For peat’s sake

I’VE always had a soft spot for bogs. Some of the happiest days of my childhood were spent exploring the Gower Peninsula’s mires and marshes. They gave me my first intimations of the fittedness, the supreme specialisation and intricate interrelationships of ecosystems—their denizens the sundews and orchids were my earliest lessons in the marvels of adaptation. Their sphagnum substrate was no less of a wonder.

‘Blanket bog’ this habitat is called, although its wobble put me more in mind of the waterbed owned by a friend’s racy