SUPPOSED EVIDENCES OP SUBSIDENCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK COAST. 59 
A condition of things similar to this was found in the peat 
bog which lies at the head of the Saint Simon inlet, southwest 
of Shippigan. Here a low sea-cliff exposes the peat in cross 
section to a depth of not more than four feet below high tide 
mark, where the underlying structure, deeply decayed sand- 
stone, is seen. Spongy brown sphagnum, in layers, alternates 
with tougher, blacker layers of woody peat, in which erect 
stumps and prostrate logs are rather abundant. The peat is 
exactly the sort of deposit now in process of formation on the 
surface of the quaking bog, where stunted spruces in scattered 
groups relieve the monotony of the low-bushed carpet that 
conceals the soft sphagnum. There seems to be a greater 
compactness of the basal layers of the peat, as if considerable 
settling of the mass had occurred. The rotten character of 
the moss, likewise, points to a considerable loss of volume. 
The very distinct stratification evidently marks recurrent 
cycles of wet and dry climate, in which forests encroached 
upon the barrens during dry periods, only to be overwhelmed 
by sphagnum when more humid conditions returned. The 
fact that the peat reaches down about to mean-tide level, 
but not below it, seems significant and will presently be 
discussed. 
Of the bogs cited by Chalmers as evidence of coastal subsi- 
dence, perhaps the most notable is the one at Point Escuminac, 
near the mouth of the Miramichi. Ells stated, in 1880, that 
this bog has a maximum depth of more than thirty feet. 1 
Chalmers, after mentioning the convexity of the bog, says: 
“From the examination made about its margin, it seems to 
occupy a basin . . . the central part of which is below 
high tide level. This gives it a thickness of twenty feet or 
upwards. Mr. Phillips, the lighthouse keeper at Point Escu- 
minac, informed me that he found it twenty-four feet deep in 
one place.” 2 Again, Chalmers remarks that “the bottom of 
these deposits seems to be at least ten or fifteen feet below 
high tide level in some places,” 3 
J R. W. Ells: Geological Survey of Canada, Report for 1879-80, Part D, p. 43. 
2 R. M. Chalmers: Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report, 1887, Part N, 
p. 34. 
s Op. cit., p. 25. 
