IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) V. A // f/- 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ |50 IIIIM iiiai M 2.2 if i^ izg 1.4 III! 1.8 1.6 V <^ /i 'n o>. ^'^ ^ ■s'f Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ,\ v 4^ <, ^^' y MSGILL UNIVERSl 1 1 LIBRARY .• 1 THE UTILISATION Or MOSS LAND -IW- Thomas jMacfarlane, F. R. S. C. Jixtracts. I^EAI) liErORC THE OTfAWA .SCIENTirK: iSOCIEIV I'lAR. 4ri\, Ift9«. I'RINTBI) BY K. J. UEYNOLDS, 127 SPAItKS ST. OTTAWA, 1898. McGIII Unlvcrilty llbrarlct Cutter lion of mon 3 000 674 t llfilistifion of Moss Lcincis By Thomas Macfari.axk, F.R.S.C. Extract. [Read March 4th, iSg8. as foHowI-— ^'"^ introductory remarks the lecturer proceeded Utilisation of course includes cultivation, but I do not intend to speak of cultivation only. I shall have something to say about the more modern methods of cultivating moss- lands later on, but the subject is not an inviting one. In these days when almost every one is prepared to tell vou that "favm- ing does not pay " he would be a courageous man who would advise a settler to reclaim a swamp. There is a comparison attributed to Queen Elizabeth which points out that life is like a bog ; if you stand still you begin to sink and if you want to keep afloat jou must keep moving. I shall, therefore, ask you to leave the consideration of boi as they occur in nature, and the possibility of cultivating them ard ask you to accompany me, in spirit at least, to see a more j--< Asing landscape, a moor drained, consolidated and in pro- cess of utilization, where art has come in to modify nature and, as it generally does, to improve it. In describing such a moor I must avoid any minute reference to the plants bv whose instrumentality it has been produced. I can only deal with vegetation in a very general way, and indulge the hope that the botanical aspect of the subject may on a future occasion be made the subject of a disquisition by my friend Frof. Macoun, than whom there is no better authority The imaginary trip on which I have invited you is to Holland, or, more properly, the Netherlands. Holland is 11. Mense, which ial«ritVrk^' it, MA ",'■""''' ''>' ""^ "«'• the sea at the Hool; nf H„ i' T ■^'"'"''••>"' and reaches land rente :,„Htr:,S°''i h^dT '\"'"-' "?"" <" "»'■ n,orning of a foggy Sat rd "'i, D l,nber ,Z"''''m' "V"^ ness in the Xetherlands ,vus to sti dv l,^„ ,',, ' /'•' ■""'• my first Klinipse of tlie lit ter ,rH i ' ' ' °''' ''""' P'=="' -"""l =z:;5rz£?-----."^^tth:- n,et Wm a[ fc°raiK4;C:;',"";,;''''' *"■ ^'''" O*"'". ' trodncedtoMr C W r ^ m^ niornnig, and was in. England, wlf„^.£,S,^trart™e''s;'';;eiil'*'^''«''""' fe:^^to4's„s:w,;ira'?ri^^^^^^^^^ lower gronnd thanX A*« Lofbur nrc'^^f "f-'," traverse the latter are connected' with ar.u 1h7'"''' eral canal system of the conntry. In order ,),„, =1 ^™" srs^;"KTot",or-';" 'f "'?r'^ ?'-^ ^-' that the Asten Moor is a° p«°eZ hiX', ''^'-■'' "■'"^'■' P™^'" been ,,igher previous to itTSgl^S Ste^^^^-'H^' t! »l.ic;?thV^Sa,t^rav«S^!re 'betJ.nt'.wrgj:S If'^-"-; low lying, meadow^ or g S,lald , oor' f " ''", ''''' -S" our word "marsh" would apn T ,1? ' , '*■'"''' P"""'""')' near creeks and rive^foffi' f,e course onh""" 'P''?'"""'" to the formation of wrt and our ,"17""''! '"l?" '"'•''= or tnrf which is fonued in tl^'is JTll^X ^^ ^ bog ds, only one of tlie Host important of 're.T- the Province rabant, is bounckd ■^ed by the river les, flows tlirongh rdam and reaches the Hook of Hol- Rotterdani, on tlie 1892. My busi- noss and peat and the Weimar Hotel After nsinj]: niy ^t the chief pro- lers Van Griendt, friendly way to moors in the pro- r. Van Griendt, I ng, and was in- of Birmingham, ime. Our ronte ?da, Tilburg and I o'clock. From lis Faart, one of ■n at the edge of lart Canal lies in le c als which atiu the gen- er that sloops, als of the Aster, t, which, proves • and must have tered and con- the distinction reat classes of ly I think be i what they call which possibly ^ays to be foimd ie and give rise ds. The peat olor, and when III. dried crumbles easily to dust. It is in these marshes in Canada that the fr.rmer finds Ins black muck, which is unccnsolidnted organic matter der.yec. ' ^>;n vegetation of a varied character O. the other hand the heath moss or high moors show a difTerent character. They are covered by ifeath plants and mstead of a varied vegetation the swanjp mosses or sphagnum occur in huge c,t;. :tity. Dwarf firs show themsdvess biu sphagnum varieties constitute the main vegetation. Indeed I rofes.sor Macoun thinks that the name of plat bog is exactly equivalent to sphagnum bog, and that