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210
The Fairy-Land of Science
·
Arabella B. Buckley
163
The
explanation
is
not
difficult;
streams
flow
constantly,
or
rather
ooze
into
the
Great
Dismal
Swamp
from
the
land
that
lies
to
the
west,
but
instead
of
bringing
mud
in
with
them
as
rivers
bring
to
the
sea,
they
bring
only
clear,
pure
water,
because,
as
they
filter
for
miles
through
the
dense
jungle
of
reeds,
ferns,
and
shrubs
which
grow
round
the
marsh,
all
the
earth
is
sifted
out
and
left
behind.
In
this
way
the
spongy
mass
of
dead
plants
remains
free
from
earthy
grains,
while
the
water
and
the
shade
of
the
thick
forest
of
trees
prevent
the
leaves,
stems,
etc.,
from
being
decomposed
by
the
air
and
sun.
And
so
year
after
year
as
the
plants
die
they
leave
their
remains
for
other
plants
to
take
root
in,
and
the
peaty
mass
grows
thicker
and
thicker,
while
tall
cedar
trees
and
evergreens
live
and
die
in
these
vast,
swampy
forests,
and
being
in
loose
ground
are
easily
blown
down
by
the
wind,
and
leave
their
trunks
to
be
covered
up
by
the
growing
moss
and
weeds.
Now
we
know
that
there
were
plenty
of
ferns
and
of
large
Calamites
growing
thickly
together
in
the
coal-forests,
for
we
find
their
remains
everywhere
in
the
clay,
so
we
can
easily
picture
to
ourselves
how
the
dense
jungle
formed
by
these
plants
would
fringe
the
coal-swamp,
as
the
present
plants
do
the
Great
Dismal
Swamp,
and
would
keep
out
all
earthy
matter,
so
that
year
after
year
the
plants
would
die
and
form
a
thick
bed
of
peat,
afterwards
to
become
coal.
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