6
drosera rotundifolia, is dropped up and down in similar places.A few others, less conspicuous, need not here be mentioned.
This minute description of one particular moss, will serve fora general description of pure unalloyed peat-moss, wherever itoccurs, and is meant as such ; for all the peat-mosses of thiscountry, which have been examined, differ no further than, lsf,Having been longer in a decaying state, incidental circumstanceshaving sometimes suspended their advance of growth, they be-come more solid by being more concentrated by the continuedpressure* of the atmosphere and their own weight, and by theprogress of decay ; and hence of a darker colour, the undermostand eldest strata being always the darkest: 2d, as containing agreater or less proportion of the other plants wfith the sphagnumpalustre; which, as it makes the quickest progress, in wet places,is generally the principal ingredient, and long retains a lightercolour : and 3 d, as the moss contains a greater or less mixture ofextraneous substances.
The peat-moss under consideration, seems to have arrivednearly to its utmost state of advance, and is now making slowerprogress, it being almost surrounded by a range of perpendicu-lar breasts, from which peat fuel is annually dug, by which ad-ventitious water is cut off; but it is evident, its increase hasformerly been very rapid. Where a section is exposed by thebreasts just mentioned, the colour is of a light brown, variouslyshaded for six feet from the surface downwards; and afterwardsit becomes gradually darker.
On the 8th July 1812, a box, measuring an exact cubic footwithin, was filled with the substance of this moss, at 2 feet be-low the surface, and 20 yards from the above mentioned breast,of more than 8 feet deep. The weather had then been dry, andpretty warm for ten days. It weighed, exclusive of the weightof the box, 60 lib. 8 oz. avoirdupois. The water squeezed outof it by compression, filled, of the same box, 5.85 inches, andwas grossly feculent. Computing the weight of this water lib. oz.
at the rate of 62i lib. per cubic foot, its weight would be 30 7The compressed moss actually weighed - . 30 0
60 7
This was thinly spread on a canvas, exposed to the sun,and frequently turned over for five hot days ; but notbeing quite dry, it was toasted for some time before afire, and weighed - 7 7
lib. oz.
Of course, the weight of the water evaporated was 22 9
And the water squeezed out as above - 30 7
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0