MOSSES
LlVERy

r/

& REVISED EDI

H-RUSSf

MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

MOSS AND LIVERWORT,

as seen, in Ike M tcrcoco/oe .

x. la Pic

MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

AN INTRODUCTION TO THEIR STUDY, WITH

HINTS AS TO THEIR COLLECTION AND

PRESERVATION

BY

T. H. RUSSELL, F.L.S.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ORIGINAL
MICROSCOPICAL DRAWINGS

NEW AND REVISED EDITION

LONDON

SAMPSON LOW, MAESTON & COMPANY, LD.
1910

70

PRINTED BT

HAZKLL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLKBBORY.

QvC

Derivation

TO

MY WIFE,

THE CONSTANT COMPANION OF MY BOTANICAL RAMBLES,

AND SHAREE IN THE MANY HAPPY HOURS SPENT

IN THE EXAMINATION OF THE SPOILS THEN

OBTAINED, THE RESULTS OF WHICH ARE

BUT DIMLY PORTRAYED IN THE

FOLLOWING PAGES.

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION

kind reception accorded to the first edition
of this work has emboldened me to under-
take its revision, with a view to availing myself
of some of the criticisms that it has called forth.
The only one of these to which I need specially
refer is that which was directed to my special
use of the word " flowers" as applied to the
reproductive organs. One so commonly uses the
word in that sense — doubtless somewhat loosely —
that my adoption of it was, perhaps, not altogether
unwarranted, especially as I am not alone in
having done so. But, after what has been said,
I bow to the adverse opinion that has been ex-
pressed, and in the present edition have, some-
what reluctantly, substituted the less euphonious
expression "reproductive organs."

Other shortcomings I have also endeavoured
to remove, but some of the suggestions that have
been thrown out could not possibly have been
adopted without sacrificing my prime object in
writing the book, as expressed in the Introductory
Chapter.

Four entirely new plates have been added,
while the original Plate I. has been omitted.

vii

viii PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION

These fresh illustrations will, I think, help to
still further elucidate many of the most interest-
ing features of the subject.

I am much indebted to Mr. H. N. Dixon, M.A.,
for various most helpful suggestions, and for
kindly advice on sundry points of doubt and
difficulty.

T. H. RUSSELL.

17, VICARAGE ROAD, EDGBASTON,

BIRMINGHAM.
July 25th, 1910.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

r I THE following pages have been penned in the
-•- hope that, not only may they be the means
of introducing the study of the little plants with
the life-history of which they deal, to some who
have not hitherto realised its possibilities, but may
also be of service to others who, while not desirous
of going at all deeply into the matter, may never-
theless wish to know something about the struc-
ture and growth of these humble members of the
botanical community.

I have often observed, when lecturing to a
general audience, how greatly the avoidance of
scientific phraseology has been appreciated, and I
feel sure that the use of even ordinary botanical
terms, on such and similar occasions, is responsible
for the fact that, to the lay mind, any subject
connected with the world of plant life is too
frequently considered as necessarily dry and unin-
teresting. With this in mind I have been speci-
ally anxious to use simple language, and have,
therefore, in nearly every case employed English
equivalents for the ordinary expressions, at the
same time adding the latter in brackets. For the
like reason I have given English names to the few

x PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

species to which I refer as examples, believing,
that here again, the dislike that is felt by so many
to their Latin titles, might act as a deterrent if
only the latter appeared. And herein has lain my
chief difficulty, for there really are no truly
" popular " names, for the simple reason that the
plants themselves have never appealed to a demo-
cratic audience. With the Mosses I have en-
deavoured to make the best of the material at
hand by simply adopting the English names given
in Wilson's " Bryologia Britannica," unsatisfactory
as these only too often are, more especially since,
in many instances, his classification has been
considerably altered, so that the English term that
he uses, does not now strictly correspond with the
modern scientific one. With regard to the Liver-
worts the difficulty has lain in another direction.
The most recent English names, so far as I know,
are those contained in Dr. M. C. Cooke's " Guide
to the British Hepaticse," published many years ago
in Science Gossip. The classification there used
divides the tribe, in the first place, into three
groups, to which he gives the respective generic
appellations of "Scale Mosses," "Liverworts " and
" Crystal worts." The first of these seems to me
to be open to the inherent objection that it implies
that the special plants to which it is applicable are
mosses of some kind, which of course is not so.
Then, although at one time, no doubt, " liverwort "
was confined to a few species only, it has of late

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION xi

become customary to apply it to all of them
indiscriminately, and consequently it seemed to
me best to follow that course, while adopting
Dr. Cooke's specific names.

I need hardly add that, where the serious study
of these plants is undertaken, only their Latin
names will be used, and that these will soon
become quite familiar ; but I am, of course, more
especially appealing to the beginner and the
uninitiated.

I must take this opportunity of acknowledging
my indebtedness to my good friend, Mr. J. E.
Bagnall, A.L.S., not only for numerous additions
to my herbarium, and for his readiness at all times
to give practical help and advice, but for his
constant sympathy and encouragement, to which
I owe more than I can tell in connection with the
delightful study with which my book deals.

T. H. RUSSELL.

17, VICARAGE ROAD, EDGBASTON,
BIRMINGHAM.

I3th, 1908.

CONTENTS

PAGE
1

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

MOSSES ^

CHAPTER II

LIVERWORTS 101

CHAPTER III

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . • • • .• .143

CHAPTER IV

COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS . .147

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION 184

INDEX TO PLATES 187

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED . . . • • .199
INDEX 205

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FRONTISPIECE

rORT, AS SEE

PLATE I

MOSS DEVELOPMENT, AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE PURPLE FOEK-MOSS
(C ERATO DON PUEPVREUS)

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 187.)
PLATE II

EXAMPLES OF MOSS PLANTS (ABOUT FIVE AND A HALF TIMES
LARGER THAN THE ORIGINALS)

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 188.)
PLATE III

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE VARIOUS STAGES OF MOSS GROWTH, FROM
THE SPORE TO THE CAPSULE

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 188.)
PLATE IV

MOSS CAPSULES, AND SUNDRY FEATURES OF MOSS STRUCTURE

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 189.)
PLATE IVa

MOSS CAPSULES, ETC.

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 190.)
PLATE IVb

MOSS CAPSULES AND PERISTOMES

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 191.)
PLATE V

SOME OF THE VARIOUS FORMS ASSUMED BY THE PERISTOME OF A
MOSS CAPSULE

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 191.)
xv

xvi LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE Va

MOSS PERISTOMES AND PERISTOME TEETH

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 192.)

PLATE VI

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNER IN WHICH CERTAIN MOSS CAPSULES
OPEN; ALSO OF VARIOUS SPECIAL MODES OF REPRODUCTION IN
MOSSES, ETC.

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 192.)

PLATE VII

ILLUSTRATIONS OF MOSS LEAVES, AND THEIR CELL-STRUCTURE

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 193.)
PLATE VIH

EXAMPLES OF LIVERWORT PLANTS (ABOUT FIVE AND A HALF TIMES
LARGER THAN THE ORIGINALS)

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 194.)
PLATE IX

ILLUSTRATIONS OF VARIOUS STAGES OF LIVERWORT GROWTH AND
STRUCTURE, AND SPECIAL MODES OF REPRODUCTION

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 195.)
PLATE X

ILLUSTRATIONS OF LIVERWORT LEAVES AND THEIR CELL-STRUCTURE

(For details see Index to Plates, p. 196.)

N.B. — Plates I. to X. will be found at the end of the volume, immediately
following page 212.

MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

INTRODUCTION

T WOULD venture to address what I have to
say in the following pages — which attempt
to give a short and simple sketch of the life-
history of some of the smaller members of the
great plant world — to those who, in the words
of Longfellow,

love the haunts of nature,
Love the sunshine of the meadow,
Love the shadow of the forest,
Love the wind among the branches,
And the rain-shower, and the snow-storm,
And the rushing of great rivers,

for I am anxious to deal with my subject from
the point of view of a simple lover of Nature,
and, by avoiding technicalities, as far as may
be, to introduce to my readers in a more attractive
form than is possible in a purely scientific work,
a branch of natural-history study which, is full
of wonder and charm. To those who have country
tastes and longings, and to whom the fields and

1

2 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

the hedegrows, the woods and the hills, speak
in tones that are ever fresh, and that only grow in
fascination as the years roll on, I cannot imagine
a pursuit that will bring with it more pleasure
and interest of a quiet kind, than the study of these
lowly members of the botanical community. A
hobby of any kind is a sure means of adding
to the happiness of life; but one that, as in the
present instance, may be followed out at all times
and in all seasons, year in, year out ; that, while
giving zest to every country walk and ramble,
yet provides endless occupation for the long winter
evenings by the home fireside ; that introduces its
votaries to a world of hidden beauty, undreamt of
by the casual observer, and thus, while educating
the powers of observation and discrimination, gives
food for pleasurable thoughts and recollections;
such a hobby cannot but appeal in no uncertain
voice to the ever- widening circle of natural -history
lovers and workers. To those again who, while
having no intention of embarking on the closer
study of these little plants, are nevertheless inte-
rested in all Nature's works and ways, I trust that
the story that I have to tell may not be without its
attraction. Eor, while it is generally true that
" a little learning is a dangerous thing," this
caution cannot apply to the pursuit of natural-
history, where the smallest amount of knowledge
is better than none at all, increasing, as it must do,
our marvel at the ways of this wondrous world,

INTRODUCTION 3

and thus directly adding to the interest of life.
As Wordsworth has so beautifully put it :

Nature never did betray

The heart that loved her. 'Tis her privilege,
Through all the years of this our life to lead
From joy to joy.

It is therefore in the hope that I may be able
to bring to the notice of others a pursuit which
has been to me a constant source of refreshment
and delight, that these pages have been written.

As the mosses are the more familiar plants,
I propose to confine myself, in the first instance,
to them, giving a few of the more generally
interesting facts respecting them, and passing to
a short sketch of their life-history, and various
modes of reproduction. I shall then deal, on the
same lines, with that small but fascinating tribe
that comes next below the mosses in the botanical
social scale, the liverworts, and shall conclude
with a few practical suggestions as to the
collection, examination, and preservation of speci-
mens. I wish, however, to say most emphatically
at the outset, that I do not pretend to do more
than to give a broad outline of the subject, my
object being, not to write a treatise of some scientific
value, but to raise in others the desire for fuller
information, and thus to induce them, not only
to consult more advanced works, but to go to
the fountain-head of knowledge, and to make

4 MOSSES AND LIVERWOBTS

themselves personally acquainted with these
beautiful children of Nature. I have so often been
asked where a simple statement of the facts of
moss-life can be found that I am led to think that,
notwithstanding the multitude of books on natural-
history topics that recent years have called forth,
there is even yet an opening for an unpretentious
volume having the above objects in view. And
I am the more anxious to make the attempt to fill
the gap, because I cannot help feeling that the
would-be inquirer into this particular region of
plant-lore is often discouraged by the unattractive
nature of ordinary botanical phraseology, and the
scientific nomenclature necessarily used in more
advanced works, and that he is in need of some-
thing in the nature of stepping-stones to start
him on his way. I propose, therefore, as far as
possible, to use English names and expressions,
while, at the same time, giving the scientific
equivalents for the various terms that I shall coin
for my purpose. And, after all, this is really only
doing at first hand what is constantly done by two
steps, for the bulk of non-scientific readers, either
consciously or unconsciously, make a mental trans-
lation of the technical expressions that they meet
with, at all events until they have become so
accustomed to them by constant use, that their
meaning naturally suggests itself without the
need for assistance.

A few words must be added as to the illustra-

INTBODUCTION 5

tions which will be found in the plates at the
end of the volume. No descriptions, however
vivid, will, in a matter of this kind, suffice to
give such distinct impressions of the objects to be
described as some delineation of them, or, better
still, a glance at the originals, will afford, for here,
as so often, " seeing is believing." I hope, there-
fore, that my drawings will not only elucidate
the descriptions I shall give, but will also act
as a further inducement to my readers to see for
themselves the many beautiful forms which can,
at best, be so inadequately represented on paper.
These drawings have all been made, by means of
the microscope, from specimens in my own collec-
tion, and I have, as far as possible, confined myself
to plants which are most frequently to be found.

It must, however, be borne in mind that all the
objects of which I have to speak are very small —
some of them, indeed, so minute as to be practically
invisible to the unaided eye ; hence my drawings
have to be on a large scale, in some cases between
one and two hundred times larger than the
originals.

CHAPTER I

MOSSES

A S I am not writing a scientific treatise, I do
•*^*- not propose to begin in the orthodox fashion
by attempting to give a definition of a moss,
seeing that I have no desire to disgust my readers
on the very threshold of the subject, by placing
before them a number of dry, technical details
which would, after all, be of little real service ;
it will be time enough, when we have made some
practical acquaintance with the plants themselves,
to seek for a scientific description of them.
Fortunately, mosses are, as a rule, easily recog-
nised, and a comparatively short acquaintance
with them enables one, almost intuitively, to
distinguish them, even in the field, from other
plants ; indeed, the only members of the botanical
world with which there is any danger of their
being confused are some of that small tribe, as
to which I shall have more to say hereafter — the
liverworts. But even here it is only at first that
any real difficulty is likely to arise, and after
a little practice it soon becomes easy to tell at a
glance whether any particular plant is a moss or
a liverwort ; while under the microscope, or with

6

MOSSES 7

the help of an ordinary magnifying-glass, the
differences of form and structure are at once
apparent. It seems hardly necessary to mention
that the beautiful little "Cup-moss," so frequently
to he seen in the country, growing upon walls
or on decaying tree-stumps, is not a moss at all,
hut a lichen, and thus occupies a lower position
still in the scale of plant-life ; while the so-called
" Club-mosses " and " Stag's-horn-mosses " belong
to a more highly organised tribe, and again are
not true mosses. With the uninitiated the word
"moss" seems to be a kind of general term,
which is applied to all the smaller vegetable
growths, and this, no doubt, accounts for the fact
that the name is so frequently used inaccurately.

Number of Species.— But although most people
know a moss when they see one, very few have
any conception of the large number of different
kinds that are to be met with in Nature. It is
of course evident, even on the most superficial
survey, that mosses are not all alike, for there
are certain broad differences in their general
appearance that at once mark some out as quite
distinct from others ; nevertheless, these external
differences would never lead us to suppose that,
in Britain alone, more than six hundred kinds
have taken up their abode, to say nothing of many
others which inhabit foreign countries but do not
grow in these islands. Again, it is by no means
an uncommon thing to find a plant which, though

8 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

evidently belonging to some one kind or species,
yet differs slightly from the ordinary type of that
species, though not sufficiently to warrant a
distinctive name being given to it; such plants
are known as varieties, and these again go to
swell the great number of different forms which
the moss world includes. Many of the members
of this large fraternity are, of course, common
enough, as the banks and the woods, the walls
and the roofs, in any part of the country will
amply testify; others, again, are more fastidious,
and must have a habitation just to their liking
before they will settle down in life; while some
are distinctly rare, and only inhabit a com-
paratively few favoured localities. There is thus
plenty for a moss-hunter to do before he can be
said to have exhausted the field of his inquiry ;
and though, in the case of the beginner, the
plants to be gathered on any country ramble will
afford plenty of material for study for some time
to come, these will afterwards be supplemented
from time to time by the more out-of-the-way
kinds, which a holiday spent at the English Lakes,
or among the Scotch mountains, will enable him
to become acquainted with; and the search for
these more hidden treasures will add zest to
many a woodland stroll or mountain scramble. In
what I have to say I shall try, as far as possible,
to confine myself for examples to the commoner
kinds, as my readers will then be the better able

MOSSES 9

to see for themselves what I shall attempt to
describe ; occasionally, however, I shall be obliged
to go somewhat farther afield. Let us now inquire
a little more fully as to the

Habitats of Mosses. — " Where should we look
for mosses ? " is a question that naturally soon
suggests itself. "Why, almost everywhere," I
should reply ; even in the near neighbourhood of
the smoky town some few of the more hardy kinds
will find a foothold, and these will be some of the
last vestiges left behind by the country, as it
recedes ever farther and farther away before the
all too steady growth of our large cities. But if
we would see moss-life in full perfection we
must visit the haunts where Nature still holds
undisputed sway, and roam among the woods and
lanes, the heaths and moorlands, the hills and
dales, far from our busy hives of industry.

Although most mosses are very cosmopolitan in
their choice of an abode, and may be found in very
various localities and positions, yet many have a
more or less decided preference for some particular
environment, while others, again, are still more
closely restricted, either as to the nature of the
soil, or the kind of place in which they grow ; it
is therefore always desirable to note carefully
where and under what circumstances and surround-
ings a specimen has been gathered, as these facts
may constitute important aids to its identification.
Let us glance at some of the conditions under which

10 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

we should be most likely to meet with the more
familiar figures of the moss world, and incidentally
we shall obtain an idea of the various forms which
these tiny plants assume.

It almost goes without saying that mosses are,
as a rule, moisture-loving plants; indeed, we
naturally associate them with the trickle of water
and with damp, shady places, for amid such
surroundings they generally live and flourish as
though it were a pleasure to be alive. Thus it is
that Woods offer a home to many of the most
beautiful kinds, and here we may find them
covering the ground with a soft, green carpet,
refreshing to the eye, and soft to the tread. And
if by chance we light upon some dingle, screened
from the blaze of the sun by the leafy canopy
of the over-arching trees and shrubs, and where
too

the silver brook

From its full laver pours the white cascade,
And, babbling low amid the tangled woods,
Slips down the moss-grown stones with endless laughter,1

not only the ground by the water-side, but the
rocks and stones, the dead branches lying about,
and the trunks of the trees themselves, will
probably be more or less clothed with a delicate
green mantle, formed of an almost infinite number
of the minute leaves of these diminutive plants ;
while the nooks and crannies in the banks, which

1 Longfellow.

MOSSES 11

are kept constantly moist by the splash of the
water or the drip of the rain, will be tenanted by
some of the smaller and more dainty species.
And again, on looking down into the stream as it
runs rippling along we may notice that the rocks
and stones which form its very bed are often
clothed with a dark green covering of moss, while
in the deeper pools long green tresses float grace-
fully in the water, rising and falling with the
current. Plate II. fig. 1 is an enlarged drawing
of a small piece of a particularly pretty little
moss, with small, tapering leaves, known as the
Dwarf Feather-moss (EurhyncMum pumilum),
which generally chooses stony ground and rocks,
in shady situations, on which to take up its abode,
its small delicate leaves shrinking from exposure
to the rays of the sun. Figs. 7 and 19 of the
same plate represent small portions of another
moss belonging to the same family, the Long-
beaked Water Eeather-moss (Eurhynchium rusci-
forme), which is extremely partial to moisture, for
it frequently grows, not only on the rocks which
are constantly drenched by the spray from some
small waterfall, but also on those which are
actually covered by the stream, where it seems
to revel in the continual flow of the water. These
two mosses are members of a large family (the
Hypnacece] popularly known as the "Eeather-
mosses," doubtless from the feather-like nature
of their growth, though " fern-mosses " would

12 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

almost seem to be a more appropriate designation
for them, seeing that their general appearance
more frequently reminds one of a fern than of a
feather. These Feather-mosses usually grow close
to the ground in moist and shady places, and
hence it is that in the shelter of the woods we
may come across many of them literally running
wild, and clothing the soil with their beautiful
pale green fronds. The Dotted Thyme Thread-
moss (Mhium punctatum, Plate II. fig. 2) is also
a familiar inhabitant of the woods, and its large,
oval, filmy green leaves easily catch the eye amid
the tangle of growth on the bank of path or stream ;
it belongs to a specially large-leaved family, some
thirteen members of which inhabit these islands.
In this particular species, the leaves, when examined
with the glass, will be seen to be bordered by a
number of long, narrow cells, quite different in
form from those which compose the blade of
the leaf, which latter are large, and somewhat
hexagonal in shape. A magnified drawing of one
of these leaves is given at Plate VII. fig. 22.

Among the many other wood-dwellers mention
can only be made of two or three. The Wavy-
leaved Hair-moss (Catharinea undulata] is a
somewhat large plant for a moss, with dark green
leaves, and is often to be met with in great
abundance in woods, or on shady banks by the
roadside. Its leaves form very interesting objects
for microscopical study, as not only is the cell-

MOSSES 13

formation very distinct, and the small grains of
the green colouring matter, or chlorophyll, easily
seen, but the blade of the leaf is bordered by two
or three rows of narrow cells, and the margin
bristles with sets of double spines or teeth, a few
of which also grow from the back of the blade
itself. The beautiful Tamarisk Feather-moss
(Thuidium tamariscinum) is perhaps the most
fern-like of all the Feather-mosses. Its tiny
leaves when seen in profile under the microscope
will be found to have a roughened surface, or, in
botanical phraseology, to be papillose, a feature
which characterises many mosses, and to which
I shall have occasion to refer again hereafter.
One of the leaves of this moss is drawn at
Plate VII. fig. 24, but the scale of magnification
is not sufficiently large to show the minute
roughness just alluded to. The Broom Pork-moss
(Dicranum scoparium) is a frequent denizen of
similar localities ; it is a robust-looking moss,
with bright green leaves, which are all turned
in the same direction (secund, as this form of
growth is called), and are curved, or sickle-
shaped. The Wood Feather-moss (Plagiothecium
sylvaticum) and the Sharp Flat-leaved Feather-
moss (Plagiothecium denticulatum) are wood-
lovers too, and are common enough in the country ;
they both have a peculiarly flat growth, a very
distinctive feature which is easily recognised again
when once observed. The two plants so closely

14 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

resemble one another in general appearance that
it is not always easy, especially in the absence
of fruit, to distinguish them.

Rocks provide camping-ground for numerous
members of the moss tribe, though many of these
might also be classed among the moisture-loving
plants of which I have just been speaking. Any
one who has walked much in a mountainous
region will often have noticed some small plant
growing in a crack or crevice of the rock, where
it would seem that it must have no easy task to
obtain a bare subsistence. It is for such a life
as this that the tiny rock-growing mosses are
peculiarly fitted, for, from their very size, they
are able to find a lodgment where a more pre-
tentious plant could not exist ; and, being chiefly
dependent for their means of livelihood on the
air and the rain, they can flourish in situations
where larger vegetable growth would be an im-
possibility. Many of these rock-dwellers, indeed,
must be specially adapted to live among dry
surroundings, for in the higher mountains, such
as those of "Wales or Cumberland, we may notice
rocks, constantly exposed to the full blaze of
the summer sun, which yet bear on their faces
patches which, though more like dead seaweed
than living plant, will prove, on examination, to
be colonies of moss-plants. These particular
members of the moss community seem to have the
power of sustaining life for a considerable period

MOSSES 15

without the aid of moisture, and to be able to revive
when the first shower of rain comes to bring the
means of subsistence on which they must in the
end depend. Plate II. fig. 3 is a diminutive moss
known as the Slender Beardless Moss (Weisia
tenuis] that may sometimes be met with on sand-
stone rocks and walls, covering the face with what
would appear to the casual observer as a green
film of vegetable growth, unless indeed the plants
should happen to be in fruit, when the tiny spore-
vessels will show that there is something of
special interest to attract the attention. Under
the microscope this little moss forms a beautiful
object, with its small strap-shaped leaves, and
soft green colouring. Plate II. fig. 8 is another
small moss that grows in the cracks and crannies
of rocks, usually in fairly high localities.

Walls, whether of stone or brick, are favourite
haunts for many of the commoner kinds, as
well as for some that are rarer; the cracks and
holes in the stones, and in the mortar between
the bricks, provide them with a firm anchorage,
while the top of the wall, which offers a still
more secure vantage-ground, will often be more
or less covered with soft, round cushions of moss,
formed of small colonies of plants tightly packed
together ; and these cushions will, at certain
seasons of the year, bristle with numerous bright
red or yellow stalks, each surmounted by a tiny
spore-vessel, the crystal beads of dew or rain,

16 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

which have become entangled among the leaves,
glistening brightly in the sun.

It is almost needless to say that no hard-and-fast
line can be drawn between the rock-loving mosses,
to which I have just referred, and those that I
am for convenience classing as wall-dwellers, for
in many instances it seems to be quite a matter
of indifference whether a habitation shall be
sought on wall or rock. The well-known "Wall
Screw-moss (Tortula muralis, Plate II. fig. 10) is
the commonest of our wall-growing mosses. So
hardy is it that it will flourish even in the near
neighbourhood of a town, and almost any wall,
that is not quite too close to the smoke, and that
has even the most meagre attractions to offer
in the shape of a home, is pretty certain to be
inhabited by it. It is easily recognised by the
form of its leaves, which are rounded, or obtuse,
at the end (spathulate, or spoon-shaped, in
botanical language), each leaf being moreover
terminated by a delicate, transparent hair, which
is really a prolongation of the 'midrib or "nerve,"
as it is called, of the leaf. When a number of
these plants grow close together, as is frequently
the case, these hair-points give quite a grey or
hoary appearance to the green tuft. Plate VII.
fig. 25 is a drawing of a leaf on a larger scale.
The Grey-cushioned Grimmia (Grimmia pul-
vinata, Plate II. fig. 13) is another instance of a
common wall-growing moss, with hair-points to

MOSSES 17

the leaves, and, these being specially long, the
hoary appearance of the cushion-like tufts is still
more noticeable. At Plate VII. fig. 31 will be
found an enlarged drawing of a leaf of one of
these plants. The Silvery Thread-moss (Bryum
argenteum), one of the lowliest members of the
great Thread-moss (or Bryum) family, often grows
in great abundance on walls, and, like the
Wall Screw-moss above mentioned, will not be
deterred even by the close proximity of a large
manufacturing town. The plant from which the
illustration given at Plate II. fig. 12 was made
was gathered from a wall in a suburb of Birming-
ham, within a comparatively short distance from
the centre of the city. This moss is easily
recognised by its white, silvery appearance
(whence its name), a feature which is due to
the delicate and colourless leaves, considerable
portions of which, when examined under the
microscope, will be seen to be altogether devoid
of the green colouring matter or chlorophyll, to
which leaves in general owe their green tint.

There are various other members of this same
Bryum family that are frequent inhabitants of
walls, many of them having much larger leaves,
and producing an abundance of pear-shaped spore-
vessels, which form very conspicuous objects in
the spring or early summer, when their warm red
colour denotes that they are full of ripe spores.
In some parts of the country, as, for instance, in

2

18 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

the Cotswold villages, the tops of the walls are
covered with a thick coating of mud ; these mud-
capped walls are often tenanted by certain small
but specially interesting plants, which seem to
prefer this form of abode, more particularly if
the district happens to be calcareous in nature,
and a careful scrutiny of them will frequently
result in a welcome addition being made to the
herbarium.

The Hedgerows of our roads and lanes provide
shelter for numerous kinds, though many that
grow there will naturally also be found in the
woods or other shady places. Plate II. fig. 4,
the Common Pottia (Pottia truncatula), is a
pretty little moss that frequents the banks by the
roadside, where in the early spring it may often
be seen, with its small, golden-yellow spore-
vessels, like so many delicate amber cups. The
Green-tufted Weisia (Weisia viridula, fig. 9)
also grows abundantly in similar situations, and
in the spring produces a profusion of fruit; the
leaves are long and narrow, and when examined
under the microscope it will be found that the
margin is slightly rolled or folded inwards
(involute, as it is called), a feature which is very
characteristic of this particular plant. It is
wonderful to think that such a very minute trait,
in such a small organism, should nevertheless be
so constant as to form a never-failing means of
recognition.

MOSSES 19

Fallow-fields and bare ground would hardly,
one would think, have much to offer to the
moss-hunter, and yet in such places some of the
specially small and interesting species may be
met with. The little moss given at Plate II.
fig. 6, the Pointed Earth-moss (Phascum cuspida-
turn), is an instance in point ; it is so small, and
grows so close to the earth, that it will pass
unobserved unless a close watch is kept for it.
The tiny round spore-vessel, with the long,
narrow encircling leaves, forms an interesting
object under the microscope. A still smaller
relative of this moss, the Serrated Earth-moss
(Ephemerum serratum), also lives in fallow-fields,
and its discovery will well repay a careful search,
though from its very small size it is not easily
found ; for to the untrained eye, and without the
help of a magnifying-glass, a colony of these
little plants will only have the appearance of a
thin film of green scum. As we shall presently
see, it has an especial attraction for the moss-
student, owing to the fact that it affords a very
good illustration of the first stage of moss-growth.
The Common Pottia (Pottia truncatula), before
described, is also a constant dweller on the bare
ground of unsown fields, and many other mosses
could be named that frequent similar localities.