the "muskegs" of the Northwest have the same mode of origin as the German ^/vc/i- I wo t: Of cour.sc there are intermediate formations betwix^ the marsh and the -muskeg" to particularise which would require too much nine. Some of these might be charncteris. ed as swamp " and, in these the bushes predominate over the Jiio-ses. Every bog has its origin in a pond, r^nd when the moss egetatjon, living and dead, has filled .p these and cannot S; ^^^'^f}y "^'^"' '^ ^^-"^« -° i"'^'-^^^^ and rise in the frnl ft • T-'^/'^""^". "^'"^ °^ "high moor" seems to come roil this liigher position, which is above the summer water level o the surrounding country. These high moors shew a characteresuc arching ; being higher in the middle than at the edges, and instances of such moors are known which in the centre are from 15 to 25 feet higher than the level of the water in tie basin in which the original deposit began. The ' egetable matter which lies beneath the surface ranges in colours from yellow on the lop to deep black in depth. These moors yield frequently two different products, mo^s litter and peat, the former after drxing being brown, soft and spongy. The peat on the other hand is when dried, black, hard and I uyivrlcling. ,„ ^\?}} °/ these products are found in the Asten Moor, the moss Utter lying above the peat, each having a thickness of about four feet Before the upper layer came t! be utiHsed, and when working a peat bog in the old days, this higher part had to chrkel- nent V'f' '"P^"'^ "^ °^^^^ ^° ^^^ at the denser and arkei peat which was much more valuable as fuel. Now tlie upper part brings in more money than the lower, and the maiiner of working a peat deposit has been revolutionised. Ihe total depth of the Asten Moor down to (he soil under- neath IS about eight feet This is the thickness after consoli- dation which IS a very different thing from the depth of the bog m Its natural state. The shrinkage which it tmder-goes "'"'"• "'-o feet; "-'"-^WeraWe,,,. ^iie 4c.f " 3"fJ rear?,, / ^'^''^ved hv tu -^ ^'le mnr,^ f^n^pressfoTo ';? ^'''« P'-oc si ^ ^"°vvf 4!' f.^f the water' effected, verv J '^^^" ^eet 5 n"" ^'^<^^^^^l co,,^?: ^'^ «ettie' '^^■'^^'Jts to the J Y^ been triVr^ ,^^ s^^aJ] Jearn ^ave been °^en "nu-atered H "'^ ^'^c^ies h, ^^^^ ^oj,, 1^, ""^^ pJainJ,. '^'^ Production of „ Of nioss Jit, ' '■" ^^'^'s case to "^^'P^easanter ry,^U^^P^ for '^"''c stacks ''ad to be * '^mh of ""tii after 'V ^-^tent ^fter ti,e cut of J 2 - water; » settie,' tiou or !ss vvas "e foot ^g that ' been ', that stroiis -n-ed iHed ^tiie ^Iiat mh iiaj !,''■ he as er V. ter and peat elsewhere than in the Netherlands. Sweden, Oldenburg, Hanover and Bavaria are known be producing,'- lartj;ely of this material. In England, too, the manufacture is established in the neighborhood of Doncasier and Ooole, Yorkshire. In 1896 I visited the moss litter beds near the latter city, and found them thoroughly drained, as in the case of the Dutch moors. There were, however, no canals to be seen for effecting the transport of the material, light railways being substituted for them. I saw the mill at work for teas- ing and packing the litter, the machinery in which much resembles that employed on the Dutch moors. The material packed had evidently had ample opportunity for becoming dry because the mill building was filled with fine floating dust, like snuff, which however had not the same irritating properties. At the time of my visit the Goole and other works --^ a similar character in England were suffering from extre. depression in the price of their product. When I visited the Dutch moors four years previoush", one of the gentlemen of our party was a Mr. Lancaster from Birming- ham, who took as close an interest in the bogs and studied them as thoroughly as I did. This gentleman belonged to a firm of chartered accountants who had been entrusted with an examination of the property from a mercantile point of view, and in order to the possible formation of a limited company for working it. It seems that, subsequently, the for- mation of the company was accomplished ai;^. that its opera- tions brought down the price of moss litter in London from 24s. per ton to nearly one-half tliat rate. Hence those tears on the part of the Yorkshire people, who could not possibly compete with the Dutch in the matter of labour or freight. Coming now nearer home, we have to remark, as regards the production of moss litter in Canada, that two attempts have been made, one at Musquash, N.B., and another at \Vel- land, Ontario. In the former case I am extremely sorry to say the capital embarked in the enterprise