199 



Dr. Plott, in his mention of the floating islands of Kinson Pool, 

 in Staffordshire, points out plainly the nature of the substances 

 with which these floating islands are originally composed*. He says, 

 '* of a kind of stringy bituminous earth (roots and oily substances 

 being very buoyant) the floating islands, so much talked of and 

 admired in many parts of the world, are most certainly constituted, 

 whereof there are two about twenty feet broad, but about thirty or 

 perhaps forty feet long, in Kinson Pool, which An. 1680, began, in 

 March, to move from under the hill, on the N.W. side of the pool, 

 and came together, like the simplegades, first to the S.W. corner, 

 where after they had continued about three weeks, they began to 

 move again, and were come in May (when I was there) to the S.E. 

 corner, lying just in the passage of the water, out of the pool, to- 

 wards the mill. I was also told of such in Aqualat Meer." 



The only opinion we have now to examine is one which from 

 the abilities, and opportunities of observation, of its ingenious au- 

 thor, must claim our serious attention. The hypothesis to which 

 I allude is that of Dr. Anderson, than whom few have possessed 

 greater opportunities of making observations on this substance, 

 or have endeavoured with more zeal to employ those observations 

 for the public good. He candidly remarks, that, after long and 

 attentive observation, he has only been able to fix upon one fact 

 respecting this subject, which seems to be incontestably proved 

 that moss has been produced by a gradual accretion, and has not 

 been created at the beginning of the world, in the state we now 

 find it. 



Dissatisfied with previous hypotheses respecting the formation of 

 peat-moss, particularly with that which supposes it to be entirely 

 formed of wood ; that which supposes that there may be some kind 

 of extracts from the wood, somewhat of the nature of tan, which, 



* The Natural History of Staffordshire, p. 114. 