Heaths and Commons are the abodes of some of
the more hardy kinds, which are not dependent
for their well-being on a moist atmosphere, but

20 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

seem rather to prefer the bracing air of more
exposed situations. Plate II. fig. 14, the Dwarf
Swan-neck Moss ( Campy lopus pyriformis), is one
of a family which owe their common name to the
fact that the fruit-stalk, when moist, is consider-
ably bent, and is strongly suggestive of the
arching of a swan's neck ; it is almost certain to
be found on any moorland, where also some of
the Hair-mosses (Polytrichum) will as surely be
growing. These Hair-mosses are among the
most robust of all the tribe, and often attain to a
considerable size ; any one who has noticed with
some attention the ordinary growth on a wild
open heath will remember a dark green and
rather coarse kind of moss, with stiff, narrow,
somewhat bristle-like leaves, giving to the tuft,
when of any size, the appearance of a collection
of so many small bottle-brushes. The Purple
Fork-moss (Ceratodon purpureus), one of the
most cosmopolitan of our mosses, grows most
plentifully on peaty and sandy ground ; and in
April and May many a stretch of moorland
becomes tinged with red, owing to the presence
of innumerable spore-vessels of this prolific moss,
each on its own bright crimson stalk. The
Common Cord-moss (Funaria hygrometrica, Plate
II. fig. 18) is also partial to similar positions, and
especially to cinder-heaps, and to soil that has
been burned. It is easily known by its large and
somewhat filmy leaves, which grow in a bud-like

MOSSES 21

cluster close to the ground, as also by its con-
spicuous, pear-shaped spore-vessel, formed at the
end of a long, flexible stalk, which is frequently
much curved ; this spore-vessel, when ripe, forms a
particularly beautiful object under the microscope.
Marshes and Bogs must always have an attrac-
tion for the moss-hunter, for here he may meet
with some of the most beautiful of our species,
such, for instance, as the exquisite Bog-mosses
(Sphagna), those pale green, wet, spongy plants
that are so familiar to frequenters of our Scotch
and Welsh mountains. No words can do adequate
justice to the extreme beauty of these Bog-mosses,
as seen against a black background under the
microscope, when, owing to the delicate structure
of the leaves, and the practical absence of colour,
they have all the appearance of being formed of
some silvery-white material of almost unimagin-
able fineness. The cell-formation of the Sphag-
num leaf is exceptionally large and open, thus
enabling the plant to retain a considerable amount
of water, to which fact it owes its spongy character.
Plate VII. fig. 41 is a drawing of a small piece of
a leaf of the Blunt-leaved Bog-moss (Sphagnum
cymbifolium), one of the commonest of the family ;
this is magnified 140 times, and thus shows very
clearly the large, peculiarly shaped cells to
which I have referred. The Pointed Bog Feather-
moss (Hypnum cuspidatum) is also common in
these moist regions; its glossy leaves are pale

22 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

yellowish-green in colour, and those at the
extreme tips of the stem and branches closely
overlap one another, thus forming a somewhat
bud-like point, which constitutes a very char-
acteristic feature of the plant. The Fountain
Apple-moss (Philonotis fontana), with its bright
crimson stem, and light green foliage, seems to
prefer the wettest of wet places, and on the
margins of a mountain stream, or close to the
place where a spring bubbles up on the hillside,
we may often see it in great abundance.

Trunks of trees not unf requently afford quarters
for some very interesting plants, and a good deal
of moss-lore may be picked up from them by the
use of an ordinary hand magnifying-glass. In
such positions, for instance, may be seen many
of the members of the Bristle-moss family
(Orthotrichum), the spore-vessels of which — some-
times nearly buried in the surrounding dark green
leaves, and in other cases rising above them — offer,
as we shall have occasion to note hereafter, several
specially noteworthy features. The Bent-leaved
Weisia (J)icranoweisia cirrata), which generally
grows in compact, cushion-like masses, and often,
in the winter, produces abundance of fruit, and
the Green-tufted Yoke-moss (Zygodon viridissimus),
which also forms closely packed tufts of pale green
plants, are two further instances of tree-growing
mosses.

Thatched roofs, when a friendly ladder is at

MOSSES 23

hand, will often furnish many specimens for the
collector, such as the Great Hairy Screw-moss
(Tortula ruralis], a near relative of the Common
Wall Screw-moss ( Tortula muralis) ; certain forms
of the Cypress-leaved Feather-moss (Hypnum
cupressiforme), one of the commonest of our
Eeather-mosses ; and the Bent-leaved Didymodon
(Didymodon flexifolius), so called because its
leaves are somewhat bent back (squarrose), as will
be seen on reference to Plate VII. fig. 33 where a
magnified drawing of one is given.

Not only do we find that, roughly speaking,
certain mosses have a natural predilection for a
special form of habitation, but further, that some
are attracted by the geological character of some
particular locality. Thus, many most interesting
kinds abound in limestone districts, such as Dove
Dale and Miller's Dale, in Derbyshire, for which
we should search in vain in a non-calcareous
region. Plate II. fig. 15 is a drawing of a small
yellowish-green moss, the Curly-leaved Screw-
moss (Trichostomum tortuosum), which is com-
paratively seldom met with except on limestone
rocks ; it has long fragile leaves, which, when
dry, are strongly twisted or contorted — to which
fact, no doubt, it owes its specific name. An
enlarged drawing of one of these leaves, showing
its peculiarly wavy margin, is given at Plate
VII. fig. 32. The Crisped Neckera (Neckera
crispa), with its delicate undulated leaves and

24, MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

its flat growth; the CEder's Apple-moss (Bar-
tramia (Ederi), with its small, round, apple-like
spore-vessel; the Tall Anomodon (Anomodon
viticulosus] ; and the Star-leaved Thyme Thread-
moss (Mnium stellare\ are all instances, among
many that could be quoted, of mosses that have
a distinct preference for calcareous districts. On
the other hand, the plant given at Plate II.
fig. 5, the Yew-leaved Mat Pork-moss (Fissidens
taxifolius), is equally partial to a heavy soil,
such as marl or clay. This moss is a member
of a small family, represented by some fifteen
British individuals, all of which have a very
strong family resemblance, and are, from their
peculiar mode of growth, always easily known.
It will be seen from the drawing that the plant
has a markedly flat appearance, all the leaves
being arranged on the stem on the same plane.
And on looking closer still it will be found that
each leaf -blade (lamina} is, for about a quarter
of its surface, double, as though a tiny flange had
been fastened to the mid-rib or nerve, the stem
itself passing between these two leafy surfaces.
This is more clearly shown at fig. 19 of Plate VII.,
which represents a leaf drawn to a larger scale.
The shaded portions in this and the previous
drawing indicate these double parts, the increased
thickness rendering them somewhat more opaque.
The Pointed-leaved Weisia (Weisia mucronata,
Plate II. fig. 16), with its tapering and pointed

MOSSES 25

leaves, and the Pale-leaved Thread-moss (Bryum
pallens, fig. 17), with its hright crimson stem
and somewhat large leaves, which are frequently
tinted with the same hright colour, are further
instances of clay-dwellers.

As a rule mosses do not like the sea, though
here, as usual, Nature draws no hard-and-fast line,
for some few may he occasionally met with grow-
ing comparatively close to the shore, and even on
the sandhills flanking it. For instance, the Sea-
side Sessile Grimmia (Grimmia maritima, Plate
II. fig. 11) is a very beautiful little moss that
makes its home on rocks close to the sea. I
gathered the plant from which my drawing was
made in the splash of a small stream which
trickles down the face of the rocks in one of
the coves at Wooda Bay, in Devonshire, and
here it was flourishing within a comparatively
few yards of high-water mark, doubtless exposed
to the spray as the waves break upon the cliffs.

It must not be supposed that the above slight
sketch forms by any means an exhaustive
enumeration of the homes of these plants ; for,
like the grass, the mosses may well say, " Lo !
I come creeping, creeping everywhere." I have
only attempted to give a rough idea of the
positions or localities in which we may gener-
ally expect to find the tribe more or less plenti-
fully represented. With the rarer species local
considerations, such as the geological formation

26 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

of the rocks, their altitude above sea-level, and
other similar matters, have an important bearing,
and1 details such as these must be learned either
from books, or, better still, from the experience
which time and a close companionship with
Nature will alone bring.

Seasons for Gathering.— As it is well to be
conversant with the kind of place to which our
search for treasure should be directed, so the
further question, "When should we look for
mosses ? " is not without its importance. To this
I should be inclined to answer, " Always ; at any
time " ; for it is not the least among the many
attractions that this particular study offers, that
there is no " close time " for mosses, and even
when the trees have been stripped of their leaves
by the winter's frosts and winds, and the snow
lies thickly upon the ground, the small green
cushions on roof and wall — bristling perhaps with
pale yellow stalks which betoken the coming
fruit, or studded with the pretty cup-like heads of
the newly formed spore-vessels — show that there
is plenty abroad to interest a moss-student, and
serve to remind us of the time when the woods
will be green again, and the glory of the summer-
time will be with us once more.

But though to a lover of mosses a walk in the
country at any season can never be without interest,
yet there are certain times of the year that have a
peculiar attraction for him, for it is when they are

MOSSES 27

in fruit that mosses are most easily recognised, and
then too it is that they afford specially fascinating
material for microscopical examination. Though
some of our British mosses have never heen
known to fruit here, and though in not a few
kinds the fruit is comparatively rarely formed,
yet in the large majority the spore-vessels are
matured every year, and with each particular
species at about the same time. The greater
number reach this stage either in the spring or
early summer, or in the late autumn or winter,
and consequently these seasons are most favour-
able for the moss-hunter's work. Mosses being,
as a rule, moisture-loving plants, the hot, dry
summer days are naturally least conducive to
their growth, though some select even that time
of year for fruiting. Thus it is that all the year
round the moss world has its attractions for him
who has the eyes to see the beauties that it con-
tains, and month by month it will yield material
in abundance, which may provide an incentive for
a country ramble, as well as endless pleasurable
occupation for leisure hours.

LIFE-HISTORY

The story of the growth of a moss from its
earliest start in life — as represented by the spore
— to the time when it has developed its fruit,
and may be deemed to have arrived at its most

28 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

perfect form, is full of interest and wonder,
even when such a story is briefly told on paper ;
but the interest and wonder are increased a
hundredfold, if the various steps in this life-
history are followed out through an actual ac-
quaintance with the plants themselves, as may,
to no inconsiderable extent, be done with the
help of a comparatively inexpensive microscope,
or even by means of a good hand magnifying-
glass. I hope, therefore, that the following
sketch of the development of a moss from infancy,
through youth and maturity to old age, may
serve to induce some of my readers to see for
themselves what I now propose to try to explain.
Let us begin our story with what will form a
very convenient starting-point, namely,

The Spore, a tiny speck of vegetable life from
which our future moss-plant, with all its won-
derful mechanism, will take its rise. These moss-
spores vary somewhat in the different species,
both as to size (often an important factor in the
diagnosis of a specimen), and form, though they
are usually round. In every case, however, a
single one is so minute as to be practically in-
visible to the naked eye, and it is therefore only
when present in large numbers that the spores
can be seen without the aid of a glass ; and even
then they only appear as a delicate film of
coloured dust, or, should they happen to be just
making their escape from the spore-vessel, as a

MOSSES 29

slight puff of smoke. Plate III. fig. 1 represents
a collection of spores, and some idea may be
obtained of tbeir extreme minuteness from the
fact, that, as thus drawn, they are fifty-one times
larger than the originals.

While speaking of the spore a few words may
be added as to the broad general distinction be-
tween the two divisions which botanists make of
the members of the vegetable kingdom — namely,
the so-called " flowerless plants " (cryptogams)
on the one hand, to which the mosses and liver-
worts, among many others, belong ; and what are
popularly known as " flowering plants " (phane-
rogams), such as the common plants of our
meadows and gardens, on the other. In the
former case fresh individuals are produced from
spores (each of which consists of a single cell),
while the latter spring from seeds, which are
multicellular, or built up of many separate cells.

Each individual spore is provided with two
extremely delicate coverings or membranes, an
outer and an inner one ; and when we consider
the actual size of these tiny specks it is almost
impossible to believe that there can be so much
detail in such a very restricted space, so true
is it that the infinitely small in Nature is quite
as wonderful in its way as the infinitely great.

Let us suppose that one of these spores has
fallen to the ground under conditions favourable
to its growth ; what takes place ? Well, in a short

30 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

time it begins to swell, and presently the inner
of the two coats or membranes bursts through
the outer one in the form of a very fine thread-
like growth, which grows and branches in various
directions, often, and especially if moisture is
present, increasing with considerable rapidity.

This first growth from the moss-spore is known
as the Protonema of the moss. Tangled masses
of these delicate threads, looking like soft green
velvet, may frequently be seen on the surface of
the earth in moist situations — as, for instance, on
the soil in the flower-pots of a greenhouse, or in
the nooks and corners in the banks of a stream.
When examined with a good glass, or under the
microscope, they will be found to consist of
a succession of long, narrow cells, as shown in
fig. 2 of Plate III., where I have drawn, on a
somewhat large scale, a very small portion of one
which was developed from a spore of that very
tiny moss, the Serrated Earth-moss (Ephemerum
serratum), which, as I have already stated, grows
in fallow-fields, and in similarly exposed positions,
and is so minute that nothing but a close and
careful scrutiny of the ground will avail to
discover it. It is especially interesting to the
bryologist from the fact that, whereas in most
mosses the thread-like growth dies away at an
early period in the plant's history, in this one,
as also in a few others, it frequently has a much
longer existence, and consequently provides us

MOSSES 31

with a specially good illustration of this stage
of moss-life. While, as a rule, this first growth
from the spore assumes this branching, thread-
like form, in some few cases, as for instance in
the Bog-mosses (Sphagna), it is represented hy
a flat green plate or frond, which, as we shall
hereafter see, closely resembles the early stages
of many of the liverworts.

After a time small bud-like bodies make their
appearance at certain points on these green threads,
as also shown at Plate III. fig. 2 ; these are the
beginnings of future moss-plants, for each of
them, as it increases in size, will send down tiny
rootlets to anchor the plant, and stem and leaves
will gradually make their way up into the light
and air, and thus eventually the full-grown moss-
plant will be developed. Any one may easily see
for himself these early days of a moss's career, by
scattering some spores from a ripe spore-vessel on
a bit of broken flower-pot ; this should be placed
upon a piece of flannel, the whole being then
covered by a bell-glass. If the flannel is kept
constantly moist, in course of time — sometimes
many weeks after sowing — a thin green film will
make its appearance on the crock, and soon after
a plentiful crop of the green threads will follow.
I have tried this experiment with the spores of
the beautiful Swan-neck Thyme Thread-moss
(Mhium hornum) — which should be sown in
May — and after much waiting have been rewarded

32 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

by the growth of a delicate little plant with tiny
green leaves, scarcely more than the tenth of an
inch high, and bearing only a distant resemblance
to the form that it will eventually take.

The next step in our story brings us to the
flowering part, or Inflorescence ; for though
mosses are commonly known as " flower less
plants," this is really only the popular way of
saying that they cannot boast of anything which,
in outside appearance, corresponds with the
brilliantly coloured parts of the familiar plants
of our hedgerows and gardens, which we designate
by the word "flowers." A botanist, however,
looks at the matter from a different point of
view, and to him a flower may generally be said
to be the part of the plant which contains the
reproductive organs — the bodies, that is, to which
is specially assigned the duty of providing for
the production of fresh individuals. Thus, in the
case of most ordinary flowers, coloured flower-
leaves, or petals, enclose the stamens and seed-
vessels, which constitute the reproductive organs,
and by means of which ripe seeds may be formed.
Using the word in this wider sense, mosses are,
as we shall see, entitled to rank as flower-
producing plants.

On examining various pieces of moss with a
glass, a number of tiny bud-like growths will
often be noticeable; these become all the more
prominent when seen in the microscope, more

MOSSES 33

especially in such plants as the Feather-mosses,
where, as the leaves do not grow very close
together, they are not liable to be covered over,
as in many other cases. These are the so-called
" flowers " of the moss, the name having doubtless
been suggested by the fact that they contain the
reproductive organs. But in external appearance
they have nothing whatever in common with a
" flower," as that word is popularly understood.

These moss-flowers will always be found in one
or other of two positions on the plant, namely,
either at the end of the stem, or of a branch from
it, or on the side of the stem. In the former case
the flower is said to be "terminal"; Plate III.
fig. 4 is an illustration of this, taken from the
Pink-fruited Thread-moss (TPebera carnea), a
plant which is partial to the moist banks of
ditches and streams, and which turns a warm
red when old. Here, it will be observed, there
is a very decided swelling at the tip of the stem,
giving the bud-like appearance to which I have
alluded. Sometimes this terminal flower takes
the form of a tiny rosette of leaves, a feature
which, when once seen, is easily recognised
again.

"We have only to examine the ground on
any heath or common in the spring to find this
fact plentifully illustrated, for there some form
of the sturdy little Hair-moss (Poly trie hum)
family, referred to on page 20, is sure to be

3

34 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

growing ; and as these rosette- like flowers in
the members of this particular group are often
brightly coloured, they are all the more con-
spicuous. I well remember spending an early
spring holiday, at the end of a specially wet
season, on the borders of the New Forest; the
constant rain had called forth the mosses in full
perfection, and in one particular stretch of heathy
land the ground in places was thickly carpeted with
tufts of some of the smaller kinds of Hair-moss,
which were covered with these tiny rosette-like
flowers, some of them still quite young and of a
pale greenish yellow, others more advanced and of
a warm orange colour, while others, that were still
more fully developed, showed up against the dark
green bristle-like leaves in various shades of red
and crimson. The sight was one not easily to
be forgotten, especially by any one who could
read the hidden meaning of these numberless
small round heads of colour on the sombre tufts
of moss.

In figs. 3 and 5 of Plate III. these bud-like
growths have been formed in the second of the
two positions above referred to, namely, on the
side of the stem, nestling among the leaves.
Here the flower grows in the angle formed by a
leaf with the stem, or, in botanical language, in
the axil of a leaf ; hence it is said to be axillary.
Pig. 3 of the same plate is a drawing of the
Common Elat Eork-moss (Fissidew bry aides),

MOSSES 35

another member of that interesting little group
of plants of which mention has already been made
(p. 24) as being distinguished by their specially
flat growth, and by the curious double thickness
of a portion of the leaf. In this particular plant
one of the features by which it is recognised
is the presence of these tiny flowers in the axils
of many of the leaves, as shown in my drawing.
Pig. 5 represents a small piece of one of the
commonest of our Feather-mosses, the Prolonged
Feather-moss (Eurhynchium prcelongum\ which
grows creeping on the soil, or on tree-stumps
in the shade of the hedgerow, and in other like
situations, often sending out long, pale green,
feathery fronds, which make their way into the
cracks and crannies where they can get screened
from the sunlight, clinging so tenaciously to the
ground, by means of their tiny rootlets, that it
is difficult to disentangle a perfect specimen.
In this case three flowers are shown, each under
cover of a leaf.

Now let us, with the help of a dissecting-glass
and a pair of dissecting-needles, carefully cut
away the leaves from some of these bud-like
bodies. In the great majority of cases we shall
be struck by the fact that these leaves are larger,
and often much larger than the ordinary leaves
of the plant, and, moreover, that they differ very
considerably from them in form. How great this
difference may be, will be readily understood by

36 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

a comparison of figs. 15 and 16 of Plate IV. with
fig. 17 of the same plate, the former representing
some of the leaves taken from the stem and
branches of the Common Rough-stalked Feather-
moss (Brachythecium rutabulum) — frequently to
he met with in the country, growing in bright,
glossy green patches on banks, walls, trees, etc. —
while the latter gives one of the leaves of which
the flower is formed. In some cases, however,
the variation in form between the two kinds of
leaf is very slight, as shown in figs. 18 and 19
of Plate IV., which give leaves (the former one
of the ordinary leaves of the plant, the latter
one from a flower) belonging to a very common
moss (Camptothecium sericeum), the pale yellow,
silky sprays of which often form conspicuous
objects on walls, roots of trees, and banks by the
roadside.

These large leaves doubtless serve a very real
purpose in the life of the plant, as they must
help to retain small drops of rain or dew round
the reproductive organs enclosed in them, and
thereby aid, as we shall presently see, in the
fertilisation of the latter.

After removing several layers of these leaves,
we shall come upon a quantity of loose cellular
substance, which, when examined with a fairly
strong lens in the microscope, is seen to consist
of numerous very small bodies of a peculiar form ;
these are the Organs of Reproduction. There

MOSSES 37

are two kinds, namely, (1) the fertilising organ
(antheridium), and (2) the fruit-bearing organ
(archegoniuni). Let us make a closer acquaint-
ance with each, taking first

The Fertilising Organ (antheridium), the func-
tion of which is to provide that wonderful
fertilising matter, hy the aid of which the
fruit is formed, and in the absence of which no
fruit is ever produced. Plate III. fig. 7 is a
highly magnified drawing of a group of these
bodies, taken from the Common Hair-moss
(Polytrichum commune), a denizen, as we have
already learned, of our heaths and commons.
They are almost always somewhat sausage- or
cucumber-shaped, as in my illustration, and are
accompanied by numerous very delicate thread-
like bodies known as paraphyses, which some-
times, as in this instance, are swollen or thickened
at the end, giving them a distinctly club-like form.

Botanists were for long puzzled as to what
use these delicate threads could be to the plant,
for their constant presence seemed to imply that
they served some useful purpose, Nature not
being given to wasting her energies in the pro-
duction of parts to which no function is allotted.
It is now believed that at least one duty which
they perform is to help to retain moisture round
the reproductive organs, a very important matter,
owing to the fact that, Avithout the presence of
water, fertilisation cannot take place.

5SQ70

38 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

The Fruit-bearing Organ (archegonium)—to
which is entrusted the duty of producing the
fruit of the moss — is very different in appearance
from the fertilising organ, as will be seen by a
reference to Plate III. fig. 6, which represents
two taken from the Velvet Feather-moss (BracJiy-
thecium velutinum), another frequent inhabitant
of our country hedgerows. It is somewhat flask-
shaped, having a long, slender neck, ending in
a round, swollen base, the whole resembling in
outline a diminutive flask or bottle. In colour
it is a deep crimson, and again the microscope
generally discloses the presence round it of a
number of the thread-like paraphyses. As the
organ ripens, an extremely fine passage is formed
down the centre of the slender neck, by the
parting of certain of the cells. The cells, too,
at the top of the neck roll back, thus opening
the way into this passage, which leads directly
into a cavity in the swollen base. Here there
is one special cell, known as the oosphere, from
which, in due course, the fruit will spring, and
to which I shall refer again very shortly.

It is perhaps well that I should point out in
passing the extreme minuteness of these repro-
ductive organs; many of them, even when care-
fully mounted, are not more than just visible to
the unaided eye, and large numbers may be
packed in one of the small bud-like flowers, which
is itself hardly noticeable, even on a more or

MOSSES 39

less close inspection, unless with the help of a
glass. The fact that those given at fig. 7 of
Plate III. are thirty-one times, and those at
fig. 6 fifty-one times, larger than the originals,
will afford some idea of the microscopic size of
these bodies. It will easily be believed that in
order to examine such minute organisms properly
it is necessary to have recourse to the help of
a microscope, though, with a good magnifying-
glass, such as one of the platyscopic lenses
mentioned at page 151, they may be distinctly
seen, after their leafy coverings have been re-
moved.

While, in the majority of mosses, the repro-
ductive organs are formed inside bud-like flowers,
as already described, this is not always so, for
sometimes they grow singly, or in clusters of
very few, in the axils of the ordinary leaves, or
in other positions, and in such cases are, of
course, not so easily found. Indeed, to meet
with them is then frequently a task calling for
the exercise of considerable care and patience;
and, needless to add, the help of a good glass
and dissecting-needles is a necessity.

Fertilisation. — When the fertilising organ is
ripe it bursts at its upper end, and discharges a
cloud of very minute cells, inside each one of
which is a still more minute spiral thread-like
body (antherozoid) ; this is the wonderful fertilising
medium to which reference has already been

40 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

made, by the help of which the fruit is eventually
formed. These spiral bodies are so diminutive
that they only become visible at all when highly
magnified; they have this wonderful faculty,
that when they are freed from the surrounding
cell-walls by which they are at first enclosed —
and this takes place soon after their escape —
they are able to move about in water, by the
help of two very delicate hairs, or cilia ; indeed,
when seen for the first time under the microscope
they might easily be mistaken for microscopic
animals, so decided is their motion. We can now
understand how it is that water plays so im-
portant a part in this matter of fertilisation, for
by its means one of these tiny spiral bodies can
find its way to the head of one of the ripe fruit-
bearing organs ; it can then pass down the narrow
passage which, as we have seen, has been formed
down the neck, and so enter the cavity in the
swollen base, and it will there fertilise that
special cell to which I have alluded above.
Sometimes we may be so fortunate as to examine
a specimen tinder the microscope just when the
fertilising organs are ready to burst, and a slight
pressure on the thin cover-glass will then suffice
to bring this about, and we may see the cloud
of cells escape under our very eyes. Plate III.
fig. 9 is a drawing of a group of the reproductive
organs of one of the Thread-mosses (JBryum
intermedium}, and shows one of the cucumber-

MOSSES 41

shaped fertilising organs discharging its con-
tents. The rosette-like flowers of the Hair-moss
(Polytrichum) family, already described at page
34, will provide convenient illustrations of the
same thing; they should be examined in early
summer, and, of course, fresh specimens must be
used.

There is one feature in connection with these
reproductive organs that calls for special mention,
as it often constitutes a very important item in
the diagnosis of any particular species ; this is
the relative positions of the two kinds on the
plant. In some instances the fertilising organs
alone are formed on one plant, and the fruit-
bearing organs on an entirely separate one — in
which case the moss is said to be dioicous; in
others they both grow on the same plant, but
separated the one from the other, and the moss
is then spoken of as autoicous (or monoicous).
Again, sometimes the two kinds are not only
borne on the same plant, but are actually mixed
together, and the moss is then known as synoicous-,
while if both fertilising and fruit-bearing organs
are to be found in the same flower, but in
distinct groups, as occasionally happens, we have
a paroicous moss. Plate II. figs. 4 (Pottia
truncatula), 5 (Fissidens taxifolius), 10 (Tortula
murali-s), and 13 ( Grimmia pulvinata) are instances
of autoicous plants, while those given at figs. 1
(EurhyncMum pumilum), 2 (Mnium punctatum) , 12

42 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

(Bryum argenteum), and 17 (Bryum pallens) are
dioicous. At Plate III. fig. 8, moreover, we
have an example of a synoicous group. This repre-
sents some of the reproductive organs of the
Small-mouthed Thread-moss (Bryum inclinatum] .
It will he observed that the two kinds are inter-
mingled, accompanied, as usual, hy a number of
the thread-like paraphyses.

It is impossible, I think, to contemplate this
mysterious act of fertilisation without feelings of
wonder, almost amounting to awe. That a living
thing of any kind should originate from the
union of two microscopic cells, is, of itself,
marvellous enough. But when we know that
that living organism will not only belong to one
particular tribe of plants, but that it will re-
produce the special form of the parent plant, and
will, moreover, repeat all the minutest details of
the latter, down to the shape and size of the
cells, and even the thickness of the cell-walls,
the marvel is increased beyond expression.

But here we have come to one of the limits
to our knowledge, for we know no more what
fertilisation really is, how it is that so much is
brought about by the simple union of these two
cells, than we know what life itself is, and how
it originated. We can only note the altered
conditions that result from varied circumstances.
And this we do know, that when the fertilising
body has found its way to the base of the fruit-

MOSSES 43

bearing organ, and not until then, a change takes
place in the latter. Instead of shrivelling up
and dying, as it otherwise most assuredly would
do, its swollen base becomes more and more
swollen, owing to the growth inside of the young
spore-vessel, which has arisen from the special
fertilised cell (oosphere), and which is constantly
increasing in size, and ever tending to force its
way upwards towards the light. The pressure
which it thus exerts on the delicate walls of its
tiny prison at length becomes so great, that it
bursts through them, and rises up on a stalk
(seta) of its own, and generally bearing on its
end the upper portion of the fruit-bearing organ
inside which it was formed, which thus makes a
kind of covering for the young spore-vessel, and
is known as the Yeil or calyptra. The lower
portion, left behind, is the sheath, or vaginula.

Eig. 10 of Plate III., taken from the Common
Wall Screw-moss (Tortilla muralis), to which
reference has already been made, affords a good
illustration of this, for on the end of the pale
yellow fruit-stalk will be seen the veil, looking
like a tiny extinguisher ; and under a low power
in the microscope we may get a glimpse, through
its thin, transparent walls, of the young, half-
formed spore-vessel inside, which, in this instance,
is in a very early stage of its development, and
is as yet hardly recognisable as a spore-vessel at
all. Towards the close of winter, or in the very

44 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

early days of spring, the small round cushions
of this moss, on the tops of the walls, bristle all
over with tiny pale yellow stalks, among which
the rain-drops sparkle in the sunlight like so
many diamonds ; these bristling cushions will
provide numerous examples of what I have just
described, and an ordinary hand magnifying-glass
will suffice to show that nearly every little stalk
is terminated by one of these veils. At fig. 11
of the same plate we have a veil detached from
its fruit-stalk, the small point at the top being
the shrivelled-up end of the fruit-bearing organ,
of which it once formed the upper part. The
veil (calyptra) drawn at Plate IV.a, fig. 1, is a
still more notable instance of the same type.
Well may the members of this particular family
be known as the " Extinguisher-mosses." In
this instance, too, the young spore-vessel is
much more advanced, and closely resembles the
appearance that it ultimately assumes.

The veil does not always take this extinguisher
form; for instance, at Plate III. fig. 12 we have
one that is wider, and is, moreover, covered with
numerous long hairs, which give it quite the
appearance of a fur cap ; this veil is taken from
the Aloe-leaved Hair-moss (Polytrichum aloides),
another frequent inhabitant of our heaths and
commons. Again, fig. 14 of the same plate shows
an entirely different kind of veil ; this is said to
be mitre-shaped (mitriform), because of a resem-

MOSSES 45

blance which it is supposed to bear to a bishop's
mitre ; its sides are marked by a number of
grooves, running from one end to the other, and
are also clothed with numerous short hairs. This
is the veil of the River Bristle-moss ( Orthotrichum
rivulare), a very dark green, almost black moss,
which loves to grow on rocks and tree-roots near
to water, and which may even be seen with its
very long branches floating in the stream.

There is one point in connection with the veil
(calyptra) to which a few words of passing refer-
ence should be made, illustrating, as it does, the
marvellous regularity that we find everywhere
ruling in Nature, even down to the most minute
details. When the upper portion of the fruit-
bearing organ bursts away, as above described,
owing to the increasing size of the young spore-
vessel, thus forming the veil, this bursting may
take place in one of several ways. For example,
it may happen that the lower edge of the veil is,
so to speak, clean cut, as in Plate III. fig. 11,
or the tearing away may have left the margin
jagged and irregular; or again, the veil itself
may have a certain number of splits or cracks
running up its sides, as though it had been
strained beyond its utmost stretching-point. The
interesting feature in the matter is, however, this,
that whatever the particular manner of bursting,
it is practically always the same in the same
species, and thus not unfrequently this seemingly

46 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

trivial detail may act as a clue to the correct
naming of some particular plant : an illustration
of the fact which is constantly impressed upon
us in the study of any branch of natural-history
— and which applies with special force to the
moss world — that no point, however small, is too
trivial to he taken account of.

