20I 



PEAT MOORS OF THE PENNINES* 



In the ' Geographical Journal ' for May is a paper by 

 Mr. C. E. Moss, B.Sc. , dealing- with the peat moors of West 

 Yorkshire, which will be worth perusing by all who are 

 interested in the study of this deposit. 



Mr. Moss classifies, in a general way, the peat moors of 

 the Pennines into three kinds, which occupy definite relations 

 with each other. The moor edges are either grassy or heathery, 

 and the central mass is dominated by cotton-grass. The cotton- 

 grass grows on peat from 5 to 30 feet thick, the heather on peat 

 varying from 5 feet to an inappreciable layer, and the peat on 

 the grassy moors is practically absent. Mr. Moss agrees with 

 the commonly-expressed opinion that peat moors occupy the 

 sites of former forests ; and his evidence regarding a primitive 

 Pennine forest is drawn from several sources. Place-names 

 implying the existence of woods in former times on the Pennine 

 slopes are exceedingly numerous. These place-names are of 

 Saxon and Danish origin ; consequently the author concludes 

 that in Saxon and Danish times the Pennine slopes were exten- 

 sively tree-clad. As regards the Pennine summits, however, 

 Mr. Moss points out that the outstanding place-name is 

 'moss,' meaning a morass. Other place-names of the Pennine 

 summits also meaning 'morass' are 'carr,' 'wham,' 'fen,' 

 'mow,' 'mere,' 'mire,' 'marsh,' 'swamp,' and 'bog.' There- 

 fore, Mr. Moss concludes that, in Saxon and Danish times, 

 when the Pennine slopes were tree-clad, the Pennine summits 

 were covered with extensive morasses. The presence of buried 

 timber in the peat, Mr. Moss argues, points to the existence of 

 a primitive forest, even on the Pennine summits, at a date prior 

 to that of the Saxon and Danish period. Below 1,250 feet 

 records of buried timber in the peat are fairly numerous ; from 

 1,250 to 1,500 feet they are rarer; while a few records exist 

 even above 1,500 feet. On the slopes, from 1,250 feet down- 

 wards, Mr. Moss believes the oak to have been dominant in this 

 primitive forest, while from that altitude upwards to at least 

 1,750 feet he thinks the birch was dominant — except on the 

 limestone, where the ash was probably dominant. Mr. Moss 

 supports the view that the Romans destroyed this primitive 

 forest in their subjugation of the district, and quotes authors to 

 bear out his opinion. The British remains are invariably found 



* ' Peat Moors of the Pennines: Their Age, Origin, and UtiHzalion.' 

 'Geographical Journal,' May 1904 (pp. 660-671), being a paper read before 

 Section E of the British Association, Southport 1903. 



1904 July I. 



