ON PEAT MOSS DEPOSITS. 415 
4, Silt. 
5. Salia arbuscula with Empetrum nigrum, Viola palustris, Potentilla Comarum, 
P. tormentilla (2). 
6. Salix reticulata, Arctostaphylos alpina imbedded in silt and sand, Alchemilla 
alpina (2). 
7. Stony clay. 
This appears to have been the general history of the vegetation at 
lower levels in Teesdale, but very frequently the birch zone rests almost 
directly upon the drift, as the following section at 2,300 feet shows :— 
1. Eriophorum vaginatum with traces of Scirpus cespitosus and Calluna. 
2. Calluna peat. 
3. Betula alba with Vaccinium Myrtillus and Ajuga reptans, 
4. Peat formed almost entirely from the rhizomes and leaves of Phragmites com- 
munis. 
5. Stony clay. 
Above 2,450 feet the birch zone disappears, and the following strata 
are found on Baron Hills at 2,500 feet :— 
. Black crumbling peat with no recognisable plant remains, 
- Rhizomes of Sedum Rhodiola. 
. Eriophorum vaginatum. 
. Empetrum peat, formed entirely from stems ard seeds. 
. Small creeping Salices, probably Salix arbuscula. 
. Stony clay. 
D> Ot OO Do 
The evidence from the whole district points to the existence of one 
forest bed in the upper layers of peat underlaid by an arctic bed. This 
corresponds with the succession observed in Caithness shire. 
A leaf bed of some interest was found on the banks of the Tees not far 
from its source. The bank is 5 feet in height, is situated at a sharp bend 
in the stream, and formed by the following strata :— 
- Peat formed of Eriophorum, Nardus (2), and Juncus squarrosus. 
. Sphagnum peat. 
. Stiff blue clay with much slatey débris. 
. Leaf bed. 
. Stones and clay. 
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The leaf bed begins at about water-level and is 18 inches in thickness, 
in some places forming part of the hed of the Tees, but covered with 
stones washed down by the stream. The position of the bed in relation 
to the stream is much the same as the leaf bed described from the banks 
of the Dyke River. It extends for only a short distance — not more than 
.8 feet—and really forms a short band below water-level. As the leaf bed 
contains the same species as are met with in the arctic bed at the base of 
the peat, it must belong to that period, the material being washed in by 
the swirl of the water as it passed round the sharp bend, and from time 
to time gently covered over with fine sand and clay. 
The remains so far obtained from the bed are as follows :— 
Salix arbuscula, leaves—very abundant. 
S. reticulata, leaves—not frequent. 
Viola palustris, seeds, 
Potentitla Comarum, achenes. 
Carex, spp. 
The peat at 2,600-2,900 feet, near the summit, is seldom more than a 
few feet in thickness, and forms detached banks and mounds. It has been 
so split up by the action of frost that the plant remains can seldom be 