The Capsule. — As the young spore-vessel in-
creases in size it gradually pushes off the veil,
and thus eventually we arrive at the fully de-
veloped spore-vessel, or capsule, the fruit of the
moss. In its earlier days the capsule is generally
green in colour, but as it ripens its hue changes
to warm yellow, brown, or crimson, and in its
mature stage it forms a very beautiful object for
microscopical examination, under a low-power
lens, and with a black background illumination.
Moreover, as we shall soon see, from the point
of view of its structure, and of the marvellous
adaptation of its various parts to the ends which
they are formed to serve, the interest of our story
culminates with the capsule.

As may be supposed, the capsule varies greatly,
both in form and size, in the various species ; with
the help of Plates III., IV, IV.a, and IV.b, let
us take a glance at some of its most characteristic
aspects. Plate III. fig. 15 gives the long, narrow
capsule of our old friend the Wall Screw-moss
(Tortula muralis), that constant denizen of walls,
both brick and stone, and Plate IV.a, fig. 10,

MOSSES 47

shows, on a somewhat larger scale, the similar
capsule of another member of the same family,
the "Wide-leaved Screw-moss ( Tor tula laevipila) . In
both cases the form is said to be cylindrical, that
is, like a small cylinder. Plate III. fig. 19 is an
instance of the same thing, though in this case the
capsule is not so long ; it represents the capsule
of the Purple Fork -moss (Ceratodon purpureus),
to which reference has been made on page 20,
as one of the most widely distributed of all our
mosses. This capsule is specially interesting from
more than one point of view, as we shall have
occasion to see. Fig. 16 of Plate III. is a very
representative example; this is the capsule of
the Velvet Feather-moss (Brachythecium vein-
tinum), which is so common in country lanes,
growing on the hedge banks, and on the roots
of trees, etc. ; it is egg-shaped (ovate) in form,
and assumes a somewhat drooping or bent attitude
on the fruit-stalk, a feature which, in a greater
or less degree, characterises the capsules of many
mosses, and is an important item in their diag-
nosis. Such capsules are said to be cernuous.
A reference to Plate IV. a will show some of the
more familiar variations in this matter of the
position of the capsule as regards the fruit-stalk.
Thus the capsule given in fig. 9 is erect ; in
fig. 6 it assumes a horizontal position; in fig. 7
the bend in the stalk is very pronounced; while
in fig. 8 the capsule droops so much that

48 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

it hangs with its mouth directed to the ground
(pendulous, as this position is called). At fig. 17
of Plate III. we have a much more rounded or
spherical capsule ; it is taken from the Common
Apple-moss (Bartramia pomiformis], a beautiful
little pale green moss, which is particularly
partial to dry, shady banks, where the soil is of
a sandy nature. Under such conditions it often
spreads and flourishes, and the groups of small
round capsules — which in the spring, when newly
formed, are light green in colour, and later on
turn a warm brown — form very conspicuous
objects. This particular capsule, moreover, is
specially long-lived, and it is by no means un-
usual to find the vivid green heads of the young
fruit growing side by side with the empty brown
shells of those which were produced in the pre-
vious year. The name "Apple-moss," given to
the members of this family, would seem to have
been suggested by the evident resemblance which
the capsule bears to an extremely diminutive
apple. Mg. 11 of Plate IV.a shows this capsule
on a larger scale.

The capsule drawn at fig. 18 of Plate III. is
again rather long in proportion to its width, and
is moreover distinctly bent, or inclined ; it belongs
to the Wavy-leaved Hair-moss (Catharinea un-
dulata), mention of which has also been made in
an earlier page (see page 12). The fresh green
capsules of this moss, often still covered by the

MOSSES 49

long, slender veil, are familiar objects in the
autumn, growing in the shade of a roadside which
is overhung by trees, or in the depths of the
woods; and in the early spring these same cap-
sules, which will then have turned a deep brown,
may be seen, either packed with spores, or like
so many delicate empty urns. Fig. 20 of the
same plate is another instance of a similar form ;
it is the capsule of the Marsh Fork-moss (Dicra-
num palustre), which, as its name implies, in-
habits marshes and other moist situations.

At fig. 21 of Plate III. is a capsule which is
characteristic of the larger forms, such as those
which are met with in the Bryum and Mnium
families. It belongs to the moss known as the
Swan-neck Thyme Thread-moss (Mnium hornum),
a name undoubtedly suggested by the peculiar
bend of the fruit-stalk. This moss grows in the
greatest profusion in the shady recesses of the
woods, often carpeting the banks and the roots
of the trees with a thick covering, the bright
golden green of which is then especially refresh-
ing to the eye. It is then, too, that the plant
forms its fruit, which is constantly produced in
great abundance, the beautiful golden-brown cap-
sules, each at the end of a gracefully curving
stalk, making a striking contrast to the sea of
green from which they rise; indeed, common as
this capsule is, it always rivets the attention,
not only on account of its size, but also by reason

4

50 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

of its form and colour. When seen under a
low-power lens in the microscope, emptied of
its spores, and with the beautiful fringe of teeth
all round the mouth expanded to the utmost, it
forms an object the beauty and fascination of
which it would be difficult, indeed, to over-esti-
mate. Eig. 9 of Plate IV.b is a drawing of the
capsule in this condition. At fig. 23 of Plate III.
we have the capsule of the Common Pottia (Pottia
tnmcatula), an inhabitant of roadside banks and
fallow fields ; its pretty little cup-shaped capsules
are produced in considerable quantities in the late
autumn and early spring, and the whole plant
in this stage makes a very interesting subject for
a microscopic slide. The tiny globe-like capsules
given in figs. 24 and 25 belong to the Pointed
Earth-moss (Phascum cuspidatum), which also
lives on shady banks and in fields, though a very
close inspection of the ground is necessary if
these diminutive round globes, enveloped in their
surrounding leaves, are not to pass unobserved.
When the capsule is ripe it turns a warm red
colour.

Plate IV. fig. 1 is a drawing of a capsule of
another of our very small mosses, the Eallow-field
Cord-moss (Ftmaria fascicularis), which, as its
name implies, is found — though not in such
abundance as the plants just referred to — in
fallow-fields, especially on a clay soil ; it also is
so small that the ordinary observer would pass

MOSSES 51

it by unnoticed, though the more practised eye
of the moss-hunter would doubtless be attracted
by the minute green growth, showing itself here
and there where some slight hollow retains the
moisture longer than in the more exposed parts
of the field. In this case the capsule is pear-
shaped (pyriforni}. I have given the capsule
figured at Plate IV.a, fig. 14, on account of its
very unusual form ; indeed, there is something
quite elfish in the appearance of the plant from
which it is taken (Buxbaumia aphylla, or the
Leafless Buxbaumia), for it consists of little else
than this strange-looking capsule, the leaves being
reduced to a few scale-like growths. One is not
surprised that, in former days, before its true
nature had been ascertained, it was thought to
be some form of fungoid growth. It is far from
being a common plant, and, indeed, is distinctly
rare, though it may sometimes be found on the
ground, or on rotten wood, generally preferring
the shade of a fir wood. It has a very peculiar
way of suddenly disappearing, and will seldom
revisit old haunts.

The above instances will serve to show some
of the more general shapes which the capsule
takes, though many slight variations occur in
the various species, all of which are important
as helps to identification. Let me add a few
illustrations of such variations. At Plate IV.
fig. 2 is a representation of the capsule of the

52 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

Purple Fork-moss (Ceratodon purpureus), a moss
which we have already met with several times.
At its lower end, or neck, as it is called, a small
swelling in the capsule wall will he seen. Such
a capsule is said to he strumose, a word derived
from the Latin strmna, a wen. A minute detail
like this might seem, at first sight, to be scarcely
worth observing, or may even pass unnoticed, and
yet in this particular plant this slight swelling
is always present, in a more or less marked degree,
and is one of the signs by which it is known.
With a good lens the swelling may easily be seen,
even in the field. In some cases the part of the
fruit-stalk just under the capsule becomes very
much swollen (forming what is known as an
apophysis), as illustrated by figs. 12 and 13 of
Plate IV.a. It will readily be believed that such
a striking characteristic is of importance as
regards identification. And lastly, contrast this
form with that of the capsule at fig. 15 of the
same plate (Webera elongata), where the neck
of the capsule tapers very gradually into the
fruit-stalk, giving a long, drawn-out appearance
to the whole.

Now notice the oblique mouth of the capsule
of the Common Cord-moss (Funaria hygrometrica),
drawn at fig. 3 of Plate IV., a moss frequently
to be found growing on heaths, banks, and walls.
This same capsule is also given at Plate IV.b,
fig. 1, in order to illustrate another feature,

MOSSES 53

namely, the difference often to be observed in
the external appearance of the capsule wall, in
its dry condition, as contrasted with it when
moist. My drawing was made from a dry capsule,
and shows the irregular furrows and ridges which
appear in it when in that state, though under the
influence of moisture no trace of them will be
seen. Then look at fig. 13 of Plate IV., the
capsule of the River Bristle-moss (Orthotrichum
rivulare) — a moss which, as we have seen, has
a predilection for tree-roots and rocks by the
water-side — the wall of this capsule, when dry,
is marked by eight grooves or furrows, and con-
sequently by the like number of ribs, or raised
portions; these can easily be seen with the help
of a good glass, and are very prominent in my
magnified drawing. The number of these ribs
in the capsules of this particular moss — and the
same applies to other members of the same family
— is never more nor less than eight, so that this
feature naturally forms one of the characteristics
by means of which the plant is recognised. But
as soon as the capsule is moistened the ribs
disappear, owing to the swelling out of the capsule
wall, which is then marked by eight orange
streaks. Pig. 14 of the same plate illustrates
this condition; it shows a capsule in the moist
state, from another member of the same family
(Orthotrichum saxatile), which prefers rocks for
its dwelling-place, especially when they are of a

54 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

limestone nature. Pig. 2 of Plate IV.b is another
illustration of a ribbed capsule. In the Hair-moss
(Polytrichum) family a somewhat similar charac-
teristic is found, the capsule wall, instead of being
round, having a certain number of comparatively
flat faces, with corresponding angles, varying in
the different species from four to six, and running
up the whole length of the capsule. A reference
to Plate IV. a, fig. 13, will show more clearly what
I mean.

Again, the position of the capsule with regard
to the leaves varies in different plants, and affords
a further guide in the naming of specimens. As
a rule, the fruit-stalk is long, and thus the
capsule is raised well above the leaves from the
midst of which it springs; it is then said to be
exserted, as in Plate II. figs. 9 and 10. But in
many cases the fruit-stalk is so short that it does
not lift the capsule above the level of the sur-
rounding leaves, as in fig. 11 of the same plate,
and here the capsule is consequently said to be
immersed. Plate IV.a, figs. 4 and 5 are other
instances of immersed capsules.

The latter figure also exemplifies, with excep-
tional clearness, a point in the structure of the
capsule that may receive a passing word of notice.
In many cases, 'when the capsule is examined with
the microscope, a very distinct dark patch is
seen in the centre of it, evidently betokening
some part of the internal structure. This indi-

MOSSES 55

cates the position of the spore-sack, inside which
the spores are formed. Its deep colour is generally
due to the fact that it is full of spores. In the
capsule under consideration the walls are so thin
that the form of the spore-sack is clearly dis-
tinguishable, even when it is empty. The same
thing is also shown in figs. 13 and 15 of the
same plate.

Stomata. — Before passing on, I must not omit
to mention one feature which is peculiar to the
capsules of certain of the mosses. It is of course
well known that the microscope reveals, in the
delicate skin of ordinary leaves, the existence
of numerous tiny holes, through which air, water,
and gases are constantly passing in and out of
the body of the leaf. These are the pores, or
stomata. Now, though nothing of the kind is
found in the leaves of mosses, yet in the capsule
wall of some species these pores are constantly
present, being situated, as a rule, either near to
the base or close to the mouth of the capsule.
My readers will doubtless be aware that, in
ordinary leaves, each of these tiny openings is
surrounded by two crescent-shaped cells, known as
the " guard-cells," which alter their shape some-
what, according to the condition of the atmos-
phere, and thus close or open the pore as outside
circumstances may require. These guard-cells
are also found encircling the pores of a moss
capsule, as shown in Plate IV. fig. 23, which

56 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

gives one from the capsule of the Wood Bristle-
moss (OrthotricJium affine). In this instance the
guard-cells are situated on the outer surface of
the capsule wall, and the pore is said to be super-
ficial; hut in other cases they are formed just
below the surface (Plate IV. fig. 22), and here
the pore is said to be immersed. These pores are
best seen in the members of the Bristle-moss
(OrthotricJium) family, where they constitute a
feature of some importance in determining the
names of the various species, and it is always
well, therefore, in examining one of these mosses,
to ascertain at once, by dissecting one of the
capsules, and viewing it under the microscope,
whether the pores are superficial or immersed.
Needless to say that a high-power lens will be
necessary for such a purpose. I am not aware
that any theory has ever been put forth as to
the use which these pores serve, or to account for
some being immersed while others are superficial.
Fruit-stalk. — I have already referred incidentally
to the fruit- stalk, or seta, but this deserves a
few more words of notice before we proceed, as
it, too, has its own special characteristics. In
colour it varies from pale green or yellow to
brilliant crimson or warm brown; while, as we
have just seen, it is sometimes long, in other cases
comparatively short, and again, at times is so
reduced in length as to be scarcely noticeable. It
is either straight, with the capsule erect at its

MOSSES 57

end (Plate III. fig. 15a) ; or it may take a more
or less sharp bend just before it joins the capsule,
in which case the latter is inclined or cernuous
(Plate IV. figs. 4 and 6); or it may assume a
more drooping form, when the capsule is de-
scribed as pendulous (Plate III. fig. 21) ; while,
in the more extreme instance given at Plate IV.
fig. 3 — the fruit-stalk and capsule of the Common
Cord-moss (Funaria hygrometrica) — it is long and
very flexible, and bends quite round upon itself.
These various forms which the fruit-stalk assumes
are further exemplified by figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9
of Plate IV.a. Moreover, in some cases, when the
stalk is examined with a good lens, the surface
will be seen to be covered with numerous slight
prominences, giving it a rough appearance.
Plate IV. fig. 6, which represents the capsule
and fruit-stalk of the Velvet Feather-moss (Brachy-
thecium velutinwn) well illustrates this, while at
fig. 7 is a small portion of the same stalk more
highly magnified, and showing the roughness
much more clearly. Compare these two figures
with figs. 4 and 5 of the same plate, in which
are given the bent capsule and smooth fruit-stalk
of another equally common moss, inhabiting
similar localities ; here the stalk is quite free
from any sign of roughness. In some few in-
stances we meet with fruit-stalks in which the
upper part only is rough, while the lower portion
is smooth, but such cases are comparatively rare.

58 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

Once more — in certain mosses the fruit-stalk
is strongly twisted, as in Plate IV. fig. 9, which
gives the capsule and fruit-stalk of the Awl-
leaved Screw-moss (Tortula subulata), a frequent
inhabitant of sandy hanks, a small piece of the
fruit-stalk, more highly magnified, being also
depicted at fig. 10, where the twist in con-
sequence is still more manifest. Features such
as these further serve to show the importance,
in every branch of nature-study, of the smallest
detail, either in form or structure, and cannot
but increase the wonder that we must feel as
we recognise, at every step, the marvellous order
that everywhere reigns.

Position of the Fruit. — It will not be inappro-
priate, before describing more minutely the various
parts of the capsule, and the functions which they
perform, to say a few words as to the position
of the fruit on the plant, for this is a matter
of some importance in the classification of the
different genera, and is consequently a point
which always has to be taken into account when
searching for the name of any specimen under
examination. Mosses are commonly divided into
two large classes, according to this matter of the
whereabouts of the fruit, namely, (1) those in
which the fruit grows at the end of the stem,
or acrocarpous mosses, and (2) those in which
it springs from the side of the stem, or pleuro-
carpous mosses. Pig. 4 of Plate II. gives an

MOSSES 59

acrocarpous, and fig. 19 a pleurocarpotis plant.
In the former class must be included those plants,
of which there are not many, where the fruit is
found growing from the end of short shoots, which
hranch off from the main stem. From a hard-and-
fast scientific point of view this classification is not
accepted to the same extent as it formerly was ;
but the cases where it is not strictly applicable
are so comparatively few, and are so unlikely to
trouble a beginner that we may, for present
purposes, disregard them. The distinction between
these two general types of moss-growth is so clear,
that the student will soon learn to recognise them,
even in the field, without any difficulty, and this
preliminary diagnosis will at once tell him among
which genera he must search for the particular
plant in question. Those mosses in which the
fruit is produced at the end of the stem have a
distinctly upright growth, and many of them
frequently congregate in tufts or cushions, owing
to the very nature of their mode of development ;
for the formation of flowers, and afterwards of
fruit, at the end of the principal stem, stops its
further increase in that direction, and the tendency
consequently is to put forth new branches, and
so to add to the size of the tufts. On the other
hand, plants that have the fruit arising from
the side of the stem are not subject to the same
check to their elongation; and, as the stem thus
tends to increase considerably in length, such

60 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

plants naturally have a much less upright habit,
and are far more given to creeping on the
surface of the ground and to branching out
in various directions. Hence it comes about
that they commonly have a somewhat feathery
appearance, from which fact it arises that
so many of them are known as "Feather-
mosses."

The Lid. — The mouth of the capsule is usually
closed by a tiny cap known as the lid (operculum) .
Plate III. fig. 21 represents the capsule of that
frequent tenant of the woods, the Swan-neck
Thyme Thread-moss (Mniuni hornum), and here
the lid is in position on the end of the capsule,
while at fig. 22 the lid of the same moss is given
after it has been removed. The lid may be either
blunt, as in the instance just cited, or it may
have a pointed end. And this pointed end may
vary, from the very small one shown in fig. 4 of
Plate IV.b, to the distinctly beaked lid in fig. 5,
or the still longer one in fig. 6. (See also figs.
20 and 23 of Plate III.) Or, once more, the
whole lid may be long and tapering, as in Plate
III. fig. 15, which shows the capsule and lid
of our old acquaintance the Wall Screw-moss
(Tortula muralis), the lid itself being drawn at
fig. 26. In this latter case, as we shall see,
when we come to speak of the fringe of teeth
round the mouth of the capsule, the form of the
lid is necessitated by the peculiar construction of

MOSSES 61

this fringe in the particular family to which this
moss belongs.

It is hardly necessary to say that inside the
capsule the spores themselves are formed. I do
not propose to attempt to deal here with the
manner in which they are developed, as such a
task is clearly outside the scope of a small volume
such as this. Those of my readers who may wish
to go more deeply into the mysteries of what goes
on in the interior of the capsule, will do well
to consult Mr. J. E. Bagnall's " Handbook of
Mosses," while they will find the subject dealt
with in still greater detail in such a work as
Hoffnieister's treatise on the Higher Cryptogamia.
Suffice it for our present purpose to say, that in
due time the spores are formed and ripen, and
are then ready to be sown. Here Nature is her
own sower, and very careful she is that the
sowing shall be carried out to the greatest possible
advantage in the interest of the plant. In many
mosses there will be found round the mouth of
the capsule, just under the lid, a ring of very
special cells, which are larger in size than, and
of a different form from, the cells of which the
capsule wall is built up. These special cells
constitute what is known as the ring, or annulus.
Plate VI. fig. 1 is a drawing on a large scale
of one of these rings, taken from the capsule
of that common little moss, the Purple Pork-
moss (Ceratodon purpureus), which, as already

62 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

mentioned, grows almost everywhere, fruiting
most abundantly in April and May. The ring
is very susceptible to changes in the sur-
rounding air, and in particular to the presence
or absence of moisture; and so it happens that
when the spores are ripe, and the outside con-
ditions are favourable to their growth, it suddenly
rolls back, and in so doing will sometimes even
force off the lid, or at all events will so far
loosen it, that the next gust of wind may suffice
to completely remove it, and thus the spores are
in many cases free to escape. It will easily be
imagined that this ring of cells is extremely
minute, so minute indeed that it is hardly visible
unless considerably magnified. Fortunately in
the moss to which I have just referred it is
especially large and prominent, so that it is quite
possible with the help of a good magnifying-
glass and a fine dissecting-needle, and with the
exercise of some amount of care and patience, to
disentangle it from the mouth of the capsule,
and to lift it into the mounting medium, and thus
to obtain a very interesting microscopic slide. If
some of the capsules of this moss are examined
about the middle of May the unrolling of the ring
may be seen, a slight pressure on the cover-glass
often sufficing to bring this about. Plate VI.
fig. 2 is a drawing of a capsule in which the
ring has just uncoiled, as appears from the some-
what frayed or ragged appearance of the edge

MOSSES 63

of the capsule mouth. It will be noticed that
in the process the lid itself has not only been
loosened, but has been distinctly raised some little
distance, and is now probably in such a position
that it would be easily blown off. As showing
the extreme sensitiveness of the cells of which the
ring is formed I may mention that when, in
the process of mounting a slide, one of the rings
has been transferred from the end of the capsule
to the preparatory fluid more particularly referred
to in Chapter IV., I have seen it twist and skip
about for some little time as though it were alive,
owing, no doubt, to the violent contraction of the
cell-walls, brought about by the glycerine in the
fluid.

In many mosses the ring is absent, and here
the lid is gradually pushed off by the growth of
the capsule itself; in other plants there is no
lid at all, and here one of two things generally
happens — either the walls of the capsule burst
when the spores are ripe and ready to escape,
or the capsule itself falls to the ground and its
walls decay, thus eventually freeing the spores.
Plate III. figs. 24 and 25 show the tiny round
capsule, surrounded by the lance-shaped leaves
of the diminutive Pointed Earth-moss (Phascum
cuspidatum). This capsule is devoid of a lid.
When ripe it turns a beautiful warm brown, and
is then readily detached from the stem, and its
walls, being very thin and fragile, easily rupture

64 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

when the time comes for the liberation of the
spores. Eig. 11 of Plate IV.b — the capsule of the
tiny Serrated Earth-moss (Ephemerum serratum),
a plant already alluded to more than once — is
another similar instance.

One small family of mosses calls for special
notice, as the manner in which their capsules open
is very peculiar, and approaches, as we shall here-
after see, so closely to the method adopted by
the liverworts, that it would seem that we have
here a kind of link between the two tribes. The
mosses that I refer to are known by the family
name of Andrecea, after one Andrea, an apothecary
of Hanover. They make their abode in the crevices
of certain kinds of rock, and, being fond of high
and exposed situations, are mainly confined to
the peaks of our higher mountains. The striking
feature with regard to these little mountain mosses
is, that the capsule wall opens by means of four
cracks or slits, and it is through these slits, which
open in dry weather and close when moisture is
present, that the spores when ripe are allowed
to escape. Plate VI. fig. 3 is a drawing of a
ripe but closed capsule of one of these mosses,
the Black Ealcate Andresea (Andre&a Rothii),
which generally inhabits mountainous regions,
often growing on the face of a rock, exposed to
the full blaze of the sun, where to all appearances
it would seem to be without the means of bare
subsistence. The grooved markings on the capsule

MOSSES 65

wall show where the slits will presently appear,
so soon as the time arrives for the spores within
to be discharged. Eig. 4 of the same plate repre-
sents a dry capsule of another moss belonging to
this family, the Alpine Andresea (Andre&a alpina),
which flourishes in still higher altitudes, and here
the capsule wall has split open in the manner de-
scribed, and the spores have fallen out. At fig. 5
we have a somewhat damaged capsule (drawn in
the moist state) in which three of the four pieces
into which the capsule has divided are still held
together at their upper ends, the fourth having
broken away. Eigs. 13 and 12 of Plate IV .b
show the closed and open capsules of another
member of this family. There are, in all, only
some four or five British species, and, owing to
their preference for high localities, they are not
at all common in these islands ; but in other parts
of Europe, and especially in Scandinavia, which
seems to be their favourite haunt, they are much
more abundant. Though in form and colouring
they are not perhaps so attractive as many of their
brethren of the moss world, yet to the nature
student a special interest attaches to them from
the facts above detailed, and others of a like
nature to which I shall have occasion to refer
more fully hereafter.

Having started with a spore we have now re-
turned to the spore again, and thus the narrative
which I set out to tell would seem to be com-

5

66 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

plete, for, in one or other of the ways above
described, the spores may be freed, to begin
again the never-ending circle of plant-growth.
I trust that, even so far, enough has been said
to show that these unpretentious little plants
have a tale of their own to tell which may well
claim a hearing from all nature lovers. As has
been so well written :

The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes

The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise,

Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen,

Demands our admiration and our praise,

As much as cedar, kissing the blue sky.

We have not, however, by any means yet come
to the end of our story, and, indeed, some of the
most wonderful parts of it have still to be told.
But before passing to them let me pause for a
moment, in order to point out certain broad and
important distinctions that exist between the
mosses and so-called " flowering plants," both as
to the period in the plant's history at which
fertilisation takes place, and also as to the par-
ticular results that fertilisation brings about ;
for while in both cases the goal is the same,
namely, the production of fruit, it is reached by
very different routes. In an ordinary flowering
plant, such, for instance, as the common white
lily of our gardens, the seed, when sown, produces
a stem, on which are formed, first a succession
of green leaves, and ultimately, at its end, a

MOSSES 67

cluster of buds, each one of which in due course
opens into the beautiful snow-white blossom that
one knows so well. In the centre of this we find
a number of long green stalks, each with a dark
brown head (the stamens), and these surround
a thick green pod (the pistil), inside which, if
we cut it open, we may see the unripe seeds,
from which future lilies are to spring. It is at
this stage in the life of the plant that the fertilisa-
tion of these unripe seeds in the pistil is effected,
by means of the small yellow grains of pollen
from the heads (anthers) of the stamens, which
grains contain the wonderful fertilising matter,
without the assistance of which the seeds would
never ripen, let the season be ever so favourable,
and the plant be supplied with the best possible
nutriment. In a moss, on the other hand, the
spore gives rise to a plant, which, as we have
seen, bears leaves and reproductive organs, but
until fertilisation has taken place the reproductive
organs will produce no fruit-vessel, and con-
sequently no spores. The result of fertilisation
in this case is that the fruit-vessel, or capsule,
makes its appearance, and inside this the spores
are developed and ripen, without any further
assistance, beyond what is afforded by the ordinary
food taken in by the plant. In the one case, to
put it shortly, fertilisation brings about the
ripening of the unripe seeds which have already
been formed in the fruit-vessel, while in the

68 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

other it effects the growth of the fruit-vessel, con-
taining the minute round bodies which ultimately
develop into the ripened spores.

The Peristome. — But to resume our story. So
careful is Nature in the matter of the sowing
of the spores, that she generally takes special
precautions to ensure their due dispersal. In
most mosses the fall of the lid discloses round
the mouth of the capsule a fringe of the most
exquisitely delicate teeth, known as the peristome,
a name derived from two Greek words, meaning
"around the mouth." No words of mine would
suffice to give any adequate idea of the extreme
beauty of this marvellous structure, which forms
by far the most fascinating part of a moss ; to
be appreciated it must be seen, and to see it in
full perfection a microscope is essential, for it
is only when considerably magnified that its
wondrous organisation, and its extraordinary
delicacy can be even faintly realised. It is
doubtless owing to this very fact that the peri-
stome of a moss is one of the stock objects for
microscopical examination, recommended in ele-
mentary books on the instrument. At the same
time, a very fair idea may be obtained of the
nature of this beautiful organism, by the help
of nothing more pretentious than a good, strong
magnifying- glass, more especially if we know
beforehand something about its form and struc-
ture, and can consequently be on the look-out for

MOSSES 69

its characteristic features ; a remark, by the way,
which applies with greater or less force to practi-
cally every part of a moss. The teeth of the
peristome, like other portions of the plant that we
have met with, are very sensitive to the presence
or absence of moisture in the atmosphere, and
open or close according to the influence which
is thus exerted upon them. Its function is sup-
posed to be to control the escape of the spores
from the capsule, either by closing down, and so
shutting them in, should the state of the sur-
rounding air be unfavourable to their germination,
or by standing erect, when outside conditions are
such as to promote their growth. Plate V. fig. 1
shows, on a somewhat large scale, the peristome
of the beautiful capsule of the Swan-neck Thyme
Thread-moss (Mnium hornum), and fig. 9 of
Plate IV.b gives the entire capsule. In both
cases the teeth are standing erect, while in
fig. 6 of Plate V. the peristome of the Dwarf
Swan-neck Moss (Campylopus pyriformis), they
are even bent back (recurved). On the other
hand, in fig. 2 of the same plate, which gives
the peristome of the Velvet Feather- moss (Brachy-
thecium velutinum), they have closed down over
the capsule mouth.

The number of teeth of which the peristome is
composed is always either four or a multiple of four.
There are only two British species in which we
find so few as four ; and though one of these, the

70 MOSSES AND LIVEEWORTS

Pellucid Four-tooth Moss (Tetraphis pellucida), as
it is called, in consequence of the special form of
its peristome, is often common enough, growing
on rotting wood, or on peaty ground, it seldom
fruits with us. Plate V. fig. 7 is a drawing of
the peristome of this moss, taken from a plant
that I gathered many years ago in the Alps ;
while at fig. 8 of Plate IV.b is one of the
capsules of the second of the two species just
alluded to, which again shows the four peristome
teeth. Most mosses have either eight, sixteen,
thirty-two, or sixty-four peristome teeth ; but
whatever the number may be, it is invariably the
same in all the capsules of any one species, and
this feature in moss-structure will, in consequence,
often prove a valuable guide to the identity of
some particular moss. One could not well have a
more striking instance of the wonderful order and
exactness of Nature's methods than this fact, that
the number, aye, and generally too the colours and
markings of these wonderful teeth — details most
of which, be it remembered, cannot even be seen
except when a lens of high magnifying power
is used — remain constant in any one species of
moss, wherever on the face of the globe it may
be found.

Illustrations of this very interesting point are
given in figs. 6 and 8 of Plate V.a, where I
have drawn a few teeth taken from two members
of the great Thread-moss (Bryum) family. These

MOSSES 71

two mosses so much resemble each other that it is
frequently a matter of great difficulty, in the
absence of fruit, to distinguish them. But if the
ripe capsules happen to be present no such
difficulty arises. For, while in the one case
(fig. 8), the teeth of the peristome, when highly
magnified, are seen to be marked with a delicate
net-work of lines, in the other (fig 6) this net-
work is absent, and we have only the ordinary
transverse bars, with a curious zig-zag line down
the centre of the tooth, caused by the shape of the
ends of the cells of which it is formed.

