GENEEAL FEATUEES. 



453 



forests. The first attempts to replant these forests were made in the beginning 

 of the last century, and, strange to say, the species of pine so abundant in the 

 peat showed little vitality, a conclusive proof that the climate has changed. The 

 reclamation of these bogs is now proceeding in a rational manner. The bog 

 having been drained, the peat is cut away, and the cultivable land exposed. 



pjo-, 249. — The Alluvial Lands and Peat Bogs of the Netherlands. 

 According to Staring'. 



High J'O'js 



How remunerative this process is may be judged from the fact that the peat 

 yielded by a bog 50,000 acres in extent and 39 inches deep was valued, in 1858, 

 at £8,000,000. In 1862 42,000,000 tons of peat were cut. 



The lowland bogs {laage vecncn) in the vicinity of the coast are far more 

 difficult to reclaim. They have invaded most of the lakes of Friesland, impart- 



