Peat is produced by decomposing organic matter, of mainly plant origin, in a place with little oxygen but saturated with water. In the Somme Valley, it has formed very slowly to between 0.5 and 10 metres thick, over several thousand years, at the rate of 0.2 to 1 mm per year. Peat has long been used as fuel, with the first evidence of its use in Glisy dating back to 1476, in a document that mentions peat-cutting rights granted to Jehan, Lord of Glisy (1), who lived locally. As the population increased in the 18th century, wood became rare and an alternative was needed. The use of peat developed in the 19th, then declined with the introduction of another, more efficient fuel: coal. The last application to dragonfly for peat-cutting rights dates back to 1915. In places where peat was cut, ponds formed. These peatland ponds are called "chés' entailles" in the local dialect, Picard. Looking at the pond just opposite, the straight bank on the other side is where peat-cutters lined up their planks for the last time, perhaps in 1916. They used to hold on to planks while pulling the peat out using a large shovel. (1) He served in the armies of kings Charles VII and Louis XI, and distinguished himself in several wars to become a Knight of the King's Order.
MARSHLAND KID
Chés entailles (peatland ponds)
"I’ve known these ponds all my life, but they haven’t always been there. My great uncle told me he dug the pond to get the peat out. He showed me the spade he used: it was huge, and really impressive with its handle several metres long. Most of all, it was heavy. You had to be good and strong to pull out armloads of peat from water up to 7 metres deep. My great aunt would dry it to make bricks, stacking them in the form of pyramids.
Any time I helped out, they would say: "Hey Guernoulle, come and have some “andimolles” at home." (*) Their only source of heating was peat, it really stank! Yuk! I wouldn’t hang around for long there! "
* pancakes in the local dialect, Picard