In many cases there are two sets of teeth, an
outer and an inner peristome, which, of course,
constitute a still further check on the escape
of the spores. Plate IV. fig. 11, and Plate V.a,
fig. 10, where the ends of the capsules of two of the
Feather-mosses are given, offer good examples. In
both cases the drawing has been made from a dry
specimen, because then the teeth of the outer
peristome are rolled over, so as to disclose the
inner fringe. At fig. 11 of Plate V.a will be
found what is, perhaps, the most beautiful
peristome of all our British mosses, namely, that of
the Greater Water-moss (Fontinalis antipyretica),
which, as implied by its name, grows in water.
Its long stems, clothed with the curious pointed
leaves, each one with the two sides folded
together down the centre, in the manner so
peculiar to the plant, may be met with in streams

72 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

and ponds, often attaining a very considerable
length. I have seen its slender dark green
tresses streaming out from some stake in a river
to which they were attached, to the distance of
a couple of feet at least. When thus living in
the water it seldom fruits ; hut if, as sometimes
happens in a season of drought, it is left on the
mud hy the side of a pool, or on the hank of a
stream, the capsules will often he produced in
abundance, and such an opportunity of obtaining
objects for microscopical examination is one not
to be missed.

The inner peristome in this instance can hardly
he said, in any sense, to be formed of teeth. In
the microscope it has all the appearance of being
composed of a number of fairy ladders set on
end. In the outer fringe the teeth are long and
much broader, thus strikingly setting off the deli-
cate inner structure. When seen in the microscope
the whole forms an object of extreme beauty.

On the other hand, some mosses — though they
are in a distinct minority— have no peristome
(Plate IV.b, fig. 15), and then, of course, the
spores are free to escape on the fall of the lid.

Plate V. fig. 5 will perhaps help to explain more
clearly the manner in which the peristome acts. It
represents a slice cut off the end of one of the
tiny round capsules of the Common Apple-moss
(Bartramia pomiformis) (see page 48). This has
been mounted so as to enable us to look down

MOSSES 73

upon it, and thus to obtain a bird's-eye view of
the capsule mouth. Looking at this in the micro-
scope with a somewhat high-power lens, we see
what I have tried to give in my drawing, namely,
a small portion of the upper part of the capsule
wall, and in the centre of this the round mouth
of the capsule. Over this mouth the sixteen
teeth of the peristome will be observed, closing
down so as to almost fill up the aperture, each
tooth being strongly marked with a number of
parallel bars across its face. Some of these teeth
were evidently on the point of rising when my
mount was made, for their ends have been bent
back by the cover-glass used to seal the slide,
as indicated by the shaded portions in the figure,
We thus have an opportunity of getting a glimpse
into the inside of the capsule ; and here we
notice, just below the outer surface, the still
more delicate and transparent teeth of the inner
peristome, this capsule being an instance of one
that is provided with a double set of teeth.
Under certain conditions of the atmosphere, both
sets of teeth will stand erect round the capsule
mouth, and thus a free passage will be made for
the spores to find their way into the wide world
outside. I have shown this condition of the
peristome, on a somewhat larger scale, and con-
sequently more clearly, at fig. 5 of Plate V.a,
which represents the top of the capsule of that
member of the Bryum family (Bryum pendulum]

74 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

to which I alluded when speaking of the mark-
ings on the peristome teeth (p. 71). Here, again,
the teeth — sixteen in number — are shutting down
over the capsule mouth, and so closely do they
fit together that sufficient space is not left be-
tween them even for the tiny spores to force a
passage.

In not a few mosses the mouth of the capsule
is closed in a different manner. Plate V. fig. 3
gives the upper portion of the capsule of that
large-leaved, shade-loving moss that we have
already noticed as growing in the woods, or
on the shady banks of a country lane, the
Wavy-leaved Hair-moss (Catharinea undulata).
It will be seen, from the drawing, that the teeth
of the peristome are much shorter than those
which we have hitherto examined, so short, in
fact, that when closed they would not meet over
the mouth of the capsule. The same thing may
be seen even yet more clearly in the large brown
capsules of the Common Hair-moss (Polytrichum
commune], so plentiful on heathlands and commons,
for here the capsule mouth is very large, and the
teeth of the peristome— sixty -four in number —
are very small indeed. In such cases it would
at first sight seem as though Nature's object
had either been frustrated or that she had not
exercised the same amount of care to guard
against the too early escape of the spores, as in
so many other instances. A closer examination

MOSSES 75

will, however, soon convince us that this is not
so, and that, on the contrary, special means have
been taken to meet special circumstances, in the
shape of a very delicate round membrane re-
sembling a diminutive drum-head, and probably
from this resemblance called the tympanum (the
Latin name for a tambourine or drum) ; this in
reality forms the end of a small rod or column,
known as the columella, which occupies the centre
of the capsule, and round which the spores are
formed. This delicate membrane, then, fills up
the space which is left uncovered by the peri-
stome teeth, and thus the mouth of the capsule
is effectually closed, the spores, when ripe, being
allowed to escape through the spaces between the
teeth. This is illustrated by figs. 10 and 14 of
Plate IV.b, while at Plate V. fig. 4 the tympanum
is in position, and the peristome teeth are closing
round it; fig. 10 of the same plate gives the
larger tympanum of the Common Hair-moss
(Polytrichum commune), and the notches in its
edge show where the peristome teeth have been
attached. Such is yet another instance of Nature's
care for the welfare of her children.

In many mosses the peristome, instead of being
formed of teeth, consists of a number — still always
a multiple of four— of long and extremely fine
hair-like bodies, which are twisted into a beautiful
coil or spiral. At fig. 10 of Plate II. is a drawing
of the capsule of the Wall Screw-moss (Tortula

76 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

muralis), and at its upper end will be seen the
twisted peristome which is so characteristic of
most of the members of the family to which it
belongs. It is, no doubt, to the screw-like peri-
stome that these particular mosses owe their
specific name of " Screw-mosses," and its peculiar
form of course necessitates the cylindrical lid
referred to on page 60. This peristome is given
on a much larger scale in Plate V. fig. 8, which
is some twenty-six times larger than the original.
It may easily be seen, with the help of a good
glass, on almost any mossy wall in the winter
or early spring, and forms an object for micro-
scopical examination that is ever full of wonder
and beauty. I have added, in Plate Y.a, figs.
1 and 2, two further illustrations drawn from the
Bird's-claw Screw-moss (Barbula unguiculata) , in
which we have, perhaps, the most beautiful
example of this twisted form of peristome.

As a matter of fact, the lower portions of the
hairs of these screw-like peristomes are united
into a kind of tube, though in most cases this
tubular part is so short as hardly to be noticeable.
Sometimes, however, it is much longer, as in the
peristomes figured at Plate V. fig. 9, and Plate
V.a, fig. 3, both taken from the Awl-leaved Screw-
moss (Tortula subulata), which, as already men-
tioned, is far from being uncommon, growing on
sandy hedge-banks, and often producing in the
summer a plentiful crop of specially large cap-

MOSSES 77

sules, each at the end of a strongly twisted stalk
(seta). In this case the tubular portion of the
peristome is even longer than the upper part
where the hair-like growths are free. It is deli-
cately marked, as I have endeavoured to show.

We will now see, with the help of Plates V. and
V.a, what some of the various peristome teeth
look like under a fairly high power in the micro-
scope. We shall at once notice, even if the fact
has hitherto escaped us, that they are brilliantly
coloured, either some shade of golden-yellow or
crimson, or a combination of these two colours,
and moreover that they are marked with the most
delicate tracery of lines and bars. As I have
already had occasion to mention, these markings,
though so minute as to be only visible at all when
the teeth are highly magnified, are nevertheless so
constant as sometimes to constitute a feature by
means of which a particular species may be
distinguished from another, otherwise almost
similar, member of the same family. Fig. 11 of
Plate V. gives us some teeth of the Silky Pendulous
Thread-moss (Weber a nutans), a moss that grows
in fair abundance on sandy banks and heaths,
maturing its large pear-shaped capsules, each on
a bright red stalk, in May or June. These teeth
are a deep yellow in colour, and, as will be seen,
are marked with conspicuous bars. The second or
inner peristome is also shown in the drawing. At
fig. 14 of the same plate we have two or three

78 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

more of the teeth taken from the same moss, but
here they have purposely been drawn in profile,
and we then see, by their somewhat jagged out-
line, that some of the bars are evidently raised
above the other parts of the teeth, in relief, so to
speak ; this is shown very clearly in the tooth on
the extreme right. Fig. 12 of the same plate
represents a few of the small teeth from the
capsule of the Wavy-leaved Hair-moss (Catharinea
nndulata}, and here the markings follow the out-
line of the teeth themselves. These teeth make
extremely beautiful objects for the microscope,
being coloured a bright golden yellow, marked and
picked out in various shades of crimson. The
teeth drawn at fig. 13 (as also, on a larger scale,
at Plate V.a, fig. 13) are throughout of a deep
crimson colour. They are, moreover, delicately
marked and barred, and each tooth, it will be
noticed, is cleft down the centre into two distinct
portions, which, towards the base, are connected at
various points by transverse bars ; they are taken
from the long, oval capsule of the Broom Fork-
moss (Dicranum scoparium), already referred to,
a dweller on shady banks and in woods. Fig. 7 of
Plate V.a is a tooth of the beautiful capsule of the
Swan-neck Thyme Thread-moss (Mnium hornum),
and, again, is tinted a bright golden yellow. The
one drawn at fig. 9 is taken from the Sessile
Grimmia (Grimmia apocarpa), to which plant I
shall have occasion to refer again later on. The

MOSSES 79

colour, in this instance, is a peculiarly rich crimson.
It will be noticed that the tooth is pierced by two
tiny holes, so small, indeed, as only to be visible
when a fairly high magnifying power is used.
This feature, though so minute, is practically
constant, and may sometimes form a useful aid in
identification. In such a case the teeth are said
to be cribrose. Pig. 12 of the same plate shows a
few teeth of both the outer and inner peristome
of another member of the Bryum family (JBryum
murale), and will give some idea of the form that
the inner peristome commonly takes.

I have before referred to the fact that the teeth
of the peristome are very sensitive to changes in
the atmosphere, being easily affected by the
presence or absence of moisture ; as a rule they
open when the air is damp, and close when it is
dry, as, indeed, we might not unnaturally expect
them to do, judging from the moisture-loving
nature of these little plants. Not unfrequently,
however, we come across a case precisely the
reverse of this, and in which, as soon as a dry
capsule is moistened, the teeth of the peristome,
which but a moment before were standing erect,
will close down tightly over the capsule mouth,
as if to effectually shut in the spores. Plate IV.
fig. 12 is a capsule of the Sessile Grimmia
(Grimmia apocarpa), a moss which grows in dry-
looking tufts of an olive-green colour, on walls and
rocks, often choosing the uppermost stones of some

80 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

wall, where, one would imagine, it would find
considerable difficulty in getting sufficient nourish-
ment to keep life going ; yet here it will nourish
and produce an abundance of fruit. My drawing
was made from a perfectly dry capsule, and still
the peristome teeth are standing erect. I know
of no more beautiful sight of its kind than a tuft of
this moss, when seen through a good magnifying-
glass, as I saw the small colony of plants from
which my specimen was gathered, growing on a
wall in Dove Dale,* one typical March day, with a
keen east wind blowing, and everything looking
so pinched and dried, that it was difficult to believe
that the dark, shrivelled substance on the stone
before me had any life left in it. A glance
through the lens, however, soon showed that it
was very much alive, for nestling among the
dusky leaves could be seen numbers of these
beautiful little capsules, in various stages of
development, many of them with the teeth of the
peristome standing erect, like so many dainty
coral stars. But let a shower of rain come, and
these coral stars would disappear, owing to the
closing down of the peristome teeth.

In many of the members of the Bristle-moss
(Orthotrichum) family we may see the open
peristome under dry conditions shown much more
clearly. Thus, fig. 4 of Plate V.a gives the top of
a capsule of the Wood Bristle-moss ( Orthotrichum
affine), and here the teeth are actually bent back,

MOSSES 81

right over the edge of the capsule mouth. This
is a sight that may often he seen, by scrutinising
the green tufts nestling in the crevices of the
hark of such a tree as the sweet chestnut or the
wych elm, with a good magnifying-glass.

We are naturally led to ask the why and the
wherefore of facts such as these; for when we
find them happening with never-failing regularity,
we may he pretty sure that there is some very
practical reason for their occurrence. Sir Edward
Fry, in his delightful book entitled "British
Mosses," suggests that the possible explanation
may be that, whereas in many mosses the spores
germinate best under the influence of moist
surroundings (and here the peristome opens in
wet weather and closes in dry), in other cases
dry conditions are most favourable to their
development (and here the peristome teeth only
stand erect when the atmosphere is free from
moisture). If this suggested explanation of some-
what remarkable facts is the correct one, it
certainly affords a very marvellous instance of
adaptation to surrounding circumstances, brought
about, one must presume, by the operation of the
principle of natural selection.

Summary of Life-history. — Before proceeding to
speak of the more special modes of reproduction
that we meet with, I propose, with the help of
Plate I., to focus the contents of the foregoing
pages, by shortly summing up the various steps

6

82 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

by which we have, so far, advanced, and thus to
give a concise view of the story of moss-develop-
ment. And such a survey will, I think, be
rendered all the more interesting if we confine
ourselves to one species of moss. There is none
that will better answer this purpose than the
Purple Eork-moss (Ceratodon purpureus), which,
as before mentioned, is one of the most familiar
figures of the tribe. There will practically never
be any difficulty in meeting with it in nature, for
on almost any roadside bank or expanse of waste
ground in the country it is almost certain to have
taken up its abode ; though, naturally, if we wish
to see it in some particular condition, the appro-
priate season must be chosen.

Let us start with the bud-like flower (fig. 1)
which has sprung from the thread-like protonema,
which in its turn was developed from a spore ;
this may be sought in the late summer-time. It
will contain the curious sausage-shaped fertilising
organs (antheridia), some of which will probably
be ripe (fig. 2), while others will already have
discharged their contents (fig. 3). The fruit-
bearing organs (archegonia) are not so readily
discovered, as they are somewhat sparingly pro-
duced. However, a careful search among the
leaves of the plant under the dissecting-micro-
scope will generally prove successful, and an
examination of one, with a fairly high magnifying
power, will clearly show the passage down the

MOSSES 83

slender neck, and the cavity in the base, con-
taining the specialised cell (oosphere), from which
the fruit is to originate (fig. 4). The two fruit-
bearing organs given at fig. 5 illustrate the
unfertilised and the fertilised conditions. In the
autumn we may alight on specimens of this same
organ which have advanced considerably further
(fig. 6), and where, owing to the development,
inside, of the young spore-vessel, the swollen base
has become so much enlarged as to have quite
lost its original form. The remains of the slender
neck, however, at its upper end, will conclusively
prove its true character.

All through the winter, when nature, in general,
seems to be asleep, there is little, if any, suspension
of operations in the moss world, and, long before
the first welcome days of spring, the green
cushions on the hedge-bank will bristle with
numberless delicate yellow stalks, each of them
tipped, as a peep through the glass will
demonstrate, by the long tapering veil (calyptra)
(fig. 7), while, on cutting away the leaves at the
base, the sheath (vaginula) will be found, en-
circling the lower portion of the stalk (fig. 8).
Later on, the young capsule has begun to assume
a more characteristic appearance (fig. 9), and
soon the veil is pushed or blown off. A search
with the glass among the leaves will often
disclose some, lying about, that have been thus
discarded (fig. 10). By and by, each bristling

84 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

stalk will be tipped with a small brown head,
indicating that the capsule has arrived at maturity,
and on placing one of these, in a moist state,
under the microscope, the slight swelling at the
base, alluded to in a previous page (p. 52), will at
once become apparent, while the capsule mouth
is closed by the lid (operculum), thus precluding
the escape of the ripe spores inside (fig. 11).

It will not be long now before the ring of cells
(annulus) just under the lid, which has also been
described (p. 61), comes into play (fig. 12), and,
rolling back, will lift the lid from the capsule
mouth, and so render it possible for the spores to
make their way out (fig. 13). The lid (operculum)
itself, when thus freed, forms a pretty object
under the microscope (fig. 14), and its fall, of
course, brings to view the fringe of teeth
(peristome), which guards the entrance to the
interior of the capsule. These particular teeth
are especially attractive, and will well repay a
closer acquaintance. Let us see what they look
like under different conditions.

And first we will examine a dry capsule (fig. 15)
with a glass. Notice, in passing, its curiously
furrowed walls, so unlike their appearance when
the capsule has been moistened (fig. 11). The
teeth of the peristome, it will be seen, are closed
over the capsule mouth, this being a case in
which they only open under the influence of
moisture. It will be well, moreover, to get a

MOSSES 85

sight of the peristome, in this state, as an opaque
object in the microscope (fig. 16), in order to see
the delicate tracery of the pale straw-coloured
teeth more distinctly.

But now soak a few of the capsules in a little
warm water (notice how quickly their shrivelled
appearance disappears), and again bring the
microscope to hear on the upper end of the capsule,
this time, however, with transmitted light. A
decided change has evidently taken place, for the
teeth of the peristome, which a minute before
were bending down over the mouth, are now
standing erect (figs. 17 and 18), and have taken
on a brilliant golden hue, toned and picked out
with crimson. And if a few of them are cut off,
and subjected to a much higher magnifying power,
the markings become all the more clear (fig. 19) ;
while it will also be observed that each tooth is
deeply divided into two long and narrow portions,
which, at their lower ends, are connected by
transverse bars, also crimson and gold. Well
might Dr. Braithwaite say, in his " British Moss
Flora " : " We would advise all commencing
bryologists to study every part of this moss well,
as its structure, once familiarised to the eye, will
save much after trouble, and the beautiful peri-
stome must attract every microscopist."

Reproduction otherwise than by Spores. — We
have, so far, dealt with what I may call the
normal mode of reproduction of mosses; but

86 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

Nature is by no means bound by hard-and-fast
lines such as these, and very often takes an
extremely short cut to attain her ends; indeed,
in no other part of the vegetable kingdom does
she evince so many resources in this matter of
reproduction, as she does in this particular corner
of it. I can only give a glance at a few of what
we may call her special methods of procedure.

Many mosses seldom produce fruit, and yet
nourish and multiply abundantly. For instance,
the so-called Frizzled Bristle-moss (TJlota phyl-
lantha), which grows in dense cushions on trees
and rocks, generally in the neighbourhood of the
sea, has a world-wide distribution ; but, though it
is thus so well known, its fruit has very rarely
been seen in any part of the world. Other plants
could be named to which the same remarks would
apply with almost equal force. Now, in all
these cases it is pretty clear that some method
of increase must be adopted, or otherwise the
plants in question, instead of being widespread
and plentiful, would ere this have become extinct.
There are several ways in which mosses reproduce
their kind without the assistance of spores. The
most familiar of these consists of the formation
on the plant of small bud-like bodies, or gemmae,
as they are called ; these occupy different positions
in different species. For instance, when speaking
(p. 70) of that pretty filmy green moss, the
Pellucid Four-tooth Moss (Tetraphis pellucida),

MOSSES 87

as an instance of a moss having a capsule with
only four peristome teeth, it was mentioned that,
although it may often be found growing in con-
siderable profusion on peaty banks and rotting
wood, it rarely fruits in this country. When one
of these tiny plants is examined under the micro-
scope, it will usually be found that the stem is
crowned by a cluster of specially large leaves,
forming a beautiful leafy cup (Plate VI. fig. 7),
through the filing half-transparent sides of
which a number of dark, round bodies may be
indistinctly seen lying inside. These are the
bud-like bodies, or gemma, just alluded to, and
it is through their instrumentality that the moss
is usually multiplied. Eigs. 8 and 18 of the same
plate give some buds highly magnified. Again,
the Bud-headed Thread-moss (Aulacomnium
androgynum, Plate VI. fig. 9) is a bright green
moss that may not unfrequently be seen, covering
considerable portions of the hedge-banks by the
roadside, or clinging to some rotting tree-stump ;
but, comparatively common as it is, its fruit is
rare, and consequently it, too, cannot look alto-
gether to the spores as a means of preserving the
species. If we examine a colony of these plants
somewhat more closely, we shall probably at
once be struck by the fact that it literally
bristles with numerous pale green stalks, and,
with the help of a glass, we shall further find
that each of these tiny stalks is tipped with a

88 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

small round head, as in my drawing. If this
round head is still further magnified (fig. 10),
it will be seen that it is made up of a great
number of minute, egg-shaped bodies, packed
very closely together. These again are gemma,
and a few of them, on a considerably large scale,
are given in fig. 11. Plate VI. fig. 14 shows a
leaf of the R/oughish-leaved Screw-moss (Tortula
papillosa), a name given to the plant by reason
of the fact that the surface of the leaf is
roughened, or papillose, a condition which is by
no means confined to the leaves of this particular
species. This moss, which grows in dark, olive-
green tufts on the trunks of trees, is, I believe,
never found in fruit in Britain, and new indi-
viduals arise by means of bud-like growths, which
are developed on the upper faces of the leaves,
clustering round the midrib, or nerve, as shown
in the drawing ; fig. 17 represents a few of these
bodies more highly magnified. In the Frizzled
Bristle-moss (TTlota phyllantha) referred to not
long since, the buds are formed in a cluster at
the very tip of the leaf, and have all the ap-
pearance, at first sight, of some brown fungoid
growth.

Now, in all such cases, if one of these tiny
bodies falls to the ground and begins to grow,
it gives rise to that curious thread-like growth
(protonema) which, as we saw at the outset of
our story, is usually the first stage of the

MOSSES 89

development of a moss from the spore. We may
often see this well illustrated in the microscope
in the case of the Pellucid Four-toothed Moss
( Tetraphis pellucida) ; for here, so anxious do
these small hud-like hodies seem to be to take
up their life-work, that the thread-like growth
(protonema) frequently shows itself even before
they have fallen out of the leafy cup in which
they are originally formed.

Plate VI. fig. 15 is a drawing of a leaf of the
moss known as Lyell's Bristle-moss (Orthotrichum
Jjyellii), which makes its abode on the trunks of
trees. Its leaves, when closely examined, will
be seen to have a number of small brown bodies
growing upon them; these are easily visible by
the help of an ordinary magnifying-glass, and
may even, when present in large numbers, as is
frequently the case, be made out by the unassisted
eye. They are really the beginnings of the
thread-like protonema itself, and sometimes attain
a considerable length while still clinging to the
plant. A few, on a larger scale, are given at
fig. 16.

The pale-fruited Thread-moss ( Webera annotina,
Plate VI. fig. 12) is another instance of a moss
which is very rarely met with in fruit, and yet
is by no means uncommon. In this case small
bulb-like bodies are produced in the axils of the
leaves; these, when sown, will also give rise to
the thread-like protonema, from which again fresh

90 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

plants may spring. Three of these "bulbils,"
more highly magnified, are shown at fig. 13 of
the same plate. In all these cases it is evident
that, as some of the ordinary stages of develop-
ment are omitted, the circle of the plant's life-
history is completed more speedily and directly
than where, starting with the spore, the various
steps that we have been tracing — culminating in
the ripened capsule — are one by one followed out ;
for we have a plant producing buds, which in
their turn give rise to the thread-like protonema,
from which fresh plants may spring, bearing buds,
which are ready to begin again the same round
of life. Here, then, the reproductive organs,
capsule, and spores are absent, and the process
of reproduction is effected in a far simpler
manner. Sometimes we even find a young moss
plant springing direct from one of the leaves of
the mother plant, when, of course, all intermediate
stages are omitted, and we may have plant
succeeding plant in endless succession. These
instances will serve to show Nature's marvellous
fertility in this particular part of her wide
domain ; indeed, when one realises the apparently
almost infinite possibilities for multiplication
which these little plants possess, one is tempted
to wonder that there is any room left on the
face of the earth for anything but mosses !

Leaves, — In the course of what has already
been said, reference has frequently been made to

MOSSES 91

the leaves of the various plants described; but
this particular portion of moss- structure deserves
something more than a mere passing notice, for
not only is the leaf important in the economy of
the plant, but its form and structure generally
constitute clues of no little value in the diagnosis
of any particular specimen, while it is at all times
an object of beauty for microscopic examination.
"We have already learned enough, I think, to
realise that there is a great diversity, both of size
and form, to be met with in moss leaves, a fact
that will be still further emphasised by a glance
at Plate VII., where more than thirty different
leaves are depicted. It is manifestly impossible
to refer in detail to every one of these, but a
few examples may be taken as illustrating some
of their general characteristics.

In size, moss leaves may vary from the tiny one
given at fig. 13 — which would appear as nothing
more than the merest speck, when seen by the un-
assisted eye — to the far larger and easily recog-
nised one at fig. 22. In form they may be long
and narrow (fig. 20), lance-shaped (fig. 11), egg-
shaped (fig. 8), spoon-shaped (figs. 16 and 25),
etc. ; the apex may be blunt (fig. 8), or tapering
(figs. 2 and 10), or ending in a small point
(fig. 22), or in a long point (figs. 18, 23, and 31).
The edge, too, may be plain (fig. 19), bordered
(fig. 22), toothed (figs. 6, 11, 12, and 28), bordered
and toothed (fig. 29), wavy (fig. 32), rolled-back,

92 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

or recurved (fig. 25), etc. In some the midrib,
or nerve, as it is called (and observe that there are
never any branching ribs or veins in a moss leaf,
as in most ordinary leaves, only the one central
nerve), reaches the whole way up the blade or
lamina of the leaf (figs. 19 and 22) ; in others it is
even extended beyond the end of the leaf (when
it is said to be excurrent) (fig. 16), or this
extension may take the form of a long, trans-
parent hair-point (figs. 3 and 25). In others,
again, it ceases before reaching the end of the
leaf (figs. 14 and 18). In some cases it is forked
or double (figs. 7, 8, and 12) ; while sometimes it
is absent altogether (figs. 4 and 5). Some mosses,
moreover, produce very different forms of leaf on
the same plant; for instance, the leaf drawn at
Plate IV. fig. 15 was taken from the stem of
the Common Rough-stalked Feather-moss (Brachy-
thecium rutabulum), a well-known moss, with
bright, sheeny green leaves, that grows freely on
banks, walls, tree-roots, etc., and produces an
abundance of pretty, red, egg-shaped capsules in
the winter ; fig. 16 gives the form of leaf peculiar
to the branches of the same moss ; while at fig. 17
we have one of the special leaves which surround
the base of the fruit-stalk (known as the peri-
chostial leaves), which, it will be seen, has a
distinctly different shape from either of the other
two. Occasionally the leaves that spring from
the lower portion of the stem vary considerably

MOSSES 93

from those produced on the upper part, though
this is not by any means of frequent occurrence.

With regard to the curious hair-point to the
leaves of certain mosses — a very good illustration
of which is to be found in the dark green, spoon-
shaped leaves of our old friend the Common Wall
Screw-moss (Tortula muralis) — this varies in length
in different species, being sometimes so long as
to impart quite a hoary appearance to the tufts,
as, for instance, in the case of the well-known
Grey-cushioned Grimmia {Grimmia pulvinata,
Plate II. fig. 13). The microscope discloses that,
in some cases, it is quite smooth, as in the one
drawn, on a large scale, at Plate VI. fig. 20, from
a leaf of the Wall Screw-moss (Tortula muralis) ;
while in others its surface is roughened owing to
the presence of minute teeth, as at fig. 21 of the
same plate, taken from a leaf of another member
of the same family. In one British moss the
apex of the leaf is still more specialised, for it
terminates in a curious double hook, thus enabling
us at once to recognise this particular species.
This moss is known as the Pendulous Wing-moss
(Antitrichia curtipendula) ; it grows chiefly on
rocks and trees in mountainous districts. A leaf
is given at fig. 26 of Plate VII., and the apex
more highly magnified, and showing the double
hook, at fig. 30.

The surface of the leaves is not unfrequently
roughened, owing to the fact that each cell is

94 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

slightly raised in the centre, thus forming a minute
excrescence. These papilla, as they are called, are
best seen, either when the leaf is viewed in profile,
or when the margin is turned inwards or out-
wards, and, needless to say, a lens of considerable
magnifying power is required for the purpose.
At Plate IV. fig. 24 a portion of the leaf of the
Smaller Hairy Screw-moss (Tortula lavipila), a
tree-loving plant, is given, magnified fifty-one
times, and here the roughened surface due to the
presence of these papillae is very clearly shown.
Another instance of the same thing is depicted
at fig. 25 of the same plate, from the leaf of
the Spiral-fruited Extinguisher-moss (Encalypta
streptocarpa) , a frequenter of limestone walls and
banks ; while at fig. 26 a small piece of one of
the same leaves is figured, still more highly
magnified.

Another point of interest to be noticed in con-
nection with the leaf is, that it always grows
directly on the stem or branch, and is never
provided with a leaf-stalk, like the leaves of our
trees and shrubs. In some cases the base of the
leaf is continued, on each side, for some little
distance down the stem or branch on which it
grows, and is then said to be decurrent (i.e. running
down), a feature of much importance in the
identification of many mosses.

Paraphyllia. — In some of the Feather-mosses
(Hypnacece) , in addition to leaves, the stems bear

MOSSES 95

a number of very minute leaf -like bodies, which,
however, are often so much divided as almost
to lose their leafy look. These are known as
par aphy Ilia, and it is thought that, just as the
paraphyses help to retain moisture round the
flowers (see page 37), so these tiny growths
perform a similar function for the stem and
leaves. A few, much magnified, taken from two
members of the Feather-moss tribe, are given in
Plate IV. figs. 20 and 21.

