Implement designed to extract peat cores with the minimum of disturbance. The most familiar is the Hiller peat-borer (or corer), which consists of a short screw auger head to ease penetration of the peat, backed by a chamber which can be opened and closed at the required sample depth, the sharp cutting edge of the chamber assisting detachment of the sample in more consolidated peats. The principal alternatives are the piston sampler, which is particularly good for loose peats, and the Russian borer, which allows easier removal of the complete peat core than is possible with the Hiller borer, but which is more difficult to use in compacted peats since it has no screw auger head.