754 
Peat and its Products. 
fined to any particular locality or situation ; they occur generally 
throughout the country, and may be found on hilltops, on hill- 
sides, and in valleys. 
Taking a general view of our peat mosses, Professor James 
Geikie remarks : — 
As we proceed from north to south, we find that the peat has not only 
suffered a longer amount of denudation, hut its substance has been pul- 
verised or “ consumed ” in a greater degree. Thus, the peat of England, 
especially in the southern districts, is more consumed or decomposed than 
that of the Scottish mosses. In other words, a longer time has elapsed 
since the English peat ceased to grow, so that having been exposed during 
this period to the power of the atmosphere, it exhibits stronger marks of 
waste than the peat of Scotland. The Erench peat is said to be still 
more consumed than that of England ; and, indeed, it may be remarked 
generally of the peat of southern latitudes, that it has crumbled away to 
a much greater extent than that of more northern countries. 
An instructive chapter on peat is included in Mr. Skertcldy’s 
well-known memoir 1 on tlie Fenland. With reference to local 
terms this author says 
It may be mentioned that the word peat is quite unknown among the 
agricultural population of the fens. The substance is called turf, and 
where thin, or so weathered as to be unfit for fuel, the term moor is applied. 
It is usual to speak of “moory land,” “black land,” or “fen” where the 
soil is peaty. The word “ fen ” has, however, come to be used merely in 
contradistinction to “ highland,” but it is an unsafe term to use in speaking 
to the labourers, for though among themselves they talk of “down the 
fen,” it seems to be tacitly understood that to outsiders or inquirers “ there 
are no fens now.” 
The shrinkage of the peat is dwelt upon in the same chapter, 
from which the following remarks are taken : — 
The decay of the peat is largely facilitated by the abstraction of water 
by drainage. The peat beds are like so many huge sponges which, when 
relieved of the water they contain, shrink into much smaller bulk. 
Over the Lincolnshire fens it is a matter of common observation that the 
clay, which thirty years ago was covered with from six to eight feet of peat, 
is now reached in dykes at depths of from three to five feet, and has 
hence become available for “ claying.” The opinion of the farmers is that 
“ the clay grows,” by which they understand (?) that in some mysterious 
manner the peat becomes converted into “ buttery clay.” The simple ex- 
planation is that the operations of husbandry and drainage cause a diminu- 
tion of volume, which becomes very appreciable in the course of a genera- 
tion. 
Around Croyland old ague-stricken fenmen can still be found whose 
lustreless, opium-bleared eyes light up as they tell you of the glorious times 
of seventy years ago, when they could run a pole ten feet into the moor 
without touching clay. 
1 Geology of the Fenland. By Sydney B. J. Skertchly, E.G.S. Memoirs 
of the Geological Survey of England and Wales. 1877. 
See also The Fenland, Past and Present. By S H. Miller and S. B. J. 
Skertchly. 1878. 