Leaf-cells. — Of late years more and more
reliance has been placed upon the size and
form of the leaf-cells as a means of differen-
tiating between the various species, and these
points, nay, even the varying degrees of thick-
ness of the cell walls, thus become matters
which cannot too early claim the patient and
careful attention of the student. Needless to say
that here the use of a microscope is imperative,
for it is only in comparatively few cases that the
cells are sufficiently large to be discernible at
all, with any degree of precision, by the use of
a hand lens alone, while the more minute details
would be invisible without a much higher magni-
fication than could be obtained with such means.
A few instances must suffice to indicate the
general features that call for notice; the finer
distinctions can only be appreciated after some
considerable acquaintance with the numerous forms
has made one more or less familiar with their

96 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

distinctive characteristics. In the lower part of
Plate VII. will he found a few typical illustra-
tions of cell-structure, all, it will be observed,
drawn with a high magnifying power. Pig. 34
is an instance of some cells from a leaf of one of
the Thread-moss (Mnium) family, in which group
the leaves are specially large, and the leaf-cells
correspondingly conspicuous. Those given at fig.
35, on the other hand, are small and dot-like;
those at fig. 36 are larger, but still more or less
rounded ; while those at fig. 37 are rectangular,
and those at fig. 38 hexagonal. Again, the cells
drawn at fig. 39, taken from one of the so-called
Pringe-mosses (Rhacomitrium), have a curiously
wavy outline, which is specially characteristic of
most of the members of this family, and which, as
may be naturally supposed, constitutes a very
noticeable feature. Pig. 40 represents the long,
narrow cells of such mosses as the Peather-mosses
( Hypnacece) . In this case it will be noticed that
the cells are pointed at the ends ; in other species
which have long cells the ends of the cells are
rounded, while in others, again, they are flat.
Pig. 41 illustrates the wonderful cell-structure
which is so characteristic of the Bog-mosses
(Sphagna) ; here we get two forms of cell, namely,
those which are narrow and somewhat opaque, and
those which are much larger and transparent, and
which generally contain a number of delicate
fibres or threads on the cell walls. It is on

MOSSES 97

account of the peculiarly open formation of the
leaf, which is due to the latter cells, that these
plants are ahle to absorh and to hold a large
amount of water, and it is to this fact that they
owe their well-known spongy nature. In not
a few mosses the form of the cell varies in
a very marked manner in different parts of the
leaf ; this is well shown in figs. 42 and 43. Fig. 42
gives the cells at the base of the leaf of the Pro-
longed Eeather-moss (Eurhynchium prcelongum),
which are much enlarged as compared with those
of fig. 43, which belong to the upper portion of
the leaf. In all these features of leaf-form and
cell-structure — features of such minuteness as to
be inappreciable by the naked eye — we cannot but
be struck again with Nature's all-pervading order;
for, so constant are most of these characteristics
that the presence or absence of any one or more of
them will frequently suffice to settle the name
of some doubtful specimen.

Uses of Mosses. — We are so accustomed to
find that the various members of the vegetable
kingdom serve a useful purpose of some kind,
either directly or indirectly, and either to man
or to the other animals, that the question not
unnaturally suggests itself, " Of what use are
mosses ? " And to this we are obliged to reply
that, to man at all events, they are of very little
direct service. The Bog-mosses (Sphagna) are
employed by gardeners in the rearing of orchids,

7

98 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

and some of the larger species of the Feather-
mosses (Hypnacece) serve as good material for
packing objects of a fragile nature ; while Gilbert
White, in an oft-quoted passage in his " Natural
History of Selborne," tells us that, in his day,
the long stalks of the Common Hair-moss (Poly-
trichum commune) were made into besoms, which
were handy in the "dusting of beds, curtains,
carpets, hangings, etc." We also read that the
same moss is used by the Laplanders as a substi-
tute for the ordinary stuffing of mattresses, and
that the Esquimaux make their lamp wicks of
another species. Again, the growth of the Bog-
mosses through long ages has been one of the
principal means by which peat has been gradually
formed, and this has, of course, for long provided
a by no means unimportant fuel to man.

It is, however, when we consider mosses as
part of the botanical community that we learn
the true purpose that they fulfil. And here the
humble but most important duty which they
perform seems to be in keeping with the unpre-
tentious character of the plants themselves. From
their very minuteness, and from the fact that
they draw the bulk, if not the whole, of their
nutriment from the rain and air, they are of
course not only peculiarly fitted to find a foot-
hold in situations where more bulky plants would
be unable to establish themselves, but also to live
and flourish under conditions which would not,

MOSSES 99

in the case of the larger and sturdier forms of
the vegetable world, suffice to provide means for
keeping body and soul together. "We conse-
quently find that where a large surface of barren
and rocky soil is exposed, either by the work of
man, or, on a larger scale, by some convulsion of
nature, some of the first pioneers of vegetable
growth upon it will almost certainly be drawn
from the moss fraternity. No doubt to the
gardener this faculty of being able to start life
on very scanty means is often the source of
much annoyance, as his gravel paths are fre-
quently rendered unsightly, in his eyes, by the
soft covering of green velvet which creeps over
them in the least-used corners. But from Nature's
own point of view the matter bears an entirely
different aspect, for these tiny plants that manage
to cling here and there on the bare surface
will help to provide a lodgment, first for a little
more soil, then for some further green growth,
until step by step the ground is prepared for the
reception of larger and still larger plants.

I well remember seeing this illustrated in a very
small way some time ago on one of my holiday
excursions. I was working up a small stream
in a wood, examining the rocks and stones and
out-of-the-way corners for " treasure," when I
came across a moss-grown object, which, from its
weight, was evidently not a stone, nor could it,
from its yielding nature, be a piece of wood ; and

100 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

on closer examination the " subsoil " proved to be
notbing more nor less tban an old boot, which
some thoughtless person had thrown into the
stream, where it would have remained an eyesore
to any nature-lover who might pass by, had
it not been for the bright green covering of tiny
leaves, spangled with orange capsules, which had
transformed it into an object of beauty : thus
exemplifying what has so truly been said, that
" mosses, like love, make even the ugliest objects
beautiful, for they hide all defects with their own
loveliness " (Helen Evelyn Day).

CHAPTER II
LIVERWORTS

r I THE Liverworts, or Hepaticce, to give them
-*- their scientific name, form a small group of
plants which come next below the mosses in the
scale of botanical life ; they stand, as it were,
between the mosses on the one hand, and the
lichens and fungi on the other, being less highly
organised than the former, and somewhat more
highly organised than the latter. Their relation-
ship to the mosses is, in many respects, so
close, and the structure of the two tribes of plants
is so similar, that the student of the one may
well include the other in his purview ; indeed, so
nearly do the two approximate to each other in
some respects, that we meet with plants in which
it would seem that a comparatively slight varia-
tion in some detail of organisation would have
sufficed to transfer them to the other side of the
dividing line to that on which they have been
actually located ; whilst in some few members
of one or other of the two tribes there are
certain small points of form or construction which
strikingly resemble some corresponding feature
101

102 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

generally belonging to plants of the other tribe.
From all of which facts we are almost driven to
the conclusion that in long past ages of the
world's history the connection between them was
much closer than it is now. This dovetailing,
as we may call it, of the two tribes, forms a very
interesting feature in the life-history of the liver-
worts, and we shall from time to time, as our
story is unfolded, come across striking instances
of it.

The name "Liverwort" (which is the English
equivalent for the botanical form Hepaticce)
calls for a few words of notice. In the older
books it is applied to comparatively few of the
plants that we understand by the term now, the
distinctive appellation given to most of them being
then " Jungermannia." At the present day, how-
ever, " Liverwort " has come to be applied to
the tribe as a whole, and "Jungermannia " is now
only used as the scientific name of one genus alone.
The word " Liverwort " comes to us from times
when medical science was comparatively in its
youth, and when a great many specifics were in
vogue which, in the light of our more advanced
knowledge, have lost their efficacy. The suffix
"wort" is the Saxon equivalent for "plant," so that
the word may be written " Liver-plants " ; that is,
plants which in some way are associated with
the liver. The following sentence, taken from the
" Encyclopaedia Britannica," gives concisely the

LIVERWORTS 103

connection supposed to exist between certain of
these plants and the part of the human organisation
from which they take their distinctive name :
" In the dark ages of medicine, when the doctrine
of ' signatures ' was in fashion, the strongly
marked epidermic cells were supposed to resemble
the structure of the liver, and the species were
esteemed ' a sovran remedy ' in liver complaints."
Thus, too, in a work entitled " The Complete
Herbal," written by Nicholas Culpeper, M.D., and
dated "from my house in Spitalfields, next door
to the Red Lion, September 5, 1653," and which
is stated in the title-page to contain a reference to
" upwards of one hundred additional herbs, with
the display of their Medicinal and occult Qualities
physically applied to the cure of all disorders
incident to mankind," we read that the liverwort
is " under the dominion Jupiter, and under the
sign of Cancer," and that, " it is a singularly good
herb for all diseases of the liver, both to cool and
cleanse it, and helps the inflammations in any part,
and the yellow jaundice likewise." It is, however,
from a totally different point of view that I wish
to introduce my readers to these interesting little
plants. And while I do not propose to give an
opinion as to how far certain of them, which are
specially alluded to in the passage above quoted,
may prove a corrective for the troublesome com-
plaint referred to, yet if an object for country
walks, and a never-ending resource for the

104 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

occupation of leisure hours, can exert an influence
on bodily and mental well-being — and who will be
so bold as to deny that they may ? — then, with
the herbalist of old, I would recommend this
pursuit as a means of adding to health, and con-
sequently to the happiness of life.

Number of Species. — The liverworts are much
fewer in number, both as regards genera and
species, than the mosses, so that the moss-hunter
will not be greatly enlarging his work if he in-
cludes them in his field of operations, especially as
the two kinds of plant are so constantly found
growing in close proximity the one to the other.
The most modern catalogue yet published gives
between two and three hundred different British
species. Though many of these have a fairly wide
distribution — some few, in particular, being dis-
tinctly common — yet a great many of them are
but seldom found, and, in turning over the pages
of one of the more recent works on the subject,
one cannot but be struck with the comparatively
frequent repetition of such phrases as " somewhat
rare," or " not common." This fact may, no
doubt, to some extent militate against the general
attractiveness of the study ; but for those who are
able, even occasionally, to go farther afield than
their own immediate locality — and how many
more now, as compared with former days, manage
to spend at least a week in the summer or autumn
among the woods and the hills — the fact that

LIVERWORTS 105

search must be made in out-of-the-way nooks and
corners, and that some amount of patience and
perseverance must be exercised if a real " find "
is to be made, should only prove an additional
incentive to the discovery of new habitats and
rare species.

General Characteristics. — As in the case of the
mosses, so with their near relatives the liverworts,
no cut-and-dried scientific definition would serve
any useful purpose in a simple work such as the
present. A personal acquaintance with a few of
the commoner kinds will soon suffice to enable
any one to recognise even those that have a strong
likeness to mosses, without much difficulty ; and,
should there at first seem room for doubt as
to the nature of any particular plant, a glance
through the magnifying-glass will generally serve
to dispel it. Erom the point of view of their
external form, liverworts naturally range them-
selves into two groups, namely, the leafy orfoliose
plants, and those that are frond-like or frondose.
The leafy liverworts often bear a close resem-
blance at first sight to mosses, consisting as they
do of a well-defined stem clothed with leaves ; but
on a nearer examination there are certain signifi-
cant features which will soon be recognised as dis-
tinctive of the tribe in general. In the first place,
the leaves are, as a rule, more delicate and
" filmy " in appearance, owing partly to the fact
that they are composed of larger cells, and partly

106 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

to the thin walls of the cells themselves. Then,
again, the plants very frequently have a markedly
flat growth, the leaves heing pretty much on the
same plane, so to speak ; this is a characteristic
which is not very often met with in the mosses,
though occasionally, as in the Elat Eork-moss
(Fissidens) family, to which reference has several
times heen made, we find a striking instance of it.
The shape of the leaves, too, in most liverworts
is quite distinct, as a comparison of the drawings
in Plate VII. with those in Plate X. will abun-
dantly testify. At the same time there are a few
mosses the leaves of which bear some resemblance
to those of a liverwort, both as regards form and
cell-structure. Eor instance, the Dotted Thyme
Thread-moss (Mnium punctatum> Plate II. fig. 2)
has specially large leaf-cells, to which fact it
owes its distinctly filmy appearance, while the
shape of the leaves approximates somewhat to
the general character of the leaves of many liver-
worts. And the same remarks apply with still
greater force to a beautiful large-leaved moss,
known as the Shining Hookeria (Pterygophyllum
lucens), which may sometimes be found growing
in the shadiest parts of a wood, preferably on
the banks of a stream, where it may get an
abundance of the moisture that it loves so well.
These are, however, exceptional cases, and are
therefore not likely to cause much difficulty,
even to a novice in the study.

LIVERWORTS 107

The frond-like form of liverwort, on the other
hand, cannot possibly be mistaken for a moss,
though plants of this class are sometimes very
like certain of the lichens in outward appear-
ance, and are still more liable to be confused with
the early stage, or prothallium, of a fern, to which
some of them bear a very strong resemblance. In
this group the whole plant takes the form of a flat
green plate or frond, which grows quite close to
the surface of the soil or other substance to which
it happens to be attached. Plate VIII. figs. 1 to
16 are all illustrations of leafy liverworts, while
figs. 17 to 20 represent frond-like plants. But
here we are reminded again of the constantly
recurring fact that Nature seldom draws a hard-
and-fast line ; for while in some instances there
is no difficulty in saying at sight whether any
particular plant belongs to one group or to the
other, yet there are a few that are evidently on
the border line, and that clearly show how the
two forms merge the one into the other.

Habitats. — From what has already been said, it
will have been inferred that both mosses and
liverworts live in very similar homes, and under
much the same conditions. The latter, however,
are by no means so cosmopolitan as their relatives,
and are certainly much more shy of contamination
with smoke ; hence it is that if we would make
their close acquaintance it becomes necessary
to seek them out in localities which are specially

108 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

congenial to them. If mosses are, as a rule,
moisture-loving plants, much more may this be
said of liverworts ; and hence it is that to find
them in the greatest luxuriance, and to see them
in the full enjoyment of life, we ought to seek
them in some of the moister parts of the Lake
District or of Wales, or, better still, in the
Emerald Isle, the home par excellence of many of
the rarer species. In the shade of the woods ;
on the rocks of a rivulet splashed by the water ;
on the wet banks of dykes, drains, and ditches ; in
the shelter of the hedgerows ; in the boggy and
marshy ground on the borders of some pool or
lake; in these and similar localities many kinds
may frequently be met with. Others to a large
extent confine themselves to the trunks and
branches of trees, while not a few of the smaller
and more dainty forms are often found growing
in close company with mosses, creeping in and
out amongst the slender stems and pale, green
leaves, and not uncommonly looking very much
like fine white thread.

Let us, with the help of Plate VIII., take a
glance at some of the commoner kinds, and we
shall thus obtain a better idea of their general
appearance and structure ; and the fact that all
the figures in the plate (with the exception of
fig. 20, which is about life-size) have been drawn
to the same scale, namely, five and a half times
larger than the originals, will give some idea of

LIVERWORTS 109

the great variety in size that is to be met with
in nature. The Square-leaved Liverwort (Chilo-
scyphus polyanthos, fig. 1), one of the larger forms,
is a specially moisture-loving plant, which often
grows in great abundance in wet, boggy ground,
or in the clear water of some small spring which
wells up on the hill-side. Its leaves are some-
what rectangular in outline, but with the angles
rounded off. They are pale green in colour ; and,
being formed of large, thin-walled cells, they have
that delicate, filmy appearance which, as already
pointed out, is so characteristic of many of the
liverworts. The Two-toothed Liverwort (Lopho-
colea bidentata, fig. 2) is one of the commonest of
the tribe. It is by no means particular as to its
quarters, and will make itself at home on the
hedge bank, on tree trunks, and in other situa-
tions, generally, however, seeking a shady position.
The name of the plant is, of course, suggested by
the shape of the leaf, which is markedly two-
toothed, though this form of leaf is by no means
restricted to this particular species. In this case,
too, the leaf-cells are large and thin-walled, and
the plant has a more or less filmy appearance
in consequence. The Whitish Liverwort (Diplo-
phyllum albicans, fig. 3) is perhaps the most
widely distributed of all the leafy liverworts,
growing as it does, often in extensive colonies, on
the banks by the roadside, in woods, on rocks,
and in fact almost anywhere in the country. Its

110 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

leaves are bi-lobed — that is to say, each leaf con-
sists of two portions or lobes, a smaller and a
larger one; a feature which, as we shall find,
characterises many individuals of the group.
This particular one is easily distinguished owing
to the fact that a narrow band of long, pale cells
extends up the centre of the leaf, giving the
appearance of a somewhat indefinite nerve. I
shall have occasion to refer again to this when
dealing more in detail with liverwort leaves.
At Plate X. fig. 15 is a magnified leaf, the so-
called pseudo-nerve being all the more distinct.

The Inflated Liverwort (Jungermannia itiflata,
Plate VIII. fig. 4) is a small plant that grows
very freely on boggy and peaty soil, often form-
ing large, dull, reddish brown tufts of considerable
size. Here again the leaves are two-toothed, but
each tooth, instead of being pointed, is rounded
off at the end. Eig. 5 is a small piece of a tiny
plant, the Creeping Liverwort (Lepidozia reptaiis),
which lives on rotting tree trunks, or on the
ground, not unfrequently covering it with a thick
green carpet, which when examined with the glass
is seen to be made up of numberless thread-like
stalks matted together, each of them bearing at
intervals the minute three- or four-toothed leaves
as shown in my illustration. Let us examine a
piece of it still more carefully, and we shall find
that on the under side of the stem, and growing
quite close to it, are a number of still more

LIVERWORTS 111

minute leaves of a similar form. These are the
so-called stipules, though as they do not seem —
in any botanical sense at all events — to correspond
to the stipules of an ordinary plant, under-leaves
would really seem to be the more appropriate
term for them. These under-leaves or stipules
are characteristic of a good many of the leafy
liverworts, and, as may be supposed, their
presence or absence constitutes an important
feature in the tracking out of any particular
individual. There is nothing that corresponds to
them in any of the mosses that inhabit this part
of the world, though I believe that in a few
foreign species similar growths are found.

The student is pretty certain to come across
the plant represented at fig. 6 in the early days
of his researches into the mysteries of the liver-
wort world. This is the Tubercled Liverwort
(Frullania dilatata), a constant dweller on the
bark of trees, its round, overlapping leaves, often
a dull purple in colour, clinging tightly to the
surface, and hardly looking like living plant.
When examined under a low power in the micro-
scope, however, it assumes quite a different ap-
pearance, not unfrequently showing most beautiful
warm brown tints, varied with shades of green
and red. The leaves, again, are bi-lobed, the
smaller of the two lobes having a remarkable
resemblance to a tiny cap ; this will be seen more
distinctly by reference to Plate X. fig. 3, where

112 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

some of these leaves are drawn on a large scale.
Plate VIII. fig. 7, the Wood Liverwort (Scapania
nemorosa), is, as its name implies, an inhabitant
of woods and similar places, and is hy no means
uncommon; its leaves also are bi-lobed, and
their margins are fringed with fine hair-like
teeth. Pig. 8, the Maidenhair Liverwort (Kantia
trichomanis) , is a common little plant, which
grows on the bare earth, in damp, shady places,
often in company with mosses ; its leaves are
somewhat egg-shaped, the ends, though usually
rounded, being occasionally slightly notched.
The under-leaves are large and noticeable, and
are much rounder in outline than the leaves, and
with a much deeper notch at the end, giving
them a distinctly two-toothed appearance. A
small piece of the stem, with some of the ordinary
leaves and also the under-leaves, is delineated,
on a larger scale, at Plate X. fig. 32a. The leaves
themselves are a delicate pale green in colour,
and, the cells being somewhat large, the whole
plant has that peculiarly filmy appearance to
which reference has already so often been made.
The Little-lobed Liverwort (Lejeunea serpyllifolia,
fig. 9), doubtless so called from the minute size
of the lower lobe of the leaf, is a beautiful little
plant, which forms a very attractive object for
a microscopic slide, having, when seen against a
black background, a particularly bright appear-
ance. It haunts rocks, banks, tree stumps, etc.,

LIVERWORTS 113

generally in damp and shady corners, and, though
by no means widely distributed, is often very
abundant in localities which happen to be specially
favourable to its development.

The Hair-leaved Liverwort (Blepharostoma
trichophyllum, fig. 10) is somewhat rare, though,
possibly owing to its minute proportions, fre-
quently overlooked, for to the unassisted eye it
simply has the appearance of a piece of fine
cotton ; and, as it is generally to be found creep-
ing among mosses, a good deal of careful searching
is requisite in order to discover it. It would be
difficult to imagine anything more beautiful in
its way than a frond of this plant in the micro-
scope, with a moderately low-power lens, and a
black background, the delicate silver tracery of
the stem and its tiny, bristle-like leaves being
thrown up in strong relief by contrast with the
dark surroundings. The plant given at fig. 11,
the Crenulated Liverwort (Jungermannia crenu-
lata), has very markedly round leaves, though
why this special name should have been bestowed
upon it is difficult to say. It grows in wet,
sheltered places, often choosing a heavy clay soil.
I have seen the bank by the roadside in one of
the Somersetshire combes quite thickly covered
for some little distance with matted tufts of its
pale green fronds. Under the microscope, or
even with a strong magnifying-glass, it may easily
be distinguished from all the other round-leaved

8

114 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

liverworts owing to the presence of a row of
large square-shaped cells round the margin of
the leaf, which at once strike one as something
uncommon.

Eig. 12 is another very small plant (Lejeunea
ulicina), which is not often met with, though,
again, this may he partly due to its minuteness,
and partly to the fact that it grows among mosses,
and is thus not easily distinguished. It generally
prefers the trunk of a tree for its habitation.
The Two-horned Liverwort (Cephalozia bicuspi-
data, fig. 13) belongs to a family of diminutive
plants which usually live on the ground, or creep
among the stems and leaves of mosses. This
one is the commonest, and its long, slender
white, thread-like stems may be found creeping
on wet clay soil by the roadside, though, owing
to its minute size, it will certainly not be dis-
covered without the help of a glass. It affords
yet another instance of a plant with two-toothed
leaves.

In the Globe-fruited Liverwort (Jungermannia
sphcerocarpa, fig. 14) we have another round-
leaved plant. This is also a frequent denizen of
damp, shady nooks, producing its fruit — which,
as indicated by its name, is round, instead of oval,
in form — in the early spring. Eig. 15 is a
beautiful moisture-loving little plant, which has
been named Hutchins' Liverwort (Jubula Hut-
chinsia), after Miss Hutchins, a famous Irish

LIVERWORTS 115

botanist, who first discovered it in the South of
Ireland. It also rejoices in very moist surround-
ings, generally growing on rocks over which the
water trickles, or in the splash of some waterfall,
and is comparatively rare. I well remember
finding it in Devonshire, growing like a weed
at the back of a small cascade, in the middle of
a dark wood, and shall not easily forget the thrill
of pleasure with which I recognised it. The
leaves, it will be noticed, are rounded at the end,
and bear a few rather large teeth, and the under-
leaves are very noticeable, occurring at intervals
on the lower side of the stem. They are specially
distinctive in form, as will be seen from Plate X.
fig. 34, where one is given on a larger scale. In
the Notch-leaved Liverwort (Jungermannia ex-
secta, Plate VIII. fig. 16) — an occasional dweller
on heaths or in woods — the leaves, which grow
closely overlapping each other, are peculiar in
form, and the strikingly notched margin has,
no doubt, suggested the specific name given to
the plant.

Having now made the acquaintance of some
typical plants belonging to the leafy order, let us
next turn our attention to a few of the frondose
group, though it must be at once admitted that
these have not the same attractions, either with
regard to colour or form, as the various species
that we have been considering. Plate VIII.
fig. 17 represents a small piece of the Many-

116 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

lobed Liverwort (Aneura mtiltifida), a plant which
literally lives in water, generally choosing wet,
hoggy ground, in woods or on the sides of ditches,
for its home. Its fronds are somewhat thick and
fleshy, and are pale yellowish-green in colour,
turning brown when old. One of the commonest
of the frondose plants is the Forked Liverwort
(Metzgeriafurcata, fig. 18). It constantly spreads
its light green fronds on moist banks and rocks,
or still more commonly on the trunks of trees,
creeping in and out among the cracks and
crevices of the bark, and often clinging so tightly
chat it is a matter of difficulty to dislodge them
without cutting away some of the bark as well.
Under the microscope numerous short hairs will
be noticed, growing on the margins and on the
nerve. The Broad-veined Liverwort (Pellia
calycina, fig. 19) is also a great lover of moisture,
and nothing suits its taste better than the boggy
ground bordering some small rivulet, or by the
side of a spring. Pig. 20 — a single frond of the
Four-lobed Liverwort (Lunularia cruciata) — has
been drawn very nearly the natural size in order
to give a better idea of the appearance in the
field of a typical frondose plant. It is by no
means uncommon, and its small, flat, green fronds
have a knack of making their appearance on damp
and shady gravel paths, or still more abundantly
in the dark corners of a greenhouse, and will
even invade the flower-pots themselves, covering

LIVERWORTS 117

the surface of the soil with a mass of leathery
green substance, which is far from being a wel-
come sight to the gardener. On looking more
closely at one of these fronds, two or three
crescent-shaped growths will be observed on its
face, and if one of these is examined with a fairly
good glass it will reveal itself as a tiny pocket,
inside which are a number of very diminutive
green bodies ; these are small buds or gemma,
corresponding to the" similar developments with
which we met in the mosses, and from which
future plants will spring. I shall have some-
thing more to say on this head later on.

Life-history. — I propose now to trace the various
stages in the life-history of the liverworts, as I
have already done with the mosses, and it will
in this way be possible to learn more of their
distinguishing characteristics than could be done
by any mere set of definitions ; and incidentally
we shall be able to note the special points of
resemblance and dissimilarity in the members
of the two tribes. And on the threshold of the
subject we are met by the fact that the earliest
stages of growth in the liverworts are by no means
so easily observed as in the case of their more
aristocratic connections. And though, at first
sight, this may seem strange, yet a little con-
sideration will convince us that, on evolutionary
principles, it is what we might expect, if mosses
represent the more highly developed community.

118 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

For as we ascend in the scale of life we find that
Nature, as a rule, tends to attain her ends by
more and more direct methods. At all events
experience teaches us that with the liverworts
the first results of the germination of the spore
vary very considerably in different species. We
have seen (p. 30) that with a moss the earliest
sign of life is, in the vast majority of cases, the
formation of a delicate, thread-like growth or
protonema, from which the moss-plant subse-
quently springs. This kind of intermediate stage
is also frequently found in the liverworts ; but
while it is sometimes represented by a branching
thread, like that of a moss, at others it takes
the form of a flat, green leafy plate, from one
end of which the young plant is eventually
evolved, while in many cases no definite inter-
mediate stage at all is appreciable, the plant being
gradually developed by cell-formation direct from
the spore itself.

I have often looked for some sign of these very
early days in the life of a liverwort, but the first
indications of growth are generally so minute
that it is most difficult, if not well-nigh impossi-
ble, to come across them in the field, and so, not
long ago, I determined to see what could be
done by setting up a kind of miniature nursery
garden in this particular department. I accord-
ingly procured some spores of the plant figured
at Plate VIII. fig. 1, the Square-leaved Liver-

LIVERWORTS 119

wort (Chiloscyphus polyanthos), and also some
of one of the larger frondose liverworts, the
Large-leaved Liverwort (Pellia epiphylla), which,
as we have seen, grows on marshy ground, and
in the neighbourhood of streams. These spores
were sown on two pieces of sandstone (a hit of
broken flower-pot serves the purpose equally
well), which were placed under a bell-glass, and
kept constantly moist. The experiment did not
succeed so well with the first-named species as
with the other : but after waiting for nearly seven
weeks, I found one day that a thin green film
had appeared on the stone on which the spores had
been strewn. Under the microscope this proved
to consist of numerous extremely small cellular
bodies, one of which, highly magnified, is given
at Plate IX. fig. 1. Doubtless, in course of time,
had I been able to carry the matter so far,
these would have developed into plants. The
second of my two sowings was more successful,
for the spores of the frondose plant ultimately
gave rise to a few small flat, brownish-green
growths, one of which is drawn, on a somewhat
magnified scale, at Plate IX. fig. la; this
represents the intermediate stage in this species,
and from one of the cells at its upper margin
a plant would ultimately have sprung.

It is in this matter of the germination of the
spores that we seem to come across the first
indication of the close relationship that exists

120 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

between the mosses and the liverworts, for in
the Bog-mosses (Sphagna) the earliest sign of
life does not take the form of the green thread,
which in most mosses develops from the spore,
but is represented by a small flat plate or frond,
closely resembling that which, as just mentioned,
is formed from the spores of many liverworts.
I may here refer to a curious feature which occurs
in young plants of that small family of mosses
to which the beautiful Pellucid Pour-tooth Moss
(Tetraphis pellucida), already alluded to more
than once, belongs, and which may possibly have
some bearing on the present subject. In these
plants the earliest leaves are quite different in
form from those which subsequently clothe the
stem, and have a considerable resemblance to
one of the frondose liverworts, as will be seen
by a reference to Plate VI. fig. 19, which repre-
sents three which were taken from a plant of
the last-named moss. I have often wondered
whether these germ-leaves — which, by the way,
soon disappear, and are never repeated in the
subsequent life of the plant — may form another
link, as regards outside form at least, with the far-
off past, when the two tribes were more intimately
connected than they are at the present day.

The subject of the gradual development of the
fully formed plant from these very early be-
ginnings is far too abstruse and difficult to be
dealt with in an elementary work such as the

LIVERWORTS 121

present; any one who desires to know more on
the subject will find it treated in great detail
in Hoffmeister's masterly work on the Higher
Cryptogamia, translated and published many
years ago by the Bay Society, as also in Dr. D. H.
Campbell's book on " The Structure and Develop-
ment of the Mosses and Eerns." Here, however,
I must content myself with saying that slowly,
but surely, the young plant is evolved, and even-
tually attains to one of the many forms with
which we are familiar, the process in some cases
taking a considerable time to complete, though in
others the rate of progress is much more rapid.
I pass on, therefore, to speak of the flowering part
of the plant, or

Inflorescence, the seat of the reproductive organs,
from which the future fruit will spring. While
this stage of liverwort-growth corresponds, in
many respects, to the similar one in a moss's
development, there are, nevertheless, certain very
pronounced differences in detail between the
methods pursued by the two tribes. I have
only space for a reference to some of the more
important of these.

