History and uses of Peat, 253 



which run sluggishly, and in a serpentine direction, from one 

 side of it to the other. 



The nature of the plants growing in marshes and valleys, 

 does not enable us to discover the existence of peat, where 

 there is sufficient vegetable mould to make a good sward ; 

 for in this case, there is nourishment sufficient for various 

 kinds of plants. 



Most kinds of plants will not vegetate in peat ; but where 

 there is a moderate layer of good earth superimposed, a mul- 

 titude of plants, especially legumes, will flourish remarkably 

 well, without doubt because their roots are continually fur- 

 nished with the necessary moisture from the vicinity of the 

 peat. In general, trees do not flourish well after their roots 

 have reached the moist peat ; but for alders to grow, it is only 

 necessary to have their stems above water. 



No certain opinion can be formed of the existence of peat, 

 from the nature or the vegetation of plants ; its presence is 

 better ascertained, when trees are found to decay after their 

 roots have reached a certain depth. 



A more certain sign is the trembling of the ground, when 

 it is struck by the foot ; as well as by its compressibility, and 

 its weakness and depression, when it is loaded with a certain 

 weight. When moles bring to the surface parcels of peat, 

 it is a sign that it is not far distant. But, all these means 

 are not sufficient to justify opening a pit, or to warrant much 

 expense in preparing to work it ; for, besides the presence of 

 peat, we must know its extent, its thickness, and its qualities. 

 These things are discovered only by sounding. 



5. Sounding or boring for Peat. 



The peat men use a particular kind of sound or spade, 

 which is as simple as all their tools, resembling somewhat 

 the transplanting trowel of the botanists and gardeners. It 

 is a kind of large spoon, of which the bowl is eleven inches 

 in length, with very sharp edges, and a point of steel which 

 is turned into a wimble. It is furnished with a strait wooden 

 handle of fifteen to eighteen feet in length, upon which divi- 

 sions of eleven inches each, called points, are marked. Some- 

 times the sound, or rather the scoop or bowl part of it, is 

 twenty-two inches, or two points, in length. 



At first, a square hole of two or three feet in diameter is 

 made with a common spade, so deep as to reach the peat. 

 Two men then force the sound perpendicularly, one point. 



