Bog is the name given to a piece of wet, soft, and spongy ground, where the soil is composed mainly of decaying and decayed vegetable matter. Such ground is valueless for agriculture until reclaimed, but often yields abundance of peat for fuel.
A bog seems usually to be formed as follows: A shallow pool induces the formation of aquatic plants, which gradually creep in from the borders to the deeper centre. Mud accumulates round their roots and stalks, and a semi-fluid mass is formed, well suited for the growth of moss, particularly Sphagnum, which now begins to luxuriate, continually absorbing water, and shooting out new plants above as the old decay beneath; these are consequently rotted, and compressed into a solid substance, gradually replacing the water by a mass of vegetable matter. A layer of clay, frequently found over gravel, assists the formation of bog by its power of retaining moisture. When the subsoil is very retentive, and the quantity of water becomes excessive, the superincumbent peat sometimes bursts forth and floats over adjacent lands.
Bogs are generally divided into two classes: red bogs, or peat-mosses, and black bogs, or mountain mosses. The former class are found in extensive plains frequently running through several counties, such as the Chatmoss in Lancashire, and the Bog of Alien in Ireland, the depth varying from 3.6 to 13 metres. Their texture is light and full of filaments, and is formed by the slow decay of mosses and plants of different kinds. The lower parts, being more entirely decayed, approach nearer to the nature of the humus than the upper portion, and, as being more carbonaceous, are more valuable for fuel. Black bog is formed by a more rapid decomposition of plants. It is heavier and more homogeneous in quality, but is usually found in limited and detached portions, and at high elevations where its reclamation is difficult.
In Ireland bogs frequently rest on a calcareous subsoil, which is of great value in reclaiming them. In the reclamation of bog land a permanent system of drainage must be established; the loose and spongy soil must be mixed with a sufficient quantity of mineral matter to give firmness to its texture and fertilize its superabundant humus; proper manures must be provided to facilitate the extraction of nutriment from the new soil, and a rotation of crops adopted suitable for bringing it into permanent condition. The materials best adapted for reclaiming peat are calcareousearths, limestonegravel, shell-marl, and shell-sand. Thoroughly reclaimed bogs are not liable to revert to their former condition. Trunks of trees are often found in bogs as are also bones of extinct animals. Research Bog
Bonanza, from the Spanish meaning 'fair weather' or 'a favouring wind', was a term first applied in the United States to an abundance of precious metal or rich ore in a mine. The term became applied to a run of good luck or great prosperity generally. Research Bonanza
Ceterach is a genus of ferns of the sub-family Polypodiaceae, chiefly known by the reticulated veins, the simple sort, with scarcely any indusium, and the abundance of chaffy scales which clothe the under surface of the leaf. One species, Ceterach officinarum (the scale-fern or miltwaste), is indigenous to Britain, and common on rocks and walls. Research Ceterach
Chlorophyll is the green colouring matter of plant leaves and absorbs the light necessary for photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll absorbs mainly red, violet, and blue light and reflects green light. The great abundance of chlorophyll in leaves and its occasional presence in other plant tissues, such as stems, causes these plant parts to appear green. In some leaves, chlorophyll is masked by other pigments.
Chlorophyll is a large molecule composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen. At the centre of the molecule is a single atom of magnesium surrounded by a nitrogen-containing group of atoms called a porphyrin ring. The structure somewhat resembles that of the active constituent of haemoglobin in the blood. A long chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms proceeds from this central core and attaches the chlorophyll molecule to the inner membrane of the chloroplast, the cell organelle in which photosynthesis takes place. As a molecule of chlorophyll absorbs a photon of light, its electrons become excited and move to higher energy levels. This initiates a complex series of chemical reactions in the chloroplast that enables the energy to be stored in chemical bonds. Research Chlorophyll
Coccus is a genus of insects of the order Hemiptera, family Coccidae, or scale-insects. The males are elongated in their form, have large wings, and are destitute of any obvious means of suction; the females, on the contrary, are of a rounded or oval form, about an eighth of an inch in length, have no wings, but possess a beak or sucker, by which they suck up the juices of the plants on which they live. At a certain period of their life the females attach themselves to the plant or tree which they inhabit, and remain thereon immovable during the rest of their existence. In this situation they are impregnated by the male; after which their body increases considerably, in many species losing its original form and assuming that of a gall, and, after depositing the eggs, drying up and forming a habitation for the young. Some of these insects are troublesome in gardens, plantations, and hot-houses, while others are of great value. for example, kermes, cochineal, lac-lake, lac-dye, and gum-lac are either the perfect insects dried, or the secretions which they form.