As in a moss, so with a liverwort, the organs
of reproduction are of two kinds, the fertilising
organ, and the fruit-bearing organ, each of which
calls for a few words of description.

The Fertilising Organs (antheridia) are formed
in varying positions on the plant, according to

122 MOSSES AND LIVEEWOETS

different species, in some cases growing close
to the fruit-bearing organs, while in others
separated from them. Thus, in the frondose
liverworts they are often found imbedded in the
substance of the frond, their presence being not
unfrequently indicated in the microscope by a
number of dark, circular markings on the upper
face of the frond, which are in fact caused by the
small depressions in which they lie, and which
are covered over by the delicate skin of the
frond. On the other hand, in the well-known
Common Liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) — a
plant which grows plentifully in damp and wet
situations, for instance on the sides of a well or
spring in the wall by the roadside, or the shady
corners of a greenhouse, literally covering the
rock or earth with its flat green fronds — the
reproductive organs are housed in small round
discs or receptacles, each at the end of a long
stalk, the whole bearing a strong resemblance to
a tiny parasol. When produced in considerable
numbers, as is frequently the case, the numerous
pale green heads springing up from the flat,
shining green undergrowth, make a very pretty
sight. In the leafy liverworts the fertilising
organs frequently arise in the axils of the leaves,
and we may sometimes get a glimpse of them in
the microscope through their beautiful leafy cover-
ings, as is shown in Plate IX. fig. 2, which
represents a small piece of the Eound-fruited

LIVERWORTS 123

Liverwort (Jungermannia sphcerocarpa) . In some
cases they are solitary — that is to say, only one
arrows in the axil of the leaf — while in others a

O

small group of them will he found collected
together under cover of a single leaf.

The fertilising organs, instead of being sausage-
or cucumber-shaped, as in the mosses, are usually
round or oval, as in Plate IX. fig. 6, where I
have drawn two, taken from that very common
little plant, the Whitish Liverwort (Diplophyllum
albicans), the acquaintance of which we have
already made. That this little round body is
extremely minute may be realised from the fact
that those given have been magnified some fifty-
one times, and that even then they appear no
larger than a small pea.

And here let me pause to point out a very
striking resemblance that exists between the
general form of the liverwort fertilising organs
(antheridia) , as above illustrated, and those of
certain of the mosses, which seems to indicate
another point of contact between the two tribes.
We have seen that in the mosses these organs
nearly always assume that curious sausage-like
shape which has already been referred to several
times; in the Bog-mosses (Sphagna), however,
they are round, like the similar organs of a
liverwort, from which, indeed, it is difficult to
distinguish them, as will at once be apparent if
reference is made to fig. 20 of Plate IX., where a

124 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

fertilising organ (antheridium] of the Blunt-leaved
Bog-moss (Sphagnum cymUfolium) has been drawn
side by side with one from the Whitish Liverwort
(Diplophyllum albicans).

The Fruit-bearing Organ (archegonium) corre-
sponds much more closely in appearance with the
same organ in a moss, having a more or less
distinct neck, which ends in a round, swollen
base. Plate IX. fig. 8 gives a group of three,
not quite fully developed, while at fig. 7 is one
which has arrived at maturity. Here again it
must be borne in mind that my drawings are
some fifty-one times larger than the original
objects. There is one feature in connection with
the position of the fruit-bearing organs in which
the liverworts differ very materially from the
mosses. We have seen (p. 35) that in the mosses
the fruit-bearing organs are generally surrounded
by a number of special leaves (the perichcetial
leaves), which, as a rule, are larger than, and
differ in shape from, the ordinary leaves of the
plant ; these special leaves, in addition to forming
a protective covering to the reproductive organs,
are of great assistance in retaining round them
the water that is so essential if fertilisation is to
be effected. In most of the leafy liverworts the
fruit-bearing organs (and sometimes the fertilising
organs also), instead of being enclosed in these
large, protecting leaves, are produced inside a
leafy, cup-shaped growth, such as that given at

LIVERWORTS 125

Plate IX. fig. 5, taken from the tree-growing
plant, the Elat-leaved Liverwort (Radula com-
planata).

This leafy envelope, or cup, as I may for
convenience call it, is known in botanical lan-
guage as the colesule or perianth.

Its form varies, to some extent, in different
species. Thus the one just alluded to is simple
and cup-like in appearance; the one drawn at
fig. 3 of the same plate is more pear-shaped, and
has the mouth much contracted — in this case,
moreover, there are a number of small wart-like
excrescences on the sides which at once serve to
show that it belongs to that common tree-loving
plant, the Tubercled Liverwort (Frullania dila-
tata), already described (p. 111). In some cases,
again, the upper edge is strongly toothed, while
in others it is so much cut up, as almost to have
the appearance of having been slashed by some
sharp instrument, and numerous other similar
small differences will be found in other species.
Although this leafy cup, as already mentioned,
always contains within it some of the fruit-
bearing organs, yet these are not unfrequently
formed before the cup, and the latter subsequently
grows round them. The cup itself no doubt
fulfils the same functions as those served by the
perichoetial leaves in mosses, namely, to protect
the small and delicate reproductive organs, and
to retain moisture around them with a view to

126 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

their ultimate fertilisation, so careful do we find
that Nature always is to provide for the con-
tinuance of the race. In the frondose liverworts
the cup, when produced (and it is only in certain
of them that it is formed at all), will be found
growing on the face of the frond.

In some few of the mosses we meet with some-
thing which, in outside form, at all events, is
strongly suggestive of this leafy envelope. This
fact is well exemplified in fig. 8 of Plate IV.,
which is a drawing of a fruiting plant of one of
our common Bog-mosses, the Spreading-leaved
Bog-moss (Sphagnum squarrosum), and shows the
curious urn-shaped capsule at the end of a some-
what large fruit-stalk (which, by the way, re-
minds one much more of the fruit-stalk of a
liverwort than that of a moss), surrounded by
the large perichoetial leaves, which in this in-
stance have a very distinctly cup-like appear-
ance ; indeed, one has only to imagine two or
three of these large leaves growing together by
their edges in order to realise how close the
resemblance is. The same thing is found in the
members of that small group of rock-growing
mosses, to which, as we have seen, the family
name of Andrecea has been given ; a portion of
one of them is given at Plate VI. fig. 6, and
shows the capsule rising from the centre of a
cluster of the large sheathing leaves, which again
suggest the same idea.

LIVERWORTS 127

Fertilisation. — As in the moss tribe, so with the
liverworts, the fruit is developed from the fruit-
bearing organ ; but, in order that this may be
brought about, fertilisation must first take place,
and the steps by which this mysterious process
is effected are very similar to those by which a
moss plant proceeds at a similar stage of its
existence. Several of the fruit-bearing organs
(archegonia) may be, and generally are, formed
inside a single cup, and though two or three of
these may be fertilised, yet one alone will arrive
at maturity and produce fruit, the others sooner
or later shrivelling up. As the fruit-bearing
organ ripens, a tiny passage is formed down its
neck, and this leads into a large central cell in
the swollen base where a special germ-cell is
evolved, from which, when fertilised, the future
fruit will spring. As in the case of a moss, so
here, the small, round fertilising organ, when
ripe, bursts, and sends forth a large number of
very minute fertilising bodies (antherozoids) .
Each of these consists of a spirally coiled thread,
furnished at one end with two fine hairs or
cilia, which are sometimes longer than the fer-
tilising body itself. By means of these hairs,
which vibrate very rapidly, the fertilising body
is able to move about in water, and may thus
sooner or later find its way to the head of one
of the fruit-bearing organs, where, after passing
down the tiny passage in the neck, it will fertilise

128 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

the germ-cell (oosphere) in the hollow base, which
hy this time has increased considerably in size,
and completely fills up the large central cavity
inside which it was formed. It might seem, at
first sight, as though the cup would prove an
obstacle to fertilisation, but as a matter of fact
this is not so ; indeed, fertilisation is sometimes
effected when it is but half formed, and when
its walls are comparatively low. And even where
this is not the case the fertilising body has little
or no difficulty in finding its way to the interior.

After fertilisation the spore-vessel or capsule
begins to develop inside the swollen base of the
fruit-bearing organ, and as it increases in size
this swollen base swells more and more, becoming,
in course of time, very much enlarged (see
Plate IX. fig. 5). This enlarged base of the
flower is now known as the Yeil or calyptra, a
term which, it will thus be seen, does not bear
precisely the same meaning as it does when used
in reference to a moss. There it signifies the
upper portion only of the fruit-bearing organ,
which was torn off when the young capsule burst
through its prison walls (see page 43), and this
is carried up on the end of the capsule ; while
here the term signifies the whole swollen base
of the fruit-bearing organ inside which the fruit
is formed, and which is never rent into two
portions when the capsule makes its way out.

At Plate IX. fig. 9 will be found a drawing of

LIVERWORTS 129

the veil of the Tubercled Liverwort (Frullania
dilatata) ; it was cut out of the cup, and inside
it, if dissected, would doubtless have heen found
the young, half -formed capsule, which in a liver-
wort reaches its full development before forcing
its way into the light and air. This small, round
ball, then, represents the original swollen base
of the fruit-bearing organ, which has become en-
larged out of recognition by the gradual increase
inside it of the young spore-vessel ; at the top
of this tiny ball will be seen the remains of what
was originally the neck of the organ, and which,
having now fulfilled its purpose, has more or less
shrivelled up.

As the spore-vessel gets larger and larger, and
as the fruit-stalk, at the end of which it is formed,
lengthens, considerable pressure is exerted on the
walls of the veil, which, after a time, not being
able to stretch further, split open, thus allowing
the ripe but still closed spore-vessel to make its
way out, and eventually to emerge into the light
of day at the end of its long fruit-stalk. On
examining a colony of liverwort plants in the
early spring a number of slender, silky white
threads may often catch the eye lying on the
ground ; these are the long, flexible stalks of
the capsules ; and if a still closer inspection is
made many of these silky threads will be found
to be tipped with tiny, black, oval heads — the
spore-vessels filled with the ripe spores — which

9

130 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

glisten among the green leaves like so many
diminutive jet beads. A ripe capsule which has
thus raised itself out of its sheltering envelope
is shown at Plate IX. fig. 10 ; it was taken from
the Two-horned Liverwort (Cephalozia bicuspi-
data), a delicate little plant, already described,
with tiny, transparent two-toothed leaves, a fre-
quent inhabitant of woods and other shady places,
growing in tangled masses on the ground, or on
rotting tree stumps, or creeping in and out among
the smaller growths on some moss-covered bank.
Pig. 11 of the same plate represents the cup
(colesule) of the Plat-leaved Liverwort (Radula
complanata), a small round-leaved plant that grows
on the trunks of trees, clinging very closely to
the bark, and forming dark green patches, some-
times of considerable size. Here we get a glimpse,
through the thin, semi-transparent wall of the
cup, of the swollen veil, which has been burst
open by the capsule. The latter, too, in this
particular instance, has raised itself up, at the
end of its long, glossy white stalk, through the
wide-open mouth of the cup, and has matured
and discharged its burden of spores. Pig. 2 of
the Prontispiece is another example.

Plate IX. fig. 4 is an instance of the same
kind of thing in one of the frond-like plants,
the Porked Liverwort (Metzgeriafurcata). Here
there is no covering envelope to protect the fruit-
bearing organ.

LIVERWORTS 131

Before leaving the subject of the reproductive
organs it should be mentioned that, for purposes
of identification, it is frequently very important
(as we have already seen is the case with the
mosses) to ascertain the relative positions on the
plant of the two kinds, or, in other words, to
satisfy oneself as to whether the plant is dioicous,
autoicous, synoicous, etc. (see page 41). And the
sight of the curious leafy cups, which we have
been considering, will save considerable trouble.
For, as they always contain one or more of the
fruit-bearing organs (archegonia) , they form a
conclusive indication of the presence of these
organs.

The Capsule.— The variety of form in the
capsule, which is so noticeable a feature in the
mosses, and which often constitutes an important
item in their identification, is not so strikingly
exemplified in the liverworts, and in consequence
it will be found that this part of the plant's
anatomy is seldom figured in the text-books.
Even here, however, there is a certain amount
of divergence in many of the species, for while
as a rule it may be said that the shape of the
capsule is more or less oval, in some instances
it is round, while in others it resembles an elon-
gated pod rather than an ordinary capsule.

The escape of the ripe spores from the capsule
is generally brought about in a far simpler
manner in the liverworts than in the mosses,

132 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

for — except in a few foreign species, where the
top of the capsule separates from the rest of
the capsule wall — there is nothing to correspond
to the lid (operculum), which, as we have seen,
usually closes the mouth of a moss capsule (see
page 60) ; nor do we ever find anything in the
nature of the beautiful fringe of teeth (peri-
stome) which, in so many mosses, surrounds the
mouth of the capsule when the lid has fallen
off. As soon as the spores are ripe and ready to
hegin their life-work they are liberated by the
bursting of the capsule. Occasionally it opens
irregularly, as in certain species of moss ; very
rarely the capsule wall divides into two halves,
somewhat after the manner of a bean pod. But
in by far the greater number of cases it splits,
from top to bottom, into four pieces, which remain
attached by their lower ends to the top of the
fruit-stalk. Plate IX. fig. 12 gives a closed and
open capsule of one of the leafy liverworts, and
clearly illustrates the general mode of bursting
of the capsule wall, as above described. But
while in the large majority of cases there would
thus seem to be no similarity between the two
tribes in this matter of the opening of the cap-
sule, it is just here that we come across what
appears to be the most striking link between
them.

I have already (p. 64) had occasion to refer, in
this connection, to that small group of mosses

LIVERWORTS 133

bearing the family name of Andre&a, which as a
rule inhabit the higher mountains. While from
their structure it is evident that these plants must
be classed with the mosses, even a slight acquain-
tance with them cannot fail to draw attention to
certain features in which, outwardly at least, they
approximate very closely to the liverworts. Look,
for instance, at Plate VI. fig. 3, which gives the
ripe but closed capsule of one of them, and notice,
by comparing it with Plate IX. fig. 12, how
forcibly it reminds one of a liverwort capsule at
the same stage. Then, too, the fruit-stalk in my
drawing is much more like that of a liverwort
than a moss, a fact which is still more observable
when it is seen in the microscope. But when we
learn the manner in which, in these particular
mosses, the ripe spores are discharged from the
capsule, we cannot, I think, fail to be struck by
the likeness to a liverwort, which is here so un-
mistakable ; for in this one family, the capsule,
instead of adopting one or other of the methods
for the discharge of the spores described at pages
61 to 63, opens, as we have already learned (see
page 64), by means of four slits or cracks in its
sides, though these do not extend, as in the liver-
worts, quite to the top of the capsule. Plate VI.
fig. 4 is a drawing of a capsule of the Alpine
Andreaea (Andre cea alpina) when dry, and shows
the slits in the capsule wall gaping widely open
(see also Plate IV.b, figs. 12 and 13). It will be

134 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

admitted that we have here a most striking
instance of the way in which, at certain points in
their life-history, the two tribes of plants dove-
tail, so to speak, into one another, and the in-
ference seems naturally to suggest itself that,
possibly at some time, long ages ago, they may
have been still more closely connected.

As there is no lid (operculwn) to the liverwort
capsule, so, of course, there is no need for anything
corresponding to the ring (annulus) . And again,
the mode in which the capsule opens makes a
peristome useless, for the complete rupture of the
capsule walls at once liberates the spores. While,
therefore, the form of the open capsule, as seen in
the microscope, is very beautiful, and its crimson
colouring is even richer and more striking than
in the majority of moss capsules, the interest
attaching to it cannot compare with that which
the urn-tipped stalks of the moss tribe always
arouse.

Spores and Elaters. — When the contents of a
ripe capsule are examined under a high-pOAver
lens, another very noticeable difference between
the mosses and the liverworts is frequently brought
to light. The spores themselves are every whit as
small as the spores of a moss, and are commonly
round in form, while sometimes, when highly
magnified, they are seen to be slightly roughened,
like those represented at Plate IX. fig. 15, which,
by the way, are unusually large. In the case of

LIVERWORTS 135

most liverworts, however, we find mingled with
the spores a number of delicate thread-like hodies,
sometimes taking the form of exquisite spirals or
coils, sometimes plaited into beautiful fairy-like
chains. These are known as elaters. They are
not invariably present in liverwort capsules,
though as a rule they are to be found there, but
they are never met with in the mosses. A few of
these elaters are given in figs. 15 and 16 of
Plate IX., and it will be noticed from these that
they not only vary in form, but also in size, for in
each case the same scale of magnification has been
used. When, moreover, it is borne in mind that
each figure is one hundred and forty times larger
than the original object, some faint idea may be
obtained of the almost unthinkable delicacy of these
wonderful structures. The inquiry is naturally
raised as to the purpose which is fulfilled by
these microscopic bodies, for their almost constant
presence seems to imply that they serve some
definite end. It is of course extremely difficult,
with organisms so minute, to form any definite
conclusions, especially as the fact that their action
takes place in the interior of the capsule, precludes
any direct observation being made, and much has
therefore to be left to surmise. Hence one cannot
be surprised to find some amount of divergence
in the reasons adduced for the presence of the
elaters among the spores. Thus, one writer states
that, owing to the fact that they are extremely

136 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

hygroscopic (i.e. are easily affected by the
presence of water), they help to bring about the
bursting of the capsule wall; another believes
that their duty consists in loosening the masses of
spores at the time when the capsule opens ; while
others have thought that their sudden uncurling,
at the moment when the restraint exerted by the
closed capsule wall is removed, helps to scatter
the spores. Whichever of these theories is the
correct one — and they all, probably, contain some
amount of truth — it seems to be generally agreed
that the elaters are concerned with the escape of
the spores from the capsule. As a rule, they fall
with the spores, but occasionally some of them
may be found clinging to the empty capsule ; thus
in fig. 17 of Plate IX., which represents the open
capsule of that little tree-loving plant, the
Tubercled Liverwort (Frullania dilatata), the
curious screw-like elaters are seen standing out
from the sides of the capsule in all directions. The
fruit of this plant is sometimes, but by no means
always, produced in considerable abundance, and
when this is the case the small, white, empty
capsules are very noticeable, dotted about among
the dark green or purple foliage; they form
extremely beautiful objects for the microscope,
with their dainty fringes of elaters, and my
drawing does but scant justice to the charm of the
original.
Reproduction otherwise than by Spores,— The

LIVERWORTS 137

production of fresh plants is not always effected
in what may be called the normal way, namely,
by means of flowers, fruit, and spores, though we
do not meet with the same wealth of resource in
this matter that we did when dealing with the
mosses. In many liverworts fresh shoots take
the place of the older plants, whilst in not a few
reproduction is effected through the agency of
very small bud-like bodies or gemma, very similar
in appearance to those which are developed by
certain of the mosses (p. 86). In the leafy liver-
worts these buds arise from the margins of the
leaves, and plants are not unfrequently found
having dark brown patches on the tips of the
upper leaves, which are easily seen, even with an
ordinary magnify ing-glass. These, at first sight,
might readily be taken for some obtrusive fungoid
growth, but an examination under the microscope
will disclose that they consist of considerable
numbers of these tiny buds. Plate IX. fig. 13
illustrates this ; it is a drawing of a frond of the
Tumid Liverwort (Jungermannia ventricosa\ a
little pale green plant, with notched leaves, which
grows on damp banks, or in boggy places, especially
in clay ; in fig. 14 of the same plate we have one
of these clusters of buds more highly magnified.

In certain of the frondose plants these buds are
formed in small cup-like growths on the upper
surface of the frond. The diminutive leafy re-
ceptacles, with the small green buds lying inside

138 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

them, are very beautiful as seen in the microscope,
especially when, as sometimes happens, their
margins are cut into sharply pointed teeth. One
of them is figured at Plate IX. fig. 18; it is
taken from the Common Liverwort (Marchantia
polymorpha) , to which I have already referred
(see p. 122). Most of the buds had already
fallen out when my drawing was made, but a
few still remain inside, and are shown scattered
on the bottom, while three of them, on a larger
scale, are given at fig. 19.

We have now completed the life-story of the
liverwort tribe, so far, that is, as it can be told
in an introductory sketch such as the present;
but before finally parting company with these
fascinating little plants it will not be inappropriate
to say something, a little more in detail, with
regard to their

Leaves.— The shapes of the leaves of the leafy
liverworts are very distinctive, not to say peculiar,
and differ in a marked degree from the general
form of moss leaves ; how great this difference
is, a glance at Plates VII. and X. at once
shows. The leaves of mosses, as will be seen
from the first-mentioned plate, generally follow in
miniature the forms of ordinary leaves much more
closely than do those of the liverworts. In the
latter plants we frequently meet with more or
less rounded or toothed types; these are very

LIVERWORTS 139

characteristic of the tribe in general, but they
have comparatively few parallels in the foliage
of the larger forms of vegetation. Then, too, the
finely serrated margin is much less common in
the liverworts than it is in the mosses, while the
nerve (p. 92), which is present in by far the
greater number of moss leaves, is never formed
in the leaves of the leafy liverworts, the nearest
approach to it, in appearance, being the central
line of long, narrow cells in the leaf of the Whitish
Liverwort (Diplophyllum albicans, Plate X. fig. 15).
But even here there is no true nerve, and little
more than a variation in the shape of some of the
leaf -cells.

In not a few of the species, moreover, the leaf
consists of two parts, or lobes as they are called,
an upper (or antical) lobe, and a lower (or postical)
one, a feature to which I have already drawn
attention. Pigs. 3, 10, 12, 15, 26, 33, of Plate X.
are illustrations of bi-lobed leaves. In some
plants the two lobes closely resemble each other
in form, though one is usually much the smaller
of the two ; in others they are quite dissimilar in
appearance, as, for instance, in the Tubercled
Liverwort (Frullania dilatata), some leaves of
which are given at Plate X. fig. 3; here the
small under lobe (it has been drawn uppermost
in my illustration in order to show its form more
clearly) is hollow, and has a distinct likeness to
a small hood or cap, while the larger upper lobe

140 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

is round and flat. Or again, look at the leaves
drawn at fig. 33 of the same plate, taken from
Hutchins' Liverwort (Jubula Hutchinsice) ; the
tiny under lobe on the lower margin of the leaf
is reduced to the very smallest dimensions, and is
hardly noticeable, even in the microscope, unless
attention is directed to it. The only mosses that
have anything in the nature of a double part to
the leaf are the members of the Plat Pork-moss
(Fissidens) family, but this cannot, from a botanical
point of view, be said to be in any way analogous
to the bi-lobed leaves of the liverworts. In one
respect a large number of the leafy liverworts
resemble these Elat Eork-mosses (Fissidens), and
some few other families of the moss tribe, namely,
in their peculiarly flat growth, all the leaves
occupying, so to speak, the same plane; this, as
already mentioned, is one of their characteristic
features, and often helps to single them out, even
at first sight.

Leaf-cells. — The cell-structure of the leaf is a
matter of no little importance in distinguishing
between the various species, hence a few words
on the subject may be added, before concluding.
Owing to the fact that in liverwort leaves
the cell contents are especially dense, and the
leaves in consequence very opaque, it is often
most difficult to make out the form of the cells,
even with the help of a high magnifying power,
and it is generally necessary to treat the leaves

LIVERWORTS 141

with a strong alkali before examining them. I use
a seven-per-cent. solution of liquor potasses for this
purpose, though a small piece of ordinary washing
soda dissolved in water forms a very good substi-
tute. The best way to proceed is to place a branch
of the plant, in a few drops of the solution, on one
of the ordinary glass slips used for mounting micro-
scopical slides, to cover this with a cover-glass
(also employed in mounting), and, by means of a
pair of forceps, to hold the glass over the flame of
a spirit-lamp, until the liquid boils ; the specimen
should then be well washed by boiling it in water,
and it will be found that all the details of cell-
structure can be plainly seen in the microscope.

There are two points in particular with regard
to the structure of the leaves that cannot fail to
attract the attention of the student. In the first
place he will notice that the leaf-cells of many
species are much larger than those of the majority
of moss leaves, and, moreover, that the cell- walls
are, as a rule, thinner (see Plate X. fig. 37).
In a few of the mosses, noticeably in the Thyme
Thread-moss (Mnium) family, we meet with simi-
larly large cells, and in these plants may in
consequence notice that the leaves are decidedly
filmy in appearance. In many of the liverwort
leaves too, when examined with a high-power lens,
there may be seen small enlargements of the cell-
walls — generally somewhat triangular in shape —
at the angles of the cells, looking as though they

142 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

were intended to strengthen the point where the
two cell-walls meet. These are known as trigones ;
illustrations of them are given at Plate X. figs. 39
and 41, in the latter of which they are unusually
prominent, the leaf-cells also being specially large.
These trigones are not invariably met with in all
the species, and consequently their presence or
absence in any particular specimen is a matter
which will often be very helpful as a means of
identification. Trigones are never found in the
cells of moss leaves, though occasionally there is a
slight thickening of the cell-walls at the angles
which strongly reminds one of them ; this may be
seen in the leaves of some of the Thyme Thread-
mosses (Mnium).

CHAPTER III

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TT would clearly be going beyond the bounds
of a book such as this, were I to attempt to
enter upon the subject of the classification of the
various species of mosses and liverworts; this
part of his subject the student will best master
as he gradually becomes acquainted with the
plants themselves, and learns to attach to them
their specific names, and for such work he will,
of necessity, have to consult one or other of the
more scientific treatises, where such details are
of course fully given. It may, therefore, be of
use if I refer very shortly to a few of the books
published in England which will best serve his
purpose in this and other respects. Until com-
paratively lately by far the best book, in fact
almost the only practical one on the mosses, was
Wilson's "Bryologia Britannica," a work which
was published in the early part of the nineteenth
century, and which long remained the standard
treatise on the subject; indeed, even now, one
often refers to its clear and helpful descriptions,
though its classification has largely been altered
by later writers, and the plates have been super-

143

144 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

seded by the fuller and more accurate delineations
of modern times. Moreover, as the book has long
been out of print it is difficult to procure, and
commands a relatively high price. Dr. Braith-
waite's " British Moss Elora " is undoubtedly the
largest work on the subject that we possess; it
contains descriptions of every species (with the
exception of the Sphagna, which are dealt with
in a separate volume by the same author), and
beautifully executed drawings of all of them in
great detail, together with full lists of the
synonyms used by various writers. It is, how-
ever, somewhat bulky (running to three large
volumes), and is too expensive to be within the
reach of all classes of students. Fortunately, the
would-be bryologist is now provided, at a com-
paratively low cost, with a book which will
admirably serve his purpose, in Mr. H. N. Dixon's
" Handbook of the British Mosses." Here he will
find a full and lucid description of all the various
species (the leading features being italicised), and
much practical information regarding them, which
will be of the greatest possible assistance. A set
of plates from the pencil of the Rev. J. G.
Jameson is included, the figures in which are
all drawn to a uniform scale, a fact of no little
assistance in the diagnosis of specimens. A
series of " keys," compiled by Mr. Jameson, is
also provided at the beginning of the work,
which, to my mind, have done much to diminish

BIBLIOGRAPHY 145

that feeling of the hopeless difficulty of the sub-
ject which, before their appearance, must have
deterred many from entering upon the study of
these perplexing plants. The price of the work
is 18s. Gd. net. "A Synopsis of the British
Mosses," by C. P. Hobkirk, contains a concise de-
scription of all the British species, and, from its
small size, it is very handy for taking on holiday
excursions. There are, however, no plates, and
from its very conciseness it is not so useful to the
beginner as to the more advanced student. The
Rev. J. M. Berkeley's "Handbook of British
Mosses " is also in its way a very useful book ; it
is provided with figures of many of the species,
and the introductory chapters on the structure of
mosses, etc., are full of interest. Of the smaller
works, the " Handbook of Mosses," written by my
friend Mr. James E. Bagnall, gives a sketch of the
structure, classification, distribution, and habitats
of the mosses, and also many useful hints as to
their collection and preservation; it is published
in the "Young Collector" series of Messrs. Swan
Sonnenschein & Co. Sir Edward Ery's "British
Mosses," which has recently been re-issued, is a
most attractive book.

The literature on the subject of the liverworts
is even more scanty than that which deals with
the mosses. Eor long, practically the only work
was Sir W. J. Hooker's " British Jungermannise,"
published in 1816. A good many years ago an

10

146 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

" Easy Guide to the Study of the British Hepaticse,"
hy Dr. M. C. Cooke, appeared in Science Gossip ;
this gave a very condensed account of the various
then known species, and was illustrated by wood-
cuts, but the nomenclature used is now quite out
of date. In 1894 "A Handbook of the British
Hepaticse " was written by the same author, con-
taining much fuller details, and illustrated by
numerous wood-cuts and seven plates. In 1902
was published "A List, with Descriptive Notes,
of all the Species of Hepatics hitherto found in
the British Islands," by the Rev. H. W. Lett,
which forms a very serviceable book, at the
moderate cost of 7s. 6c?., though, unfortunately,
it is not illustrated. Shortly after this date, Mr.
W. H. Pearson's " Hepaticae of the British Isles "
(which is undoubtedly, at the present time, the
standard work on the subject) was completed.
In this will be found very full and careful de-
scriptions of all the species, as also most useful
observations on their characteristic features, and
other points of interest ; the whole is completed
by a set of beautiful drawings, one full-sized plate
being given to each species. The only drawbacks
to the work are its bulk and its costliness, the
price of an uncoloured copy being something over
six pounds.

