MEMORIAL OF CHARLES A. DAVIS 35 



"Journal of the American Peat Society, 



"Washington, D. C, Janum^y 4, 1911. 

 "On the whole, I was glad I went to Pittsburgh, although I was sorry you 

 were not there, and that Johnson was also absent, as I would have been glad 

 to discuss the North River marsh and its significance with him in public. The 

 material from Neponset marshes which he sent me for examination falls beauti- 

 fully into line with other evidence I have and contains nothing to show that 

 I am wrong in my own observations and deductions, or to show that marsh 

 building takes place in any but a very steady way, except under such unusual 

 conditions as we found at North River." 



In 1912 he visited Germany. The following letters refers to this and 

 details the plans he executed in 1913 : 



"Washington, April 21, 1913. 



"I wish I had time to write you about my trip to Germany, but it is too long 

 a story for a letter, and I will postpone it in the hope that I shall see you in 

 the not far-distant future, when I can tell you about it. It was entirely unex- 

 pected and very profitable, both professionally, in enlightening me in many 

 ways on peat and its uses, and financially, as I got a good fee for my report 

 and the time spent on the trip, which was taken as annual leave from my 

 regular job. 



"As to summer plans, they are still in the air; but possibly I shall go to 

 New England about June 1 and work in Maine around Portland for the month, 

 and then go to Massachusetts for a month or six weeks and work up one or 

 more quadrangles adjoining those I have been at work on. This work will be 

 done for the United States Geological Survey. Then in August sometime I 

 plan to go to Duluth and begin work in northeast Minnesota, which will be 

 interesting, as it will supplement my Upper Peninsula, Michigan, work and, 

 I hope, give me a chance to work on some more of those so-called 'algal' de- 

 posits, which are not algal at all ; but so far I have not found any one who 

 can tell me what the active organism really is." 



"Washington, November 20, 1913. 

 "I spent about six weeks examining the big muskegs in northeast Minnesota. 

 These are much more extensive than anything I have seen elsewhere, and are 

 very similar in structure and origin to the high moors of Europe, although in 

 a more primitive condition. Leverett was at Duluth much of the time I was 

 there and we made a good many trips together. On one trip we walked at 

 least 75 miles in three days, 'living on the country,' as Leverett always does." 



"Department of the Interior, Washington, April 11. 1914. 

 "My Dear Lane : Last summer, while working along the coast north of 

 Boston, I made a little study of the north end of Revere Beach, that part 

 especially which is called 'Point of Pines,' which name, by the way, brings up 

 many interesting reminiscences of our Michigan days. I found that the Point 

 of Pines was really a series of beach ridges, and although the higher parts of 



