[PLANTATIONS.] Moss-land is often confounded with moor; but is eery distinct in its nature. Moss-land is produced by the accumulation of aquatic plants, and its is chiefly vegetable. When it has a considerable depth, and its substance has lost all power of vegetation, it forms peat-bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is drained off or retained in its pores. In the latter case it appears like a spongy vege table mass, consisting almost entirely of fibres, so interwoven as to form a very light substance, in which water is easily retained, which keeps up a kind of Internal vegetation, by which the quantity of the moss is gradually increased. This is the substance which covers the surface of bogs, and where it is of some consistence it allows a passage over them [Boo]; but where it is very thin and loose it deceives the eye by an appearance of solidity, like that of a smooth green pasture, which, however, gives way to the pressure of the foot, and allows it to sink through it with very little resistance, The only way to improve moss is to drain it, and then convert the vegetable matter of which it is composed into soil, by means of lime and pressure. The latter is effected by putting on a considerable quantity of earth, especially sand and gravel, which, incorporating with the moss, consolidates it, and assists the lime in decomposing the vegetable fibre. After this it
becomes extremely fertile, producing abineLlut crops of potatoes and oats; and whenever it has acquired sufficient solidity by the treading of sheep and cattle, it will produce good crops of wheat, or, if laid down to grass, give abundance of hay and pasture Trees do not thrive in mossy soil, there being too little solidity for the roots, and the large trunks which are frequently found in bogs must have grown before the muss was formed. This may be easily imagined. A wood laid flat by a storm or hurricane may obstruct the natural flow of the waters, and cause them to accumulate. The prostrate trees become surrounded by aquatic plants, which spread their fibres and roots freely through the water, and, decaying, make room for other& Thus the trees are gradually covered and buried in the moss till future genera tions find them when the moss or bog is explored for fuel or for improvement. The trees which are found buried in mosses frequently show evideut signs of having been gradually covered. The upper sur face is often decayed and uneven, while the lower shows that it has remained submerged and protected from the contact and influence of the air, and thus preserved from rotting.