CHAPTER IV

COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OP
SPECIMENS

~D Y no means the least of the many attractions
•*-* which the study of mosses and liverworts
offers to any one in search of a hohby, is the ease
with which plants may be revived for the purpose
of examination ; for it matters not how long they
may have been gathered, or how dry they have
become (and for their proper preservation the
drier they are made the better), a few minutes'
soaking in hot water (supplemented possibly, in
the case of old specimens, by boiling in a test
tube for as many seconds) will speedily bring
them back, for all practical purposes, to their
original freshness, though, needless to say, such
drastic treatment cannot renew the tide of life
within them. It is, indeed, wonderful to see the
effect which such a process will have on what,
at first sight, appears to be nothing more than a
piece of shrivelled vegetable growth; the small
green leaves, which but a moment before were
closely curled or wrinkled up, gradually unfold
and spread themselves out in the water, until they
have resumed their natural appearance, while the

147

148 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

tiny capsule again expands, and its delicate fringe
of teeth opens or closes as it would have done
under the influence of a passing shower, when the
plant was growing on the shady bank or stone -
built wall where it had originally made its home.
Thus it is that there is no season, year in, year
out, and no hour of the day, when the moss-lover
cannot find plenty of interesting work to do. In
his rambles in the country, whether in the depths
of winter, when Nature seems to be asleep, or in
the early days of spring, when everything around
him speaks of renewed life and of the sunny
summer days at hand, right on through the
beautiful autumn-time, when the woods are
ablaze with marvellous tints of red and yellow,
he will always meet with something of interest or
delight; while the spoils of his holiday tramps
may be examined and mounted on wet days or
by the home fireside in the long winter evenings,
and will bring back to him many a happy re-
collection of walks through the lanes and woods,
or scrambles up the rugged mountain side, or
along the banks of some rippling stream. It will
not therefore be out of place if I conclude with a
few hints as to the collection and examination of
specimens, and the mounting of them as micro-
scopical slides — hints drawn from the stock of
practical knowledge gathered from many a leisure
hour spent in the study of these charming little
plants. And though I shall, for convenience, refer

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 149

to mosses alone, yet all that I have to say will
apply also to the liverworts.

Collection and Examination. — The requisites
for the collection of mosses are of the simplest
description. I have been accustomed, for many
years, to use old envelopes for bringing home the
specimens gathered on my walks ; and, with this
object in view, always open any envelopes of a
convenient shape that come addressed to me, by
cutting them along the narrow end. They then
form most convenient pockets in which to put the
various plants, and notes can also be made upon
them at the time, of the date and locality when
and where found, with any other detail likely to
be of service, such as the nature of the soil, the
altitude, the manner of growth, etc., and memo-
randa may be added, when the contents of the
packet come to be examined, of any special
features that call for further consideration. Small
squares of stout newspaper will be equally service-
able for collecting purposes, and, indeed, it is
well, under any circumstances, to be provided
with some of these in which to put up the larger
and wetter plants; for, in addition to the fact
that they are not serviceable for specimens of any
considerable length, the chief drawback to the
use of the envelopes is, that any moist substance
stored in them for long, is liable to loosen the
gum by which their several parts are fastened
together. These squares of paper may con-

150 MOSSES AND LIVERWOETS

veniently be first numbered, and any notes re-
specting their contents can then be easily made
on a separate sheet by reference to the numbers.
Let me say here that it is most desirable to
cultivate the power of recognising the various
species in the field, as far as possible, with no
further assistance than may be afforded by a hand
magnifying-glass ; and with this in view it is very
helpful to note, on the envelope or paper, the
name that at first sight suggests itself, for such
a memorandum is not only useful, when the con-
tents of the packet come to be overhauled, but
will enable one to check the correctness of first
impressions, and more particularly to find in what
direction one may have been led astray. A small
satchel in which to carry the spoils of the expe-
dition; a good magnifying-glass for making a
rough inspection of any particular gathering, or
for exploring the cracks and crannies where
treasures are likely to be found; an old knife
with which to dislodge the plants from their place
of growth, be this rock or tree, hedge bank or
wall ; a small pair of forceps for similar purposes ;
and a lead pencil for making notes of " finds," —
these constitute the outfit of the moss-hunter.
The magnifying-glass should have a fairly large
field; and experience leads me to add that it~is
well to secure it to the coat by a short cord, as
otherwise it is certain, sooner or later, to be lost.
I always carry a second, and somewhat more

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 151

powerful lens for the purpose of elucidating more
minute or doubtful details, and for this latter
purpose know of nothing more serviceable than
one of Browning's " Platyscopic " lenses, with a
magnifying power of ten diameters; this is a
beautiful instrument, with an unusually large
and flat field for the examination of opaque
objects.

It is often impossible, when gathering specimens,
to avoid bringing away with them some of the
soil in which they are growing; and as this not
only adds to the bulk of the parcel, but will also
give no little trouble when a microscopic slide
has to be mounted, it is always advisable as far
as possible, to get rid of it at once, before it has
had time to dry and harden. The forceps will
prove of considerable service in this operation,
though, if a stream should be near at hand, the
desired object will be best attained by holding
the specimen loosely in the hand, and allowing the
current to run through the fingers, and thus to
remove the dirt and grit without washing away
the plant itself. On reaching home, the envelopes
that have been used should be placed in an up-
right position in a warm room, with the ends
opened as widely as possible, so as to admit air ;
and the paper packets should be unfolded. By
this means the specimens will get thoroughly dry
before they are put away — a matter of no little
moment, seeing that otherwise mould and mildew

152 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

are apt to make their appearance, and to spoil the
results of the day's ramble. When all moisture
has heen thus removed the packets may be stored
in some dry and convenient place, out of the reach
of insects, until the opportunity offers itself for
a more thorough examination of their contents,
and in this state they occupy but a small amount
of space.

The student will soon find that comparatively
few plants can be recognised with any degree of
certainty, with no further assistance than that
afforded by a pocket magnifying-glass, for the
distinctions between most of the various species
are generally very minute. Moreover, many of
the organs which we have been considering, and
much of the structure of the leaves and other
parts of the plant, demand a much higher magni-
fying power for their proper elucidation than can
be obtained with the best of glasses, and it is only
when they are subjected to the more searching
inspection which such an increased magnification
gives, that the hidden beauty and wonder of these
minute growths are brought to light. A micro-
scope of some kind is thus essential, if the study is
to be followed up with any degree of thoroughness ;
though the nature of this part of the student's
outfit becomes, as so often happens with regard fy>
the good things of life, to a large extent a question
of ways and means. Much good work has been
and may be done with a comparatively inexpen-

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 153

sive instrument, though it is of course true that,
within certain limits, the better the implement
the better the results to be obtained by its use.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that
a microscope is an instrument that consists of
many parts, and that divers of these may be added
and improved upon from time to time as occasion
offers. If possible, it is well to begin with a good
microscope stand (i.e. the body without accessories),
as this may be made the foundation on which to
gradually build up a more or less perfect whole.
My own experience would lead me to say that,
if the funds will allow, the binocular model is
greatly to be preferred to the monocular, if only on
account of the saving of strain to the eyes that is
thereby effected. Fortunately, in the examination
of mosses, the higher powers of magnification are
seldom or never requisite, which makes it unneces-
sary to obtain the more expensive lenses. As a
rule, I work with 2 -inch, 1-inch, and J-inch objec-
tives, with an occasional recourse to a J-inch glass
when some finer detail of cell-structure has to be
elucidated. To these may be added a 3-inch lens,
which is especially useful in the exhibition of
slides ; and in ordering the microscope-stand it
should be stipulated that the " racking out " should
be sufficient to accommodate so low a power as
this, in combination with a triple nose-piece.

In order to prepare specimens for examination
or for mounting, some form of dissecting-micro-

154 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

scope is a practical necessity. For many years
I used a very unpretentious instrument, which
even now is not unfrequently brought into requisi-
tion. This consists of a magnifying-glass in a
light metal frame, at one end of which is a narrow
collar, which slips over a screw some two inches
long, which is capable of being fixed in an upright
position in a small metal stand, and is provided
with a nut, so that the lens can be set, in a
horizontal position, at any required height. Some
such glass and stand can be purchased for a small
sum from any microscopical-instrument maker,
and not unfrequently the ordinary triple lens, in
a horn or tortoise-shell case, forms the magnify-
ing-glass— a convenient arrangement, as it gives
varying powers for different kinds of work. Where
very small objects have to be dissected it is useful
to have a metal carrier, one end of which slips
over the upright screw, as above described, and
the other is provided with a round aperture suffi-
ciently large to receive one of the high-power
lenses, in metal fittings, to be obtained from any
of the best makers. Of late I have adopted the
more modern binocular dissecting-microscope,
which is not only most serviceable in preparing
objects for examination, but will also be found
invaluable in subsequent mounting operations.
Though it is of course much more expensive than
the simple apparatus just described, the extra
outlay involved is well repaid by the much greater

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 155

ease and precision with which dissecting work
can be performed by its aid, and the relief given
to the eyes by its use — a matter of no small
moment when it is remembered that the dissect-
ing and mounting of specimens frequently involve
much close and continuous application. Another
simple but convenient instrument for the like
purposes is the ordinary watch-maker's glass, set
in a deep horn mount, by means of which it can
be retained in position in front of the eye, and
this is particularly useful in such an operation as
the extraction of air-bubbles from a specimen
about to be mounted; care must, however, be
taken that at the critical moment the muscles
round the eye are not relaxed, and the glass
precipitated on to the proposed mount !

For soaking plants in hot water, preparatory to
dissection or mounting, there is nothing so handy
as the small china saucers which are used by
artists, and which can be obtained, of various
sizes, from any artists' colourman. Dissecting
instruments of various forms are sold, but the
simplest, and to my mind most effective, imple-
ments may be constructed by the student himself
at a trifling cost, and with very little trouble.
Sail needles and glovers' needles (No. 4) make
the most admirable dissecting tools; the former
may be procured at an ironmonger's, the latter
from a draper. Each kind of needle is not only
provided with a good point, but is ground with

156 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

three flat surfaces, thus giving as many cutting
edges, which are specially helpful— for instance, in
separating the leaves of a plant from the stem or
branch. The sail needles, heing large and strong,
are most useful in the less delicate operations,
hut they require to he well sharpened on a hone
after heing mounted ; the glovers' needles, which
are more serviceable in the finer work, are made
with a sufficiently keen edge, but of course need
to be sharpened from time to time, as they become
blunt from use.

Common lead pencils make extremely con-
venient handles in which to mount these needles.
After being cut into suitable lengths, they should
be well soaked in hot water, which melts the
glue, and in a short time the pencil may easily be
separated into two pieces, and the lead pushed out
of the groove in which it lies. The needle should
then be laid in this groove, so as to project for
three-quarters of an inch or more beyond the end
of the wood ; a fine pin or needle is run through
the eye into the wood, so as to hold the needle in
place, and is cut off with a pair of wire nippers,
leaving a small length to be forced into the other
half of the pencil when put in place. In the case
of the glovers' needles, which are much finer than
the sail needles, some amount of packing with
small chips of wood may be advisable. The other
half of the pencil is now glued on to its former
position, being pressed down over the end of the

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 157

pin or needle, and, to make the whole more secure,
each end is tied round with fine thread or twine
in a small groove cut in the wood for the purpose.
It is well to remove, as far as possible, all traces
of the glue from the outside of the handle by
scraping the glued edges when dry, as otherwise
it is apt to stick unpleasantly tightly to the lips if
held for a moment in the mouth in the hurry of
finishing a mount. A few ordinary sewing needles
set in cedar penholders are also very useful, and
one or two of them should be bent at an angle to
the holder, as these are often of service in altering
the position of objects under examination after the
cover-glass has been put on, and will also be
found invaluable for a like purpose in mounting
work. In order to bend a needle into almost any
form it is only necessary to heat it to a red heat
in a spirit-lamp, and then allow it to cool, as this
will render the metal soft and pliable ; after being
bent to the desired shape it should be rehardened
by plunging it when red hot into cold water.
Two pairs of forceps (one with straight, and the
other with curved ends), a pair of small scissors,
some small camel-hair brushes, a few glass pipettes,
and one or two small lancets will practically com-
plete the list of implements necessary, both for
dissecting and mounting ; to these must be added
a stock of the usual glass slips (3 in. by 1 in.) and
cover-glasses, procurable at any optician's. While,
as a simple matter of appearance, the round cover-

158 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

glass gives a better finish to a slide, yet the
square form is often really preferable, because it
allows much more mounting surface, and will thus
better accommodate the larger objects; though
the very fact of the glass being square makes it a
more difficult matter, both to centre it on the glass
slip, and also to clean it preparatory to sealing the
cell, as the corners are very apt to catch in the
handkerchief that is used to wipe off the super-
fluous mounting material, and in this way a
mount may very easily be spoiled. The most
useful sizes of cover-glass are £ in. and £ in., or
J in., while, if the specimen should be unusually
large, specially cut pieces -J in. by 2 in. should be
procured. Two or three cambric handkerchiefs
will be needed, both for washing and drying the
instruments after use, and for cleaning the glass
slips and cover-glasses, and one should be specially
set apart for this latter purpose alone, where
cleanliness is of such peculiar moment.

Register of Slides, etc. — Before proceeding to
deal more in detail with the subject of mounting
objects for the microscope, let me devote a few
words to the matter of the storing and registering
of specimens and slides, for it is by no means
unimportant to adopt some definite system from
the outset, on which to work. A cabinet for the
slides is, of course, a prime necessity, and it Vill
be a saving in the long-run to get one that will
hold a large number, for slides have a wonderful

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 159

tendency to increase far beyond what would, at one
time, have seemed to be the utmost possible limit.
Although, therefore, to the beginner the idea of
having a thousand mounted slides naturally seems
a most unlikely consummation, I would recom-
mend him, if he intends to accomplish anything
worth the doing, to make timely provision for
even such a number as this. The slides should be
placed flat in the drawers rather than on their
edges ; for though the latter position is naturally
the more economical in the matter of space occu-
pied, it has two distinct disadvantages, which, to
my mind, prohibit its adoption. In the first place,
the upright position, together with the slight jar
involved in placing the slides in the drawer, has a
tendency to gradually detach the cement from the
edges of the cells ; then, too, it is very difficult to
decipher even the numbers on the labels, let alone
the names of the plants and other details, while
the mount itself is, to all intents, hidden by the
neighbouring slide. If, however, the slides lie flat
in the drawrer they evidently occupy what may
be called the most restful position, and more-
over the eye can see at a glance all that is to be
gathered from the information on the labels ; while
the objects in the cells are open to view, and
may even be examined with a glass without the
necessity of removing them from the drawer. In
most cabinets a couple of small porcelain tablets
are affixed to the outside of each drawer, on which

160 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

a note can be made of the slides within, either by
reference to their numbers, or to the names of the
genera, according to the system of classification
adopted. And this leads me to say that the
cabinet may be arranged on one of two methods.
Some prefer to divide the drawer-space up accord-
ing to the different genera, in which case the
labels on the slides will contain such details as
the name and date and place of gathering. This
plan certainly has this advantage, that the keeping
of a separate register of slides may be dispensed
with, the slides themselves forming their own
register ; moreover, from its very nature, it ensures
that all the slides representing the various species
of a genus are kept side by side. But, on the
other hand, it is not nearly so economical of space,
and does not so easily lend itself to the duplication
of slides as does the arrangement according to
numbers. For, though the latter system involves
some considerable amount of trouble in the
systematic keeping of the necessary registers, yet,
as regards economy of space and otherwise, it
seems to me to have decided advantages. My plan
has been to have one general register of slides,
including both mosses and liverworts, in which
the various mounts are entered consecutively as
they are completed, each one opposite to its own
specific number, but without any regard either to
the tribe or genus to which each belongs. The
book is quarto size, and every page is ruled in four

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 161

columns, headed respectively, '* Number," " Date
when gathered," "Habitat, etc.," "Remarks."
The label on the slide, in addition to briefly re-
cording the name and the place and date of
gathering, bears the number corresponding with
the entry in the Register.

I have also a copy of the " Census Catalogue of
British Mosses " (compiled in 1907, under the
auspices of the Moss Exchange Club), which has
been interleaved and bound, the numbers of the
various species in the Catalogue being repeated
on the interleaved pages. Opposite to each
number I put the numbers of the slides that I
possess of the particular species. Thus, Mhium
stellare is numbered 441 in the Catalogue, and
against this number I find entered 271, 282, and
1,266, which gives me the reference to the three
slides of this moss in my collection. By the help
of the latter register I can always find the slides
representing any special moss, and the general
Register will give me the details of place and
date where and when it was gathered, together
with any observations that may have been made
with regard to it, as, for instance, my authority
for its name. And, as the slides are placed in
the drawers in numerical order, the necessity for
leaving blank spaces for species not yet acquired
does not arise. It is useful to have a third
register, ruled with two or three columns to a
page, the columns being numbered and named in

11

162 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

correspondence with the " Census Catalogue," as
here can be entered a short note of the plants
that are met with in different localities, but which
are not mounted. I have yet another Register,
which, though by no means a necessity, has
nevertheless proved fertile in suggestions; this
consists of a small book in which are recorded,
opposite to the corresponding numbers of the
slides, the media used in mounting and sealing,
and the dates when these respective operations
were performed, so that, if any particular slide
should go wrong — and alas ! this will sometimes
happen in the best-regulated collection — it is easy
to see from this book the general details of both
mounting and sealing. Thus a hint may not
unfrequently be gathered as to what to avoid in
future ; and, moreover, a glance at the Register will
often tell whether it is advisable to add another
coat of varnish round the margins of the cells.

It may be useful to add, in this connection,
that dried specimens are best preserved in paper
packets, on the outside of which should be noted
the name, and date and place of gathering, as
also any other information, such as the name of
the collector, etc. These packets may conveniently
be gummed onto sheets of stout paper, 16^ in. by
10 in., each one of which bears at its lower left-
hand corner the name of the genus and species,
and at its upper right-hand corner the correspond-
ing number in the Catalogue.

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 163

Mounting. — Owing to their small size, and to
the facility with which their original appearance
may be recovered, as already noticed, mosses may
be far more satisfactorily preserved than is pos-
sible with ordinary plants. The greater number
may be readily mounted on the ordinary glass
slips as microscopical slides; and not only do
these occupy but comparatively small storage
space, but the plants themselves will remain,
for all practical purposes, as fresh as when they
were gathered. I have specimens in my collec-
tion now that were thus put up twenty and more
years ago, and which have altered wonderfully
little in the meantime. The media generally
recommended for the mounting of mosses are
glycerine, glycerine jelly, Warrant's Solution,
and Deane's Gelatine; but, after a fairly long
acquaintance with them all, I unhesitatingly
prefer glycerine jelly, as giving the best all-
round results, and I shall therefore chiefly
confine myself to a description of the ordinary
process of mounting in this material, adding a
few words later on as to other media.

The plant to be mounted must first be well
soaked in hot water, with a view both to reviving
it and to freeing it, as far as possible, from all
traces of earth and grit, and from the bubbles of
air that are so liable to get entangled among the
leaves, or in the empty capsules. Indeed, it is
not unfrequently advisable, especially when the

164 MOSSES AND LIVER.WOETS

moss is very dry, or if it is one in which the
leaves grow thickly on the stem, to boil it for
a minute or so in a test-tuhe, over a spirit-lamp,
so as to aid in expelling the air, or to soak it for
some time in water which has heen allowed to boil
for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, and which
consequently contains comparatively little air. The
specimen, while still in the water, must he cleansed,
as far as may he, from impurities, and freed from
air, by means of a camel's-hair brush and the
dissecting-needles. Too much time and attention
cannot be given to this somewhat tedious process,
as the success of the mount very largely depends
upon the thoroughness with which it is effected.

The specimen, when thus sufficiently washed,
has still to be subjected to a further preliminary
treatment, for if at once immersed in the mounting
medium the effect would be to curl up the leaves
beyond recognition. A very simple, and in many
cases most effective, way of avoiding this is to
place it in a teaspoonful of water in which three
or four drops of glycerine have been mixed, and
then to boil over a spirit-lamp for a few seconds ;
by this means the glycerine more or less takes the
place of the water in the cells, and the leaves
may then be safely mounted. In the larger-
celled and consequently more "filmy" plants,
however, this process is not sufficient, and the
plant must then be soaked for twenty-four hours
in a preparatory mixture composed as follows :

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 165

Water, 1 J fluid ounces ; rectified spirit, 1 j ounces ;
glycerine, 5 drachms. More often than not, I
subject the material for a contemplated mount
to both treatments, in order the more effectually
to extract the air, the presence of which con-
stitutes the principal difficulty in mounting, and
the chief factor in the possible future spoiling of
the slide. The small china pans in which moist
water-colours are sold will he found most useful
for the purpose of soaking the specimen in the
preparatory fluid; they are made in two sizes.
Failing these, watch-glasses form admirable sub-
stitutes. Our plant is now ready to be put into
the glycerine jelly, and, needless to say, this must
be melted before it can be used; hence a hot-
water bath becomes a necessity. A very simple
and inexpensive one can be made of an ordinary
glass tumbler, provided with a closely fitting tin
lid having a piece cut out of the margin just
large enough to admit the neck of a small glass
bottle containing the jelly, but not as wide as the
projecting lip of the bottle. When the lid is in
place, the bottle (which is from time to time
replenished from the larger stock-bottle) can thus
hang by its lip in the hot water in the tumbler,
and the melted jelly is consequently close at hand
for use. If the mounting is likely to take long,
it is well to wrap a piece of flannel round the
tumbler, in order to retain the heat in the water
as long as possible. It should be mentioned in

166 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

passing that, whatever pattern of hot-water bath
is adopted, it is advisable to put the jelly in actual
use into quite a small bottle, as this avoids the
evaporation of the water contained in it, which
would result if the same jelly were frequently
melted. The glass slip to receive the specimen,
as also the cover-glass by which it is to be pro-
tected, must be thoroughly cleaned before being
used; a good plan is, first to rub them over
between the finger and thumb with a little acetic
acid, in order to remove all grease, and then to
well wash them in clean water (hot water is better
than cold), drying them with a soft cambric
handkerchief, and finally polishing with a wash-
leather. The drying of the cover-glasses is at
first a matter of some difficulty, owing to their
extreme thinness; but with a little practice the
process soon becomes a perfectly easy one, though
greater care has to be taken with the square
glasses, as the corners are apt to catch in the
handkerchief. The slip and glasses should be tilted
against something until ready for use, and care
must be taken to use the lower faces in mounting,
as dust is not so likely to have settled there in
the meantime as on the upper sides.

The plant to be mounted is now taken out of
the preparatory fluid, and is placed on a glass slip
in a little of the fluid, both in order to keep it
moist, and to avoid the risk of air making its way
in again ; it is then subjected to further examina-

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 167

tion under the dissecting-microscope, for the pur-
pose of detecting any lingering air-hubbies or
traces of soil. Some of the leaves are carefully
dissected away (where necessary, both from stem
and branch), and are placed in a small heap by
themselves, together with any other part of the
plant that may be desired, such as the capsule,
peristome teeth, etc., being also kept moist. The
glass slip to be used in the mount is next placed
upon the flat tin cover of the hot-water bath, and
a small pool of the liquid jelly is put upon it by
means of a glass pipette, ready for the reception
of the specimen, which, after being freed from
as much of the preparatory fluid as is possible,
without the risk of allowing air to make its way
back among the leaves (either by tilting the glass
slip on which the specimen has been temporarily
placed, or by a judicious use of blotting-paper),
is gently lowered into the jelly. While the jelly
remains liquid all remaining air-bubbles must be
carefully removed with the dissecting-needles,
and here the binocular dissecting-microscope will
be found invaluable. This operation is often par-
ticularly irksome, but it should be remembered
that the success of the slide entirely depends upon
the care with which it is carried out ; for nothing
detracts more from the appearance, and only too
often from the value of a mount, than the
presence of these disfiguring silvery globes of air,
lurking among the interlacing leaves, or, perhaps,

168 MOSSES AND LIVEEWOETS

entangled in the teeth of a peristome. Very often,
after chasing a number of these bubbles, one sees
one of them left, possibly almost hidden by the
leaves, or at the bottom of a capsule, where it
would seem to be practically powerless for mischief ;
and one is tempted to let it alone, but experience
will sooner or later show that it is a great mistake
to do so. I have had many a slide ruined by just
such a bubble working its way up to the surface,
and this even years after the mounting was done.
It is far better to make a rule that, rather than
allow a serious blemish of this kind to remain, the
slide must be sacrificed, and the mount be recom-
menced. It will be found advisable in many
cases, especially where an object likely to retain
air is under treatment, to put it direct from the
preparatory fluid into a little liquid jelly on a
spare glass slip (I generally use one with a
" sunk cell " for this purpose), and then to extract
the air before transferring it to the slip on which
it is to be mounted. The whole thing thus becomes
more or less saturated and covered with the jelly,
and the air is not so likely to reappear among
the leaves as where the whole process is carried
out on one slip. If this course is adopted, a
second hot-water bath will be required, in order
to prevent the jelly on one slip cooling while the
other slip is in .course of preparation.

When the specimen is thus in place, immersed
in plenty of the liquid jelly, the cover-glass is

COLLECTION OP SPECIMENS 169

taken up with the pair of curved forceps, and is
gently lowered onto the jelly, beginning from
the extreme left-hand side, and driving the jelly
(and too often, alas ! the specimen also) before it,
as it is allowed to fall gradually into place. This
is a matter of no little delicacy, for if great care is
not taken, and especially if sufficient jelly is not
used, a large bubble of air will often make its
way in at the last moment, and then there is
generally nothing for it but to raise the cover-
glass, and begin over again. It usually happens
that the object gets more or less displaced by the
putting on of the cover-glass, and requires some
adjustment before the jelly is allowed to set. One
of the bent dissecting-needles will now be of great
service, for a considerable amount of rearrange-
ment can be effected by its means ; stray air-
bubbles, too, may often be thus removed without
disturbing the cover-glass. Should the quantity
of liquid jelly used not be sufficient to fill the
whole space under the cover-glass, a small addi-
tional amount must be introduced by means of the
pipette, and it is also advisable not only to see
that the jelly comes right up to the edge of the
cover-glass, but to let some extend beyond, all
round the margin of the cell; this provides for
shrinkage in the gelatine, which is one of the
chief ingredients of the jelly. Two cells may very
conveniently be mounted on each slide; for in-
stance, one may contain a small portion of the

170 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

plant, to show the nature of its growth, together
with one or two capsules ; the other, some leaves
(including a few perichoetial leaves"), and also a
portion of the capsule mouth, to give the peri-
stome teeth, and sometimes a piece of the capsule
wall showing the stomata.

One word of caution on a small point may be
here given, and it will serve to emphasise the
need for care and cleanliness even in the most
trifling details. It is well, from time to time,
to clean out the small glass pipette used for
conveying the jelly from the hottle to the glass
slip ; this may be done by means of a very small
piece of sponge tied to the end of a thin strip of
wood. I remember being much troubled by the
constant appearance of a great number of minute
bubbles in the glycerine jelly, which proved to be
due to the fact that my pipette had been washed
in water which contained some admixture of
earthy matter ; this had formed a thin film inside
the pipette, and some acid quality in the jelly
evidently combined with an alkaline substance in
this earthy film to form carbonic acid, and so
caused the bubbles. In addition to occasionally
cleaning the pipette, I always dip it, after
finishing a mount, in acetic acid, and also, just
before using it again, rinse it out with alcohol.
Another small precaution that will still further
help to exclude these minute air-bubbles is this.
When putting the pipette into the bottle of melted

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 171

jelly, be careful always to keep the finger on the
open end of it until the other end has reached
the bottom of the bottle. In this way the lower
strata of jelly will be tapped, so to speak; and,
as the heat naturally causes air-bubbles to rise
to the upper surface, these are to a large extent
excluded from the pipette.

Our slide may now be removed from the hot-
water bath and be allowed to cool, and in a few
minutes the jelly will have so far solidified that
the mount can be examined under the microscope,
when, should any defect be discovered, the jelly
must be remelted and the shortcoming be rectified.
The final process consists in removing the super-
fluous jelly from around the cover-glass with a
penknife (sloping the blade slightly away from
the edge of the glass so as to leave a kind of
bevelled edge of jelly all round the glass to allow
for expansion and contraction), thoroughly cleaning
the slide, and sealing the cover-glass round the
edge with some kind of varnish ; but it is advisable
to let the slide stand in its rough state for two or
three months before thus finishing it off, as the
jelly is more likely in this time to thoroughly con-
tract and settle down. The cleaning of the slide,
preparatory to sealing the cell, is another of those
operations which, though somewhat wearisome, yet
go far to make or mar a mount ; for if anything
in the nature of grease is allowed to remain on
the glass, the varnish cannot adhere firmly, and

172 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

will sooner or later chip off. A bath of a very
dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, which is just
slightly acid to the taste, is used by some for
completing the cleansing process, but I find that
nothing serves better than a cambric handkerchief
moistened at the tongue. In sealing the cells,
care must be taken not to get the varnish too
liquid, as it is then very apt to run too far over
the cover-glass ; and when this happens, the only
way is to clean it off with turpentine, and after a
time to reseal. For closing round cells a turn-
table is, of course, a necessity.

Nothing now remains but to affix the label, and
the slide is complete. Before, however, quite
leaving the subject of mounting, I propose to add
a few observations on the various media used, and
cannot do better than begin with

Glycerine Jelly.— The one drawback to this is
that it sometimes, and too often from some un-
known cause, develops a tendency to liquefy, and
this even after the slide has been finished for
several years. It is rather a bitter experience, on
going to a favourite mount, to find that tiny beads
of glycerine have forced their way through the
varnish all round the edge of the cover-glass, and
that the jelly surrounding the object is becoming
fluid. Some years ago I had the misfortune to
lose a considerable part of my then small col-
lection of slides in this manner, and since that
time have kept a careful record of all my mounts,

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 173

and have also made numerous experiments, with
a view to discover some way of obviating such a
catastrophe in future. I venture to give here
some of the results of these observations and
experiments.

In the first place, I have found the following a
very good recipe for making glycerine jelly :
Take two ounces (by weight) of the best gelatine
(that sold by chemists as "invalid" gelatine by
preference) ; soak it in six ounces (also by weight)
of water until it swells — this takes about forty
minutes ; place the vessel containing the gelatine
and water (a large-sized jam-pot, provided with a
tin lid, answers the purpose admirably) in a
saucepan of water, and heat over a slow fire until
the gelatine melts, which it will do in about ten
minutes. Now let the gelatine cool, and, while it
is still liquid, add the white of one egg, and mix
well. Replace the vessel in the saucepan (with
the lid on), and boil for fifteen minutes, until the
gelatine becomes thick with the coagulated albu-
men ; add six ounces (again by weight) of pure
glycerine, and twenty-five drops of carbolic acid,
and mix well ; strain, by means of a funnel and
filter-papers, before the fire, and a clear, pale
yellow jelly should be the result. The filter-paper
requires changing occasionally, as it gets clogged
if used for too long.

