DR. ANGUS SMITH ON PEAT. 319 



" Mountain bog is much denser than lowland moss ; 

 this is the natural consequence of the difference in the 

 rapidity of the growth of each." 



A valuable little work on Peat and its Uses, by Prof. 

 Samuel Johnson, of Yale College, must be quoted. On 

 p. II, Prof. Marsh is mentioned as saying " that he has 

 seen in Ireland, near the north-west coast, a granite hill 

 capped with a peat bed several feet in thickness. Many 

 of the European moors rise more or less above the level of 

 their borders towards the centre, often to a height of 10 

 or 20, and sometimes more feet." Peat islands floating 

 are mentioned. The floating island of Derwentwater, 

 however, did not, when seen long ago, appear to me to 

 be peaty. 



" Fibrous peat is found near the surface ; and as we dig 

 down into a very deep bed we find almost invariably that 

 the fibrous structure becomes less and less evident, until at 

 a certain depth it entirely disappears." " The ripest, most 

 perfectly formed peat, that in which the peaty decomposi- 

 tion has reached its last stage, which in Germany is 

 termed pitchy peat or fat peat (Pechtorf, Specktorf), is dark 

 brown or black in colour, and comparatively heavy or 

 dense. 



" In Holland, West Friesland, Holstein, Denmark and 

 Pomerania a so-called mud peat (Schlammtorf, also Bag- 

 gertorf, and Streichtorf) is fished up from the bottoms 

 of ponds, which on drying becomes hard and dense like 

 the pitchy peat." This is, in America, called swamp- 

 muck. 



Prof. Johnson at p. 99, says : — " Two considerations 

 would prevent the use of ordinary cut peat in large works, 

 even could two and one-fourth tons of it be afforded at the 

 same price as one ton of coal. 



" The Nassau Water Department consumes 20,000 tons 

 of coal yearly, the handling of which is a large expense, 



