38 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JULY 
of aquatic peat of varying depth extending over the entire floor 
of the lake, with the exception of the first few yards offshore. 
Between Gainesville and Lake Newnan there is a hardwood and 
cypress swamp, representing the typical condition of fallen tangled 
logs, intermingled with finer plant débris. Upon investigation there 
appears only a few inches of peatlike material, which may be better 
characterized as humus, owing to the almost complete decay of 
the included vegetation. This type of swamp deposit proves to 
be very typical, and when compared with more aquatic formations 
is not of special importance from the numerical and quantitative 
standpoint. 
The next investigations were made on a filled lake 2 miles 
west of McIntosh, in Marion County (diagram, 19). This repre- 
sents a small shallow lake which has become entirely filled with 
herbaceous peat, composed of Cyperaceae, Solidago, Eupatorium, 
Gramineae, etc. The 1o samples at one foot intervals show a 
light brown fibrous material in which the individual plants can be 
seen distinctly. Upon a later microscopic examination it became 
evident that the lower two-thirds of the deposit is of allocthonous 
origin, a condition indicated by the presence of sponge spicules, as 
well as other evidences of drifted and sedimentary material which 
must have been laid down in a more or less permanent open pond. 
The upper stratum, however, has become reduced to a deep brown 
amorphous mass through the action of the air and fungi, following 
artificial drainage 25 years ago. 
Orange Lake, as can be seen from the accompanying diagram, 
is bordered by a broad marsh on the western side. According to 
the reports of the inhabitants, the area of this marsh was used for 
cultivation 30 years ago, at which time it was inundated, and is 
now constantly covered with water. Species of the Nymphaeaceae, 
Cladium, Sagittaria, etc., grow there in profusion. A sample taken 
about a mile from shore (diagram, 20) presents a coarse brown 
fibrous character with the usual evidences of allocthonous material. 
Since this layer, 6 inches in depth, has been formed during the 
past 30 years, it may present some evidence as to the rapidity 
of the accumulation of fibrous peat, which would be at the rate 
of an inch in 5 years. Obviously, however, more data would be 
