New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-03
PEAT BOGS CLOSE AT HAND
DEPOSITS IN NEW-JERSEf AND IN
PROSPECT PARK. BROOKLYN.


steady. cheerful glow OF peat fire. Although
their existence IS unknown TO most persons
there are peat boys in various parts Of Long
Island and New Jersey They are mostly small
In extent. and the pea, is seldom used for fuel.
owing 20 the trouble Of digging and drying it
and the fact that coal and wood arc more easily
obtained in almost all localities. In fact. II has
been demonstrated by several experiments that
pea. cannot 10 made ~ compete economically
with coal In countries where the latter product
Is as common as II Is in the United States.
But The presence ~ the peat boys Is an inter-
estinE geological TACT. on Newark Bay. about
a quarter OF a mile south II the Ichgh Valley
Railroad. BID 81 peat two or three feet thick
IS cxpos~I at intervals FOR over two hundred
yards along the shore. 1t IS about four feet
abovc the td". and within reach OF the storm
waves. which. naturally, are Fastening It's De
s;ruction. 1t does not reach the surface being
overall IS from ton 20 thirty feet Of SAND.
which has probably been deposited there by the
wind Another small exposure Of peat lies
much nearer the Lchieh VALLEY Railroad. 1t Is
not now connected with the larger bed though Il
may have been at some former time Other peak
boys occur in various parts OF New-Jcrsey. but
most Of them are fun Of sediment, washed In as
the vegetable matter Accumulated so that the
pure peat is rare. In the southern part OF the
STAT there are swamps in which quantities OF
sphagnum are found. This is the moss which IN
Course II time becomes peat. but In the marshes
Just mentioned it Is stu In soft and spohgy
state The fruit-growers u those ncighborhoods
are in the habi, Of digging 1t out to use FOR
packing purposcs and much has been destroyed
in this way. Authorities on forestry have dis
couragcd the practice. because the moss from
iIav "a naH n
water and a. such Is extremely valuable In sea-
sons OF drouth
The Long Island peat boys arc scattered in
various districts. and some containing peat OF
fine quality have been found in The city OF Brook
,vn itself The best known OF thesc-probably
the largest deposit ever discovered in this neigh
hcrhood was situated in Prospect Park near the
intersection Of Ninth-ave. and Ninth st. and cx-
tending toward the Concy Island road. II was
known many years ago 10 residents OF that part
OF Brooklyn as the old "Butonball swamp" 30
called from the nun Der OF those trees growing
therein. In 1861. when the West Drive OF the
Park was being laid out, II was found that the
projected roadway crossed this swamp. Filling
in top Of the bog was found unsatisfactory.
the soft. yielding nature OF the peat anording
very unsubstantial basis for ad-building 30
II was determined to remove the entire deposit
The area Of the bog Gt included all that stretch
Of lawn now used for the tennis courts made the
task a tedious one. but II was undertaken sys-
tematically. The swamp being divided into rect
angular sections As each Of these cxca-
waited the peat WAS piled In a heap upon the ad-
Joining grassland. spaces being left between the
rectangular piles When the whole swamp had
been dug up the amount OF solid peat removed
was found TO be over thirty thousand cubic
yards In many places the bed was twelve feet
in depth.
The peat. when burned. yielded only small
percentage OF ash. thereby demonstrating It's
excellence as n fuel In and around the bog. be-
fore ifs removal. was sturdy growth Of chest
nut white poplar and oak trees These differed
from their neghbors In the ordinary soil In the
nature OF their roots. which. unable to penetrate
the solid mass OF the peat. had spread out hori-
zontaIly in all directions. near or directly upon
the surface They drew their nourishment from
the moisture with which the bog was constantly
saturated and from certain substances in the
peat itself. This Is considered n good fertilizer
when broken up As to mix with ordinary
earth or loam and the large quantities taken
from the "Buttonball swamp were put to this
use. Mixed with a small percentage OF lime. the
peat spread about in those portions OF the
Park where the soil was most in need Of being
enriched.
Although II Is now thirty years since this peat
bed destroyed. there is still little corner of
II which is in its original state. This is at the
edge Of the tennis meadow. and is within the
quaint old Enclosure known the Friends Gem
etery Being thus out Of the Park domain
proper. 1t is left untouched. |
Probably the most recently exposed peat bed
in Brooklyn is in Montgomery-st where the