has not yielded any return. Whether we are to conclude from this that the inher- ent and climatic difficulties of the undertaking are insur- mountable, or that grave errors have been connnitted in con- ducting the work is not quite certain. I am, howevci, inclin- ed to the latter supposition, and venture to point out two circumstances which may have gone a long way to render the venture abortive. In the fir.st place no systematic survey, laying out, and consolidation of the bog was attempted. There was no difficulty in the matter of levels, and a drain VI. wlr'iT'^l''.'" '^'^ '^^' °^ '^'' ^°^ ^"^^ deep enough to tin- nf/n r 1^ i ^^'"^-^'^l"id mass rolled into the drain qnicker than It could be dug out, and made progress impossible. to ^eJ rid n/ M^ P. '' '' ''"' ^^?S^^^ ^""'"'^^^ ^t Musquash to get nd of the water more rapidly than by the slow steady- going operations of nature. Mt,ch ingenuity was dispWd and much expense incurred in inventing and operati,rma- d nery for squeezing out the water fronrthe mossy pti^^u without success. Artificial heat was also used for efTecting the drying more rapidly, but it is hard to conceive how tha? could have been done economically. Drving bv natural means was supposed to be impossible, 'indeed a%od of moss du ' rays of the sun for a long time is still found to be extremelv moist in the inside. Therefore it is that, previous to any at- tempt at drying such sods, their material lui^ be prev^ouslv ber'so t'lfaf ';' consolidated by pressure while in tlfe oriS sun' the wilT h" u\7 '°'"^'^ ^' "'^'"^ "P°" b>- ^-'"d and sun the> will be better conductors of heat, and drv in a reasonable space of time. On the whole th^ failure at Mus^ neSec;;"; T"i^' 'T-'^"\ «"^"^ ^° ^^^ — «" ^ult "f Sted'eli^he:^;'""^'""^^ *^" ^"^P^^'^"- ^^^'^ ^'- been In the County of Welland, bounded by the Welland Canal, Its feeder, and the shores of Lake Erie there is a ar"e rceirir''' i" 'rr^ ^^'^^'^ occrpiisiv^ideiis Peat F el ro.; "" ' °^ "^" County Council. The Ontario iiSerhl if If "-■ 'i 'T '"f'§^''' "^ ^'■>-^"- to utilize the material of this marsh for making moss litter. The product has been placed on the markets of our Canadian citie? and to be purchased in Ottawa. We most sincerelv trus that everything will be done by Canadians to make ui o fit ic ofihZrT' "^ '*' l"^'"'''' ^^"°d ^"^''ties, but on accoun of the advantage wliicli is likely to inure to our agriculture k is suiSbir'' ''^PP^'^'^^'^" '^ '^'^ ^•^"^"^ purposes for which most^lilllv?" T"' '^lt^^"^d"^try succeeds in Canada it will most hkelv o do so m the Province of New Brunswick minion'' M^' '° 7^/"" ^1"^ ''T ^■^'^"'^^- — -"" S'- minion. Many of these skirt the shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence, and those near Point Escuminac have been de! iTerifn a\ '^? 'f' ''^- "^^^"'-^^^ J'-^^k °f Fredericton In t iitetimc Mr. Jack way an enthusiast in exploring the moors ep enough to un- og at sucli a depth the drain quicker i impossible, ible at Musquash ' the slow steady- ity was displayed tid operating ma- e mossy pulp but used for effecting )nceive how that by natural means od of moss, dug 3sed to the direct to be extremely revious to any at- ii«t be previously le in the original pon by wind and , and dry in a e failure at Mus- comnion fault of which has been )y the Welland , there is a large 3ies considerable 1. The Ontario g to utilize the r. The product lian cities and is :erely trust that c use of it, net , but on account our agiiculture ■poses for which ti Canada it will ew Brunswick, loors in the Do- he Gulf of St. have been de- Jricton. In his 'iiig the moors VII. of his native province, and advocating their exploitation. Let us hope that his mantle will fall on a worthy successor, and that the working of these huge deposits of organic mat- ter may at last be carried out successfuU}-. In the Province of Quebec, although the production of moss litter has not actually been accomplished there is abun- dance of the raw material as our Chairman very well knows. Anyone who has travelled through the province nnist have ob- served their occurrence at Valleyfield, Berthier, Three Rivers, Champlain, Levis, and at numerous points on the line of the Intercolonial Railway. Between Cacouna and St. Arsene there is an excellent example of a high moor, well situated for exploitation. I am not aware as to whether any statistics exist as regards the quantity of such land in Quebec, but the figures are obtainable for Ontario. In the Report of the Bureau for Industries for 1896 it is stated that there are in the province : — Acres cleared 12,671,857 Acres woodland 7,264,167 Acres swamp or marsh 3,236,390 Total occupied 23,172,408 Thus of the rural area or total number of acres of assessed land 25.5% or over one-fourth is bog or marsh, containing an as yet unappreciated store of fertilizing material. It so hap- pens that the first succesful attempt to utilize Moss Litter for sanitary purposes in Canada was made in the Province of Ontario. At Caledonia Springs the method of deodorising human refuse by means of the moss from a bog in the neigh- borhood has been carried on for several years with the most satisfactory results to all concerned. The moss litter here re- ferred to is unusually rich in nitrogen, assaying nearly y, and the compost resulting from its use is an excellent fertilizer. I have now told you something about the production of Moss Litter, and must next anticipate the question— Well, what is the good of it all ? What is done with the article and of \yhat advantage is it to the human race in general, and to agriculture in particular? In answering such enquiries I must leave peat and its applications out of consideration, not because they are unworthy of attenti^^n, but because of the want of time on the present occasion. Furthermore, Moss Litter has about four times the valtte nf peat, nnd the success- ful working of the former, which as a rule lies above the peat, ^°'^^^ "lanner/",^" absorbent . ^'^^^ 'n ^m "ioi?e„sfvV '""""^'- time h ""^'^"S- a" JiS"' ^'"^ ^'^■"'- '^^count of ^ ^^""f^J ^-einoved' xf',^''""^^ ,„ea" ',"^^^ with f ■^•^^«. b„t It car.?"'' '^P°"« cJ^' °"^3^ doe "' "^V^"er is '""^^'^ iitter th ""-"'^ described h''''^''"§- the,?"^"^ ^"''«ta„ces ^^^es of the H^^^'■°^•'^tion of " "^''""e and e f'^^'P^^Uion ' ^'"own >f", "^^stio-atfo,, , ' "^"e oldest of fi"^ sun," hnf- *- ly J* "■-"^.Se;:-!^ .very ' sU"LTii >ii&: practice o„ i^ ' V ',"3- ^ho,n\l ,"",' *=""«■„ S ,f «Pted (,„ J'''^^' '^fds of ^ ^^^^t bogs for ^^noss inter as ;^'" convinced >" of the ir, /'"^^ "n- re- ^^"d to the >^'"-°Pe for J '"Odorous ^^•ses better' ^3" that of ^ Ottawa ft ^ frade f,i '^'"^ectant » excreta ejnent to '«»cts are '?e Jiim- it wfth iatter is 'fter, OH iioxfous -'g-Jitof tances, 'sitfon. JUs of 'dvan. elec- " but Jieve nsly "os- !by ?:its icfr the en in IX. varieties in the Northwest, an Indian Chief asked him if he proposed to take them to his sqnaw. It seems that the Indian women collect and dry the spha^ journeys which they have often to nnder- take when they are swathed np in Indian fashion and carried on the backs of their mothers. Dr. Daw.son also tells me that along the trails in the same region tufts of nio.ss are to be seen stuck on poles, and exposed to rain, snn and wind. It is in this way that the mo.ss is prepan d and stored for the sanitary requirements of the Indiati bal)ies when travelling. That which has ])een the practice of Indian tribes for centi ries i> now being introditced in many (ieruian cities not only as the best .system from a health point of viow, but as theotie likely to be- stow great advantages on agricttlture. The coinmittef- on man- ures of the Ciertnan Agricultural Society is now devoting much attention to this .subject, and an}- one, who wi.shcs to know the progress they have made and the valuable results thev have arrived at, should .sttidy the valuable book by Dr. J. H. Vogel, published in 1896, on the dispo.sal of City Refu.se. It wonld indei d be a fool-hardy and Qnixotic undertak- ing for anyone in the present day to ])egin a cni.sade against the water-borne system of sewage remo\al. The lo\'e of ease and modern conveniences, and the indi.spo.sition to look the problem of city .sanitatioii squarcl\- in the face are too .strong to afford .such a reformer any chance of .success. But in localities where no such sy.'-tem has been established and in towns where local circumstances make it impossible, it wonld, in niy opinion, be advantageous for the authorities to consider seriously the mess litter system of dealing with human excreta. Even in cities or their suburbs, where there are districts almost destitute of any system and where the re- moval of refuse is a source of constant annoyance, the use of moss litter might prove to be an unhoped-for blessing. The mantire resulting from its use is entirely deprived of any of- fensive character, and would be of the greatest advantage to the fanners of the neighborhood. (The lecturer concluded by referring to the variotis methods employed for reclaiming and cultivating moorlands in place, and gave particulars concerning the Rinipau dam system at Cunrau on the Elbe, and the Corporation farm on Carrington Moss near Manchester.)