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deeper parts of the earth, is more firm, and is of much higher esti- 

 mation, than that which is found nearer the surface. 



The peat is, sometimes, found even near the surface, under 

 a slight covering of mould, formed by the more recent decompo- 

 sition of vegetable matter. Sometimes this surface is tolerably 

 well stocked with heath and other vegetables ; but more frequently 

 it presents to the eye an extensive barren flat moor, which, ex- 

 cept in the driest seasons, is so wet and spongy, as to be entirely 

 impassable. 



According to Dr. Anderson, well known for his vigilant atten- 

 tion to those circumstances, on which the comforts of humble life 

 depend, it is found at various depths, under strata differing very con- 

 siderably in their composition, thickness, and number. 



Peat, as Mr. Jameson observes, is most commonly to be found in 

 valleys and plains, where it forms very extensive beds ; varying in 

 their depth, from one foot to full forty feet. Sometimes it is dis- 

 covered at the sides of mountains; but even there its beds preserve 

 an horizontal situation. Mountains, upwards of two thousand feet 

 high, in the Highlands of Scotland, have their tops covered with peat 

 of an excellent kind. In Germany, it is also found at very great 

 heights; thus the Blogsberg, a high mountain in Lower Saxony, 

 and the Brohen, the highest mountain of the Hartz, are covered to 

 their summit with peat. It is also found at the bottom of ponds 

 and canals ; and is sometimes brought up on the coast of Holland, 

 by the flukes of anchors ; and also cast on shore in stormy weather, 

 which has induced some to imagine it to be of marine origin. In the 

 harbour of Oban, in Argyleshire, one part of the bottom appears 

 to be formed of quick moss, which affords no sure anchorage. The 

 depth of the sea is there about twenty fathoms. 



In Galloway is the great moss of Cree, lying near to the sea, a 

 little higher than flood-mark at spring tides. Near Dumfries is 

 Locker Moss, only a few feet above high water mark ; it is about 



