of 

 mosses, flourish, protected from the rays of the sun. Here and 

 there also large cedars and other deciduous trees have grown up. 

 The black soil formed beneath, increased by the rottmg vegeta- 

 tion, is quite unlike the peat of Europe, as the plants become 

 so decayed as to leave no traces of organization. Frequently 

 the trees are overthrown, and numbers are found lying beneath 

 the surface of the soil, where, covered with water, they never 

 decompose. So completely preserved are they, that they are 

 frequently sawn uj) into planks. In one part of the Dismal 

 Swamp there is a lake seven miles in length, and more than 

 five wide, with a forest growing on its banks. The water is 



