86 



ness increasing, in the best peat, until it acquires almost the black- 

 ness of coal : at the same time it becomes a hard, tough, weighty 

 mass, very difficult to be cut or even broken ; and which, in general, 

 contains many remains of vegetable matter. It absorbs water, and 

 retains it so strongly, as to be found almost always in a wet state, 

 in its natural situation ; hence, when near the surface, it forms bogs, 

 which are exceedingly dangerous to such animals as attempt to pass 

 over them. The best peat is smooth, and cuts clean with the peat- 

 spade, being almost of the consistence of soap. 



Like clay that has been burned, peat, on being dried, loses the 

 property of forming a tenacious mass, by the addition of water. 

 When properly dried, which is accomplished, by cutting it into 

 square pieces of the size of a brick, and exposing it to the conjoint 

 action of the sun and air, the peat becomes a very combustible sub- 

 stance ; burning, when pure, with a clear bright flame, and yeild- 

 ing a hard firm charcoal, which burns with a vivid glow, until re- 

 duced to a very small portion of very light and white ash. Some- 

 times it contains small branches and twigs, in which the woody 

 fibres still possess so much of their original state, as to give consi- 

 derable resistance to the peat-spade. Oftentimes it appears to be a 

 composition of the roots, branches, twigs, and leaves of trees, various 

 parts of plants, grass, straw, &c. but little altered in their form, al- 

 though in their nature, they are now rendered entirely different 



The varieties here enumerated, appear to be the consequences of 

 different degrees of perfection, to which the natural process, to 

 which these substances have been exposed, has proceeded. But it 

 is not the smaller and the less hard parts of vegetables only, which 

 are thus found imbedded ; since, frequently, large trees are found in 

 different parts of the peat, increasing the expense and adding to 

 the trouble of the peat-digger, by the obstacles they yield to his 

 operations. 



Other varieties, in its appearance, are frequently observable ; de~ 