Kermes consist of the dried females of Coccus ilicis, found in great abundance upon a species of oak (Quercus coccifera), a native of the Mediterranean basin, and gathered before the eggs are hatched. It was known as a dye-stuff in the earliest times, but has partly fallen into disuse since the introduction of cochineal. Cochineal consists of the bodies of the females of the Coccus cacti, a native of Mexico, which feeds on various species of cactus, particularly on one called nopal (Opuntia cochinillifera). Research Coccus
Cow-tree is a name given to various trees having an abundance of milky juice, especially of Brosimum Galactodendron, a South American tree, of the order Artocarpacese (bread-fruit), which, when wounded, yields a rich milky nutritious juice in such abundance as to render it an important article of food. This fluid resembles in appearance and quality the milk of the cow. The tree is common in Venezuela, growing to the height of 30 metres. The leaves are leathery, about 30 cm long and 7 or 8 cm broad. In Guyana the name is given to the Hya-hya (Tabernce-montdna utilis), a large much-branched tree belonging to the Apocynacese; in the country of the Rio Negro to Collophora, a tree of the same family; and in Para to a species of Mimusops. Research Cow-Tree
The Dodo (Didus ineptus) was a huge, flightless bird of the pigeon order, Columbidae, formerly found in abundance only on the island of Mauritius. The Dodo had rudimentary wings, short, stout legs and a tail of soft plumage. The beak was strongly arched towards the end, and the upper mandible had a hooked point like that of a bird of prey. In 1644 when the island was first colonised by the Dutch the dodo was present in great numbers, but within forty years a combination of the loss of natural habitat to cyltivation and hunting for food led to the Dodo's extinction in the first and most famous ecological tragedy committed by Man.
In 2002 scientists at Oxford university, England extracted DNA from the only remaining Dodo tissue in existence and claimed to have discovered that the Dodo was a pigeon. However, this had already been known for at least 100 years, as evidenced by Lloyd'sEncyclopaediaDictionary, published in 1895 by Edward Lloyd Limited of London describes the dodo as 'A large bird, belonging to the order Columbidae, or Pigeons'. Research Dodo
Ebony is the popular name of various plants of different genera, agreeing in having wood of a dark colour. The best-known ebony is derived from plants of the genusDiospyros, of the natural order Ebenaceae.
The most valuable is the heart-wood of Diospyros Ebenus, which grows in great abundance in the flat parts of Sri Lanka, and is of such size that logs of its heart-wood 60 cm in diameter and from 3 to 4.5 metres long are easily procured. Other varieties of valuable ebony are obtained from Diospyros Ebenaster of the East Indies and Diospyros melanoxylon of Coromandel. Ebony is hard, heavy, and durable, and admits of a fine polish or gloss. The most usual colour is black, red, or green. The best is jet black, free from veins, very heavy, astringent, and of an acrid pungent taste. On burning coals it yields an agreeable perfume, and when green it readily takes fire from its abundance of fat. It is wrought into toys, and used for mosaic and inlaid work, but is most familiar as the black keys on a piano keyboard. Research Ebony
Fan-palm is a name sometimes given to the taliput palm or Corypha umbraculifera, a native of Sri Lanka and Malabar. The name is also applied to the Mauritia palm (Mauritia flexuosa), a tree which grows in great abundance on the banks of the Orinoco river in South America, and which yields the natives of these regions food, wine (made from its sap), and cordage, besides serving them for housing during the inundations to which the country is subject. Research Fan-Palm
The forest fly is a fly so called from its abundance in the New Forest. It is an external parasite on horses and cattle, is flat in form, leathery in consistency, and has legs specially adapted for clinging to the hair of its host. Although possessing wings, it rarely uses them. It is a pupiparous fly, giving birth to a single larva which quickly turns into a pupa. Research Forest Fly
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Bog
