72 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The upturned roots of trees show how ill adapted the peat is 

 for raising anything till it has been drained and the acidity 

 neutralized. None of the trees show any taproots, and the tree 

 derives its entire nourishment from the porous mass of moss 

 and leaves on the surface. The roots are very wide spreading, so 

 that a high wind is necessary to overturn a tree, fbut the roots 

 have no hold on the subsoil. 



Greycourt meadows. Between Chester station and Greycourt 

 station are the Greycourt meadows, which embrace a tract of 

 land estimated to be about 3000 acres. The entire marsh has 

 been drained and is one of the most valuable tracts of farming 

 or gardening land in the State. Near Chester, about 200 yards 

 from the border of the flat, clay is found at a depth of 8 feet. 

 Except for the top layer of soil, there is no perceptible difference 

 in the character of the peat from the top to the bottom. The 

 sample taken showed the same materials as the peat from the 

 Drowned Lands. 



Stissing pond. The formation of peat deposits by the filling of 

 lakes is well shown on the margin of Stissing pond, near Pine 

 Plains, Dutchess co. 



At several points along the shore a fringe of bushes, about 50 

 yards wide, is growing, and outside of this a growth of cat-tails 

 and rushes forms what at first might seem to be a cat-tail 

 swamp with a slimy sediment over the bottom. A closer exami- 

 nation shows that under the bushes the surface of the marsh is 

 covered with a growth of sphagnum moss and grass, which 

 extends beyond the limits of the shrubbery and forms an inter- 

 mediate stage between the cat-tails and the shrubs. Clinging 

 to the cat-tails which lie beyond is another swamp moss, which 

 forms a mat that will sustain the weight of a man. The last 

 10 feet of the cat-tails growth seems to have no moss, and beyond 

 this are the rushes which are so common in lakes and ponds. 

 The entire area that is covered with moss shows an abundant 

 growth of ferns. 



