The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-23
DISMAL SWAMP
 OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA
Interesting Facts Concern ing Territory About Which
 Little Is Known

all seasons, the SWdI1p IS duIIudiiy visited by many pleasure seekers ana
 has long been a place of study and absorbing interest to the geologist, the botanist and the zoologist. It lies in the Coastal Plain of south eastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Most of the surface consists of recently formed peat, the residuum resulting from the arrested decomposition of vegetation, but the
 underlying rocks are older and record events that occurred thousands of years ago, in the P1eistocene epoch. The peat ranges in depth from 1 to this peat has antiseptic and preserva- 20 feet. Contrary to popular belief
 tive properties, and consequently much of the surface water is pure. Though no remains of primitive man or of extinct animals like those covered in the bogs of Ireland have been found in the Dismal Swamp, the peat contains many well-preserved
 trunks of cypress trees that lived long before America was settled by our ancestors.
 The region may be readily reached from Norfolk by canals, whose l banks, shaded by stately trees and ] graceful vines, afford an ever-chang- ing scene from the deck of the little steamer that daily piles their waters. When the swamp was young it was entirely covered by water, but much of the water has drained off through these canals, and large areas are now dry. In the center is a picturesque body of water called Lake Drum mond, the origin of which is a moot ed question.
 According to the most plausible hy- pothesis that has been advanced, it is | the remnant of a large body of deep water which once covered the entire l region. The water in this lake, be- cause of it's remarkable keeping prop
 erty, was used in earlier years for drinking on transatlantic voyages. It is a1nber-co1ored and is known local 1 ly as Juniper water.''
 As this name implies, the peculiar color has been ascrfbed to the bark of the white cedar (juniper), which abounds in the swamp. It seems more likely, however, that this color is given to the water by it's finely di- vided vegetal content or by the dye | extracted from the brown peat. Imxuriant Plant Life. The Dismal Swamp lies at the 1 junction of the deciduous and coni- ferrous forest regions of the eastern part of the United States. Its flora 1 comprises plants of many varieties l and is interesting because it shows ] a mingling of the northern and southern species.
 Plant life is 1uxuriant in the | swamp, and some parts of it are so 1 dense1y overgrown that they are al. 1 most as difficult to penetrate as the 1 jungles of the Amazon. The two pre- l dominant types of 'tp1ant associa 1 tions'' are the black gum association l comprising the water gum, red ma. pie, rattan, and yellow jessamine, and | the juniper association, comprisine 1 the white cedar, pine, sweet bay, i shrubs. and cane.
 A few specimens of the bald cy. press are still found in some places but this tree was probably more l abundant in earlier years. The cy- l press knees that grow in the dark l densely forested areas and the weath- 1 cred, moss-hung cypress trunks that l border the shore of Lake Drummond 1 are the most striking features of the l region.
 Aquatic plants have completely fill- l ed some of the abandoned ditches
 and dense canebrakes grow upon 1 their banks. With the glint of the l the swamp is all that the soul of an 1 artist would desire.
 Interesting Animal Life. 1 The fauna of the Dismal SwanV l is wide in range and as interestins 2 1 to the zoologist and hunter as the 1 flora is to the botanist. Save fo1, the 1 lock keeper near Lake DrummonG l and few farmers who live in mar. 1 ginal areas, the region is little inhabi- 1 ted. and there are many places where 1 man has never trod.
 l
 rabbits scamper about. n1uskrats and
 fish swim in the placid amber wa ] ters, brightly plumed birds fill the l air with song. and in warm weather | snakes of many species = rattlers, i copperheads, water moccasins, kings. 1 and blackS-come forth from their | holes and lie coiled in the sunshine l or hang from the branches of 1he 1 trees.
 The Peat Deposits
 l Although the swamp contains a l vast quantity of peat that is valuable for fuel or fertilizer, little has been
 done to use it commercially. In the
 drained areas agriculture is the chief
 industry, and large tracts of peat land are used for the cultivation of
 corn, heat and potatoes.
 Peat represents the first stage in the formation of coal. It has been
 shown that deposits essentially similar II to those of the Dismal Swamp were
 laid down in many parts of the Unit.
 ed States during the Carboniferous
 period and were deeply buried be-
 meath muds, sands, 1iny material and other sediments and subjected to
 pressure with varying degrees of the ] heat.
 Lignite, bituninous coal, and an-
 
 stages. Although peat is not widely used in the United States for fuel. il has been produced in Ireland since
 the traditional time when that coun- try was deforested, and the peat fire on the hearth, like the juanting car typffies Irish environment MORNING IN THE WOODS.