SUPPOSED EVIDENCES OF SUBSIDENCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK COAST. 57 
that of New Brunswick, where the sea has cut back half-way 
to the heads of the estuaries, an increase of three or four feet 
in local high tide level might reasonably be expected. It does 
not appear, therefore, that the destruction of trees at the 
localities noted constitutes valid evidence of coastal subsidence. 
On the other hand, as Professor Johnson suggested to me 
before field work was commenced, if the coast is now going 
down at a rate fast enough to be registered within the lifetime 
of trees of moderate size, the destruction of bordering forests 
should be seen in all parts of the area where submergence is in 
progress. An inspection of a number of estuaries along the 
drowned coast of New Brunswick, between Bathurst and Point 
du Chene, leads to the opinion that as a rule the forests sur- 
rounding salt creeks and marshes are not suffering from their 
proximity to the sea. The fringe of dead trees which we should 
expect to see is missing. 
Forest Beds and Peat Bogs Reaching to Depths Below High Tide 
Level . — At a number of places along the coast of New Brunswick, 
peat bogs composed of fresh-water plants and containing roots 
of trees have been reported to extend to depths several feet 
below high-tide mark. Bogs of this type, composed of sphagnum 
and other swamp-loving plants, but generally treeless, cover 
vast areas on the lowlands near the coast, and are known as 
the “barrens.” Their height is often not more than fifteen or 
twenty feet above sea-level. Since soundings have been known 
to penetrate them to a depth of over twenty feet, the impression 
has arisen that the bottoms of the bogs are so far below tide 
level as to indicate a subsidence of the coast. Among those 
who have studied the bogs and reported in detail upon them, 
the late Dr. Chalmers has published the largest amount of 
information. Criticism of his evidence naturally follows two 
lines: (a) Chalmers’ statements of observation are so qualified 
as to admit of some doubt whether the peat actually does 
extend below sea-level; and (6) in case it does extend to that 
depth, the question arises whether it may not be explained in 
other ways than by supposing that the coast has gone down. 
In order to test both the facts and the interpretation of them 
as records of modern subsidence, I visited a few of the most 
56815 — 4j 
