Peat. 139 



of the walls to consist of a kind of semi-indurated pudding- 

 stone. Sometimes a thin stratum of fine, loose sand occurs. 

 At 300 feet the coal stratum disappears, passing below the 

 bottom of the drift. 



The last hundred feet is chiefly gravel, which is now sup- 

 ported by timbers. 



Southampton, Aug. 26, 1818. 



Art. VII. On the Peat of Dutchess County — read before 

 the Lyceum of Natural History, in New-York, by the 

 Rev. F. C. ScHAEFFER, of New-York, and by him com- 

 municated to the Editor. 



XN Ma}"^, 1817, I brought specimens of marl and peat from 

 Dutchess county, which were taken from a fen or bog occu- 

 P3'ing an area of some acres. These fens occui' frequently in 

 the towns of Rhinebeck, Northeast, Clinton, &c. in Dutchess 

 county. During a part of the 5'ear they are covered with 

 water. 



A pit was dug in the bog from which 1 procured' the speci- 

 mens. The order and depth of the well-defined strata which 

 were exhibited by this excavation, I noted in my memorandum 

 book, from which I extract the following : 



After clearing away the fresh sod and recent vegetable 

 mould, there appeared, 



1. A stratum or bed of peat, commonly called turf varying 

 in depth from three to four feet. 



^. A stratum of peat and marl commingled ; depth two 

 feet. 



3. A stratum of pure marl, from two to three feet. Below 

 these there was an appearance of sand and blue clay. 



The first, or upper stratum, consists oi compact peat. This 

 substance, when first taken up, is of a dark brown colour, soft, 

 ynd rather viscid. Some vegetable fibres and vacuous seeds 

 are distributed throughout the mass. It may be moulded to 

 finy convenient form. When perfectly dr}', the texture of 

 13* ' 