It will be seen that the above recipe includes a
small quantity of carbolic acid ; this, it is needless

174 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

to say, is used as a germ-destroyer. I am inclined
to think, however, that owing to the jelly having
to he melted by heat, and often remaining in that
condition for some considerable time, the carbolic
acid is apt to evaporate. On this account I not
unfrequently add a very minute quantity of the
acid (just as much as will adhere to the end of a
thin glass rod drawn to a fine point is quite
sufficient) to the pool of liquid jelly on the glass
slip before the specimen is put into it. Quite re-
cently, at the suggestion of a friend, I have been
using bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate)
in the same way, and have also substituted twenty-
five drops of it for the carbolic acid mentioned
in the recipe, when making the jelly. This is,
of course, a most powerful germ-destroyer, and it
is not liable to evaporate like the carbolic acid ;
but it must be used with considerable care, as if
too large a quantity is introduced into the jelly a
slight precipitate of calomel will be the result,
and this will give a cloudy appearance to the cell.
With a five-per-cent. solution it is sufficient if the
tip only of the pointed glass rod is dipped in, and
the small amount thus abstracted is transferred to
the melted jelly, and quickly mixed with it. I
have frequently also used formalin in the cells for
a like purpose; but though it has the effect of
solidifying the gelatine to such an extent that it
is practically impossible to remelt the jelly, yet
this is often a distinct disadvantage should it be

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 175

necessary, for any reason, to remount the slide.
Another effect which the formalin has on the
gelatine is to cause it to shrink considerably, and
this may have, and certainly sometimes has, a
detrimental effect on the leaves of the plant in the
cell. Moreover, it would seem as though the
shrinkage of the gelatine, under certain conditions,
tended to force out some of the glycerine in the
jelly, for recent experiments have shown that,
with slides that have been allowed to lie in an
unusually cold situation, those in which formalin
has been used are the first to develop beads of
glycerine round the edge of the cover-glass.
While therefore, at first, formalin appeared to
offer very decided advantages, a closer acquain-
tance with it has convinced me that it is not a
desirable medium to use in this way.

Although it is often quite impossible to assign
any specific reason for a slide having gone wrong,
I have found that the observance of the following
few simple rules greatly minimises the risks of
failure :

1. Care should be taken to free the object, as
far as possible, from the preparatory fluid before
immersing it in the jelly ; hence the advisability
of using two quantities of jelly, as before sug-
gested, for this helps to remove all traces of the
fluid.

2. No pressure whatever should be applied to
the cover-glass when placing it in position on

176 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

the melted jelly; and if its own weight is not
sufficient to cause the jelly to flow under the
whole of its lower surface, a little more can easily
be introduced.

3. While the jelly in the cell is still liquid
a small additional quantity should be run all
round the outside edge of the cover-glass, in order
to allow for the subsequent shrinkage of the
gelatine ; this may seem a wraste of good material,
as all this extra amount will have to be removed
before the cell is sealed, but the expenditure is
really well worth the making.

4. As already mentioned, the superfluous jelly
should not be removed, and the cell sealed, for
at least two or three months after mounting.

5. The cabinet containing the slide should stand
in a room with a fairly equable temperature, and
where it will not be exposed to draught.

Glycerine. — Where thin objects, such as moss
leaves, are to be mounted, requiring but a slight
film of the mounting medium, glycerine itself may
be used. A very small quantity, just enough
to lie under the cover-glass, should be put on
the glass slip ; in this the specimen (prepared as
before) is placed, and the cover-glass is lowered
onto the glycerine. Any superfluous glycerine
must be carefully removed with a slightly wet
camel's-hair brush, the whole success of the
mount depending upon the thoroughness with
which this operation is carried out. Lastly, the

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 177

cell is sealed with Canada balsam, a second and
even a third coat being added later in order to
guard against the escape of the glycerine. It
is much better, with this method of mount-
ing, to use square cover-glasses, as the sealing
of a round cell on the turn-table is a matter of
considerable difficulty, to say the least. There
are certain drawbacks to the employment of
glycerine which greatly detract from its useful-
ness as a mounting medium, though its preserving
powers are undeniable. In the first place, the
fact that it cannot be used with objects of
any thickness, as is possible with glycerine
jelly, is a distinct disadvantage. Then, too, if
the slide is accidentally jarred, as when it is
dropped too suddenly into its place in the cabinet
drawer, the Canada balsam with which the cell
is sealed is often liable, especially when old, to
crack, or chip off; this will cause the glycerine
to escape and the mount is spoiled, while with
glycerine jelly an additional coat of varnish soon
remedies any such defect.

Deane's Gelatine was formerly more frequently
used than at present ; it has practically been
superseded by glycerine jelly, which it closely
resembles in composition, honey being sub-
stituted for glycerine to prevent the gelatine
hardening. I have frequently used it, prepared
from the following recipe : Take one ounce
(by weight) of gelatine and four of water; soak

12

178 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

the gelatine in the water until it swells, and then
melt the gelatine in the water in the manner
hefore described. Add five ounces (also by weight)
of honey, which has been heated to boiling
point ; boil the mixture, and then allow it to
cool. Add the white of one egg, and mix. Boil
again for twenty minutes ; add half an ounce of
rectified spirit in which fifteen drops of carbolic
acid or creosote have been mixed, and filter
before the fire. In many respects this medium
answers very well, but I have found that leaves
of a thin and delicate texture are much more
likely to curl up, when immersed in it, than they
are if glycerine jelly is used. Moreover, it tends
to get a much deeper colour with age, and thus
to lose some amount of transparency ; with high
powers, too, a distinctly granular consistency
is apparent. Its chief recommendation seems
to be that it is not so liable to degenerate as is
glycerine jelly; indeed, I have found that slides
mounted with it can be exposed to considerable
cold for some time before any bad results are
produced.

Farrant's Solution, in which gum is one of the
chief constituents, has invariably, with me, given
unsatisfactory results, as the leaves of the plants
always curl up more or less under its influence.
This is disappointing, as, owing to the fact that
it is used cold, all the apparatus of hot- water
bath, etc., which glycerine jelly involves, can be

COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 179

dispensed with. The formula which I have
adopted is taken from Carpenter's work on the
microscope, and runs as follows: Take half an
ounce (by weight) of pure gum arahic, and half
an ounce (also by weight) of water ; dissolve the
gum in the water by occasional stirring, but
without the application of heat ; add a quarter
of an ounce of glycerine, and mix well ; add half
an ounce of arsenious acid (about } gr. to J oz.) ;
filter through fine cambric.

Formalin. — A three-per-cent. solution of for-
malin makes an extremely serviceable preservative,
and I have found this very useful where some of
the more delicate and " filmy " leaves form the
subject of the mount. It is frequently difficult,
in such a case, to use glycerine jelly, as the
leaves, on being placed in it, are liable to
shrink and twist, thus losing their characteristic
shape. No such effect is, however, produced by
the use of formalin. The modus operandi (for
which I am indebted to the kindness of a friend)
is as follows : A shallow cell, of some spirit
varnish, must first be made on an ordinary glass
slip by means of the turn-table^ the Brown-
cement, mentioned on page 183, will answer this
purpose. When the cell is quite dry, the slip is
again placed on the turn-table ; and the top of the
cell is ringed round with marine glue dissolved in
benzol (see page 182). The formalin solution is
next run into the cell from a glass pipette, until it

180 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

stands well above the sides of the cell, and the
object is lowered into it. The cover-glass must now
be poised between the finger and thumb, and, after
being brought as near as possible to the solution
without touching it, allowed to fall into place on
the top of the cell, driving the superfluous solu-
tion out as it settles down. Sometimes, and more
particularly if too little of the solution has been
used, an air-bubble will make its way in at the
last, and then the cover-glass must be quickly
raised on one side, and some additional solution be
introduced before it is allowed to fall again. The
cover-glass is now gently pressed down onto the
marine glue with a mounting-needle, and after
being carefully wiped, so as to free it from all traces
of the solution, is ringed round with the marine
glue medium, and later on with a spirit varnish.
The whole may then be finished off with asphalt
varnish. Should it be desired to mount a thicker
object, such as a piece of a plant, or some of the
larger capsules, a cell of vulcanite must first be
attached to the slip by marine glue, and the above
steps then followed. The chief advantages attend-
ing this method (in addition to the excellent
nature of the medium as a preserving agent) are,
that no special preparation of the object is neces-
sary, and that the process needs no application of
heat. On the other hand, it is subject to all
the drawbacks incidental to the use of a liquid
medium, which have already been generally re-

COLLECTION OE SPECIMENS 181

ferred to. Moreover, there would seem to be a
tendency for the sealing medium to " run in,"
unless much care is taken.

Cements. — The question of the material to he
used for sealing the edges of the finished cells is
a matter of some importance. I therefore add a
few notes giving my experience of the various
cements that I have tried. Gold size is so
strongly recommended in some of the hooks that
I hesitate to throw any doubt upon its efficacy :
my acquaintance with it, however, has not been
favourable, for, unless the film of jelly in the cell
is very thin, I have almost always found that,
sooner or later, the size " runs in," colouring the
jelly a much deeper shade than its ordinary tint.
Canada balsam is a very good cement, but it is
apt to crack and chip off when old ; and the same
may be said of Asphalt varnish when prepared
in the more usual way by dissolving asphalt in
spirits of turpentine. If made, however, according
to the recipe given in Davies' "On Mounting
Microscopic Objects," I have found it much
more reliable. This recipe is as follows : Take
J drachm of pure indiarubber, 2J ounces (fluid)
of mineral naphtha, and 1 ounce of pure asphal-
tum ; dissolve the indiarubber in the naphtha,
placing the bottle in hot water if necessary for
the purpose ; then dissolve the asphaltum by the
like means.

By far the most useful sealing medium, to my

182 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS

mind, is Copal varnish (" picture copal varnish,"
to give it its full name), to be obtained from any
artists' colourman ; this may be thinned, when
necessary, with a little benzol, which I prefer to
turpentine for this purpose, This varnish adheres
very closely to the glass, and as it does not dry too
hard it does not easily chip off ; moreover, it has
this further advantage, that if part of the object
in the cell has located itself a little too near to the
margin of the cover-glass, and is thus covered by
the varnish, it may nevertheless be seen through
this practically colourless coating.

Where an object of any considerable thickness
is mounted, a cement of a thicker consistency is
needed, in order to form more of a wall to the sides
of the cell, and here nothing could serve the pur-
pose better than Marine glue. The best form in
which to apply it is that of a moderately thin
solution in benzol, and any one who has had an
intimate acquaintance with this most adhesive sub-
stance will readily believe that it is far better to
purchase the preparation ready-made rather than
attempt its manufacture oneself. This is at all
times a very safe cement, though, owing partly to
its light brown colour, and partly to the fact that
it does not dry with a very good surface, it does
not impart the same finish to a slide that other
sealing media do. These defects can, however,
always be remedied by a final coat of asphalt
varnish.

COLLECTION OE SPECIMENS 183

Ward's " Brown Cement " is also an admirable
sealing medium for a like purpose. It can be
obtained from any optician. When too thick from
age, the cement is easily thinned with methylated
spirit ; it dries quickly, and in a few hours' time
the cell can be finished off, should it be thought
advisable, with asphalt varnish.

CHAPTER, V
CONCLUSION

TT now only remains for me to take leave of my
readers, and to express the hope that what I
have written may be the means of introducing
this most fascinating study to some who would
not otherwise be aware of its attractions and its
many possibilities. I trust that I have been able
to show that while it offers healthful and interest-
ing occupation, both for outdoor rambles and for
indoor days, its chief recommendation lies in the
hidden world of beauty and wonder that it opens
up. One cannot help feeling that this side of the
matter is sometimes lost sight of ; for, while there
is much pleasure to be gained from a search for
some uncommon plant, yet the great charm of the
pursuit is missed by those who do not feel delight
at the sight of even the commonest species, akin
to that with which one recognises an old familiar
friend. May I venture to add one note of warn-
ing which the increase in the number of moss-
students suggests. Delightful as the pursuit is,
and numerous as are the opportunities for its
exercise, it still has to be borne in mind that
even mosses and liverworts have their limits.

184

CONCLUSION 185

It is truly lamentable to think how quickly some
of our rarest flowering plants are becoming
exterminated, owing to the thoughtless — to use
no stronger term — and lavish way in which they
are gathered and uprooted ; and it is quite pos-
sible, if care and self-restraint are not exercised
in time, that a similar fate may some day be
in store for our more uncommon mosses and
liverworts. One cannot help fearing that those
botanists who come after us, and who read our
published records of localities once the haunts of
plants of especial interest, but whose botanical
wealth will then be exhausted, will not have any
very kindly feelings for our extravagant and spend-
thrift ways, and our slight concern for future
nature-lovers, whose delight in such things will
be as great as, and perhaps greater than, our own.
Let me close with one more quotation from the
poet on whose words I have more than once drawn.
They will, I hope, sum up the spirit of the story
which I have had to tell.

If thou art worn and hard beset

With sorrows that thou wouldst forget,

If thou wouldst learn a lesson that will keep

Thy heart from fainting, and thy soul from sleep,

Go to the woods and hills ! No tears

Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.

(LONGFELLOW, " Sunrise on the Hills.")

INDEX TO PLATES

(The magnifications given are approximate only)
FRONTISPIECE

PIQ.

1. Moss plant, with capsule— Dicranella varia (x 10).

2. Liverwort, cup and capsule— Lophocolea heterophylla (x 10).

PLATE I

MOSS DEVELOPMENT, AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE
PURPLE FORK-MOSS {CERATODON PURPUREUS)

FIG.

1. Flower (x 12-8).

2. Ripe Fertilising Organs (Antheridia) (x 66).

3. Empty Fertilising Organ (Antheridium) (x 66).

4. Fruit-bearing Organ (Archegonium) (x 66).

5. Fertilised and unfertilised Fruit-bearing Organs (Archegonia)

(x 66).

6. Fertilised Fruit-bearing Organ (Archegonium), more advanced

(x 66).

7. Plant with Veil (Calyptra) (x 12-8).

8. Sheath (Vaginula) (x 12-8).

9. Young Capsule and Veil (Calyptra) (x 12-8).

10. Veil (Calyptra) (x 12'8).

11. Capsule and Lid (Operculum) (x 12-8).

12. The Ring (Annulus) (x 66).

13. The Lid (Operculum) raised by the Ring (x 12'8).

14. The Lid (Operculum) (x 12-8).

15. Capsule and Peristome (dry) (x 12-8).

16. Peristome (dry) (x 26).

17. Capsule and Peristome (moist) (x 12-8).

18. Peristome (moist) (x 26).

19. Peristome Teeth (x 91-4).

187

188 INDEX TO PLATES

PLATE H

MOSSES (PLA1TTS - x 5-5)

TK.

1. Eurhynchium pumilum.

2. Mnium punctatvm.

3. Weisia tenvis.

4. Pottiatrvncatula.

& -f widens taxifoKiu*
6. Phascui

1. Eurhynchium rwtcifarme.

8. Bhabdoweijfia deitticulat :

9. Weisia mridvla. '

10. Tortula muralis.

11. Grimmia maritima.

12. Bryum argenteum.

13. Grimmia ptdvinata.

14. Campylvpus pyrijormis.

15. Trichostomum tortuasum.

16. Weisia mucronata.

17. ^ryurn pafleiw.

18. Funaria kygrometrica (with veil and young capsule).

19. EurJiynchivm nuciforme (pleurocarpous).

PLATE m
MOSSES (SEPHODUCnVE OEOAITS, etc.)

VB.

1. Spores — Mnium Jtomum (x 51).

2. Protonema and Buds— Ephemervm terratum (x 26).

3. Flowers (axillary)— Fisndeiu bryoides (x 6).

4. Flower (terminal) — Webera cornea (x 6).

5. Flowers (axillary) — EurJtyncJiivm pralongum (x 6).

6. Frnit-bearing Organs— Brachytkedum vdvtinum (x 51).

7. Fertilising Organs— Pdytrickum commune (x 31).

8. Synoicous inflorescence— Bryum indinatum (x 31).

9. Ditto, with Fertilising Organ emitting Fertilising Bodies —

Bryum intermedium (x 51).

INDEX TO PLATES 189

FIG.

10. Veil and young Capsule— Tortula muralis (x 6).

11. Veil— ditto (x 6).

12. Ditto— Polytrichum aloides (x 6).

13. Ditto— Polytrichum nanum (x 6).

14. Ditto — Orthotrichum rivulare (x 6).

15. Capsule and Lid— Tortula muralis (x 6).
15a. Capsule — Leskea polycarpa (x 6).

16. Cernuous Capsule— Brachytheeium velutinum (x 6).

17. Capsule (round)— Bartramia pomifo+iis (x 6).

18. Ditto— Catharinea undulata (x 6).

19. Capsule— Ceratodon purputt^&6)f,

20. Ditto — Dicranum palust,

21. Capsule and Lid, wit arcuate Seta— Mnium hornvm (x 6).

22. Lid of Capsule — MniiiHtT^fji^x 6).

23. Capsule and Lid— Pottia tnXcatula (x 6).

24. Capsule — Phascum cuspidal um (x 6).

25. Capsule— ditto (x 6).

26. Lid— Tortula muralis (x 6).

PLATE IV

MOSSES (CAPSULES, etc.)
FIG.

1. Capsule (pear-shaped)— Funaria fascicularis (x 6).

2. Ditto (strumose) — Ceratodon purpureus (x 6).

3. Capsule and curved Seta — Funaria hygrometrica (x 6).

4. Bent Capsule, with smooth Seta— Eurhynchium confertum

(x6).

5. Portion of smooth Seta— ditto (x 26).

6. Bent Capsule with rough Seta — Brachytheeium velutinum

(x6).

7. Portion of rough Seta— ditto (x 26).

8. Capsule and Perichsetial Leaves— Sphagnum squarrosum

(x6).

9. Capsule and twisted Seta— Tortula subulata (x 6).

10. Portion of twisted Seta— ditto (x 12).

11. Double Peristome — Brachytheeium rutabulum (x 26).

190 INDEX TO PLATES

FIQ.

12. Capsule with Peristome Teeth erect when diy—Grimmia

apocarpa (x 26).

13. Kibbed Capsule (dxy)— Orthotrichum rivulare (x 26).

14. Striate Capsule (moist)— Orthotrichum saxatik (x 12).

15. Stem Leaf — Brachythecium rutabulum (x 9).

16. Branch Leaf— ditto (x 9).

17. Perichsetial Leaf— ditto (x 9).

18. Lea,t—Camptothecium sericium (x 9).

19. Perichsetial Leaf— ditto (x 9).

20. Paraphyllia— Hylocomium splendens (x 26).

21. Ditto — Hylocomium umbratum (x 26).

22. Stoma (immersed)— Orthotrichum anomalum (x 140).

23. Stoma (superficial)— Orthotrichum a/fine (x 140).

24. Papillae— Tortula l&vipila (x 51).

25. Ditto — Encalypta streptocarpa (x 51).

26. Ditto- ditto (x 140).

PLATE IVa
MOSS CAPSULES, etc.

FW.

1. Young Capsule and Veil — Encalypta streptocarpa (x 7).

2. Veil— Orthotrichum rivulare (x 12 -8).

3. Ditto— Ulota crispa (x 12'8).

4. Immersed Capsule — Grimmia apocarpa (x 12'8).

5. Ditto, showing Spore-sack — Diphyscium foliosum (x 9 '2).

6. Capsule (horizontal position) — Bryum argenteum (x 9'2).

7. Cernuous Capsule — Mnium rostratum (x 9'2).

8. Pendulous Capsule — Bryum intermedium (x 12'8).

9. Erect Capsule— Ulota crispa (x 9'2).

10. Cylindrical Capsule— Tortula Icevipila (x 12'8).

11. Round Capsule — Bartramia pomiformis (x 12'8).

12. Capsule with Apophysis — Splachnum sphcericum (x 9'2).

13. Ditto, with angular ridges and flat faces — Polytrichw

jriliferum (x 9' 2).

14. Capsule — Buxbaumia aphylla (x 5*3).

15. Ditto, with long, tapering neck — Webera elongata (x 12'8).

INDEX TO PLATES 191

PLATE IVb
MOSS CAPSULES AND PERISTOMES

Fid.

1. Sulcate Capsule (dry)— Funaria hygrometrica (x 12'8).

2. Striate Capsule (dry) — Orthotrichum stramineum (x 28'4).

3. Capsule, with blunt Lid — Funaria ericetorum (x 9P2).

4. Capsule, with, apiculate Lid — Bryum pendulum (x 9*2).

5. Capsule, with beaked Lid — Eurhynchium rusciforme (x 9'2).

6. Ditto — Dicranum majus (x 9'2).

7. Cylindrical Lid— Tortula muralis (x 9'2).

8. Capsule, with Peristome of four teeth — Tetraphis Browniana

(x 12-8).

9. Capsule and Peristome — Mnium hornum (x 9 '2).

10. Capsule, Peristome, and Tympanum — Catharinea undulata

(x 9-2).

11. Capsule with no Lid — Ephemerum serratum (x 28'4).

12. Capsule, opening by slits in wall (open) — Andrecea petrophila

(x 28-4).

13. Ditto (closed)— ditto (x 28-4).

14. Peristome and Tympanum — Catharinea undulata (x 26).

15. Capsule, with no Peristome — Pottia truncatula (x 12'8).

PLATE V
MOSSES (PERISTOMES)

Fid.

1. Peristome (erect) — Mnium hornum (x 26).

2. Ditto (closed) — Brachythecium velutinum (x 26).

3. Ditto and Tympanum — Catharinea undulata (x 26).

4. Peristome and Tympanum — ditto (x 26).

5. Peristome — Bartramia pomiformis (x 26).

6. Peristome with recurved teeth— Campylopus pyriformis

(x 26).

7. Peristome of four teeth— Tetraphis pellucida (x 26).

8. Twisted Peristome— Tortula muralis (x 26).

9. Ditto, partly tubular— Tortula subulata (x 26).
10. Tympanum — Polytrichum commune (x 12).

192 INDEX TO PLATES

Fid.

11. Peristome Teeth (double Peristome)— Webera nutans (x 51).

12. Ditto— Catharinea undulata (x 51).

13. Ditto — Dicranum scoparium (x 51).

14. Ditto— Webera nutans (x 51).

PLATE Va

MOSS PERISTOMES AND PERISTOME TEETH

PIG.

1. Capsule and twisted Peristome — Barbula unguiculata (x 12'8).

2. Twisted Peristome— ditto (x 35'5).

3. Twisted Peristome, partly tubular— Tortula subulata (x 20'6).

4. Peristome Teeth, recurved when dry — Orthotrichum ajfine

(x 35-5).

5. Mouth of Capsule, with Peristome — Bryum pendulum (x 39).

6. Peristome Tooth — Bryum inclinatum (x 91*4).

7. Ditto — Mnium hornum (x 66).

8. Peristome Teeth— Bryum pendulum (x 91 -4).

9. Peristome Tooth (cribrose) — Grimmia apocarpa (x 91'4).

10. Double Peristome (dry) — Amblystegium filicinum (x 35'5).

11. Ditto (moist) — Fontinalis antipyretica (x 20' 6).

12. Teeth of outer and inner Peristomes — Bryum murale (x 66).

13. Peristome Tooth (divided)— Dicranum scoparium (x 66).

PLATE VI
MOSSES (GEMM^3, etc.)

PIG.

1. Ring — Ceralodon purpureus (x 51).

2. Lid of Capsule raised by Ring— ditto (x 26).

3. Capsule splitting into valves (closed)— A ndrecea Rothii (x 12).

4. Ditto (open) — Andreaa alpina (x 12).

5. Ditto (ditto)— ditto (x 12).

6. Capsule and Perichsetial Leaves— Andrecea Rothii (x 12).

7. Gemmse in receptacle at end of stem — Tetraphis pellucida

(x 12).

8. Gemma— ditto (x 51).

9. Gemmse at end of special stalk — Aulacomnium androgynum

(x 12).

INDEX TO PLATES 193

PIO.

10. Head of Gemmae — Aulacomnium androgynum (x 26).

11. Gemmae— ditto (x 51).

12. Plant with bulbils in axils of leaves — W ebera annotina (x 12).

13. Bulbils— ditto (x 51).

14. Gemmee on leaf — Tortula papillosa (x 12).

15. Protonemal growths on leaf — Ortkotrichum Lyellii (x 12).

16. Protonemal growths — ditto (x 51).

17. Gemmae — Tortula papillosa (x 51).

18. Gemmae — Tetraphis pellucida (x 51).

19. Germ Leaves— ditto (x 12).

20. Smooth Hair-point of Leaf — Tortula muralis (x 51).

21. Rough ditto — Tortula intermedia (x 51).

PLATE VII
MOSSES (LEAVES AND LEAF-CELLS)

(x 9, except where otherwise stated)
(a) Leaves

PIQ.

1. Leskea polycarpa.

2. Eurhynchium Swartzii.

3. Tortula pusilla.

4. Hypnum stellatum.

5. Andrecea alpina.

6. Polytrichum nanum.

7. Plagioihecium denticulatum.

8. Hypnum Schreberi.

9. Campylopus flexuosus.

10. Amblystegium riparium.

11. Mnium hornum.

12. Hylocomium triquetrum.

13. Amblystegium Sprucei.

14. Tetraphis pellucida.

15. Camptothecium sericium.

16. Bryum ccespiticium.

17. Hypnum uncinatum.

18. Brachythecium cirrhosum.

13

194 INDEX TO PLATES

mat.

19. Fissidens taxifolius.

20. Dicranella heteromalla.

21. Bryum argenteum.

22. Mnium punctatum.

23. Eurhynchium myosuroides.

24. Thuidium tamariscinum.

25. Tortula muralis.

26. Antitrichia curtipendula.

27. Rhacomitrium canescens.

28. Brachythecium rivulare.

29. Mnium undulatum.

30. Antitrichia curtipendula— end of leaf (x 67).

31. Grimmia pulvinata.

32. Trichostomum tortuosum,

33. Didymodon flexifolius.

(i) Leaf-cells

34. Mnium rostratum (x 140).

35. Zygodon viridissimus (x 140).

36. Catharinea undulata (x 140).

37. Barbula rubella (x 140).

38. Fissidens exilis (x 140).

39. Rhacomitrium aciculare (x 140).

40. Brachythecium rutabulum (x 140).

41. Sphagnum cymbifolium (x 140).

42. Eurhynchium prcelongum — enlarged cells at base of leaf

(x 140).

43. Ditto— cells in centre of leaf (x 140).

PLATE VIII
LIVERWORTS (PLANTS)

(x 5'5 unless otherwise stated)
FIQ.

1. Chiloscyphus polyanthos.

2. Lophocolea bidentata.

3. Diplophyllum albicans.

4. Jungermannia inflata.

INDEX TO PLATES 195

PIG.

5. Lepidozia reptans.

6. Frullania dilatata.

7. Scapania nemorosa.

8. Kantia trichomanis,

9. Lejeunea serpyllifolia.

10. Blepharostoma trichophyllum.

11. Jungermannia crenulata.

12. Lejeunea ulicina.

13. Cephalozia bicuspidata.

14. Jungermannia sphcer ocar pa.

15. Jubula HutchinsicB.

16. Jungermannia exsecta.

17. ^wewm multifida.

18. Metzgeria furcata.

19. Pellia calycina.

20. Lunularia cruciata (natural size).

PLATE IX

LIVERWORTS (REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS, etc.)

PIG.

1. First growth from Spore — Chiloscyphus polyanthos (x 140).
la. Germ Plant — Pellia epiphylla (x 6).

2. Inflorescence — Jungermannia sphcerocarpa (x 9).

3. Cup— Frullania dilatata (x 9).

4. Veil— Metzgeria furcata (x 9). »•

5. Cup and Fertilised Fruit-bearing Organ — Radula complanata

(x 9).

6. Fertilising Organs — Diplophyllum albicans (x 51).

7. Fruit-bearing Organ— ditto (x 51).

8. Fruit-bearing Organs (young) — ditto (x 51).

9. Veil— Frullania dilatata (x 26).

10. Ripe Capsule and Cup— Cephalozia biscupidata (x 12).

11. Cup, ruptured Veil, and Capsule — Radula complanata (x 12).

12. Capsules — Lophocolea cuspidata (x 12).

13. Gemmae on leaf — Jungermannia ventricosa (x 12).

14. Head of Gemmae— ditto (x 51).

196 INDEX TO PLATES

FIO.

15. Spores and Elaters — Fossombronia cristata (x 140).

16. Elaters — Frullania germana (x 140).

17. Elaters adhering to empty Capsule — Frullania dilatata (x 26).

18. Keceptacle for Gemmae on frondose plant — Marchantia

polymorpha (x 12).

19. Gemmae— ditto (x 12).

20. Fertilising Organ (a) of Liverwort (Diplophyllum albicans),

and (6) of Moss (Sphagnum cymbifolium) (x 26).

PLATE X

LIVERWORTS (LEAVES, UNDER-LEAVES, AND
LEAF-CELLS)

(x 9 unless otherwise stated)

(a) Leaves
KO.

1. Lophocolea cuspidata.

2. Radula aquilegia.

3. Frullania dilatata.

4. Mastigophora Woodsii.

5. Lophocolea cuspidata — (Under-leaf).

6. Lepidozia setacea.

7. Cephalozia bicuspidata.

8. Lophocolea heteromalla.

9. Ditto (Under-leaf).

10. Lejeunea serpyllifolia.

11. Marsupella emarginata.

12. Scapania nemorosa.

13. Aplozia lanceolata.

14. Plagiochila asplenioides.

15. Diplophyllum albicans.

16. Nardia compressa.

17. Herberta adunca.

18. Trichocolea tomentella.

19. Bazzania tricrenata.

20. Ditto (Under-leaf).

21. Blepharostoