REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1901 r65 



Some plants, like vaccinium, grow so thick that they hinder 

 evaporation of the water from the surface, thus raising its level 

 and producing favorable conditions for peat accumulation. 

 Where peaty deposits occur in New York State, ferns also take 

 part in the peat growth. 



The process of peat formation may begin as soon as the plant 

 is covered by water, but the rate at which peat forms, depends 

 on the plant species and climate. 



The average rate of growth given by many is from 2 to 4 

 inches a year. Percy 1 records an instance of 15 feet growth in 

 30 years. Roller 2 states that in some bogs peat has been found 

 to increase in thickness at the rate of 75 centimeters in a hun- 

 dred years, while at other points under specially favorable con- 

 ditions the same thickness was attained in 30 to 50 years. In 

 still other localities a growth of 2 meters in 70 years has been 

 recorded. In the valley of Somme 3 three feet of peat accumulated 

 in about 40 years; and near Hanover Ger. 4 to 6 feet in the 

 same length of time. Fully formed peat represents about one 

 quarter of the original vegetable tissue from which it has been 

 derived. 4 



Peat deposits are found chiefly in north temperate climates, 

 specially in moist ones. Many thousand acres of the north 

 German plain are underlain by deposits of peat, while in Ire- 

 land alone it is estimated that there are 1,576,000 acres of flat 

 bog and 1,254,000 acres of mountain bog. Kussia is said to 

 have 67,000 square miles of peat land, and there are also several 

 million acres in Norway and Sweden, while extensive deposits 

 are not lacking in France and Holland. 5 Peat bogs are 

 known in the United States and Canada. While those of the 

 former are not as extensive as European ones, still deposits are 

 found in nearly all of the northern states. They are common 

 in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne- 

 sota. 



1 Fuels, p. 201. '■ 



2 Die Torfindustrie, p. 11. 



'Ontario Bureau of Mines. Eep't. 1891. p. 181. 



4 Mineral Industry, 7:191. ' 



"Mineral Industry, 2:490. . >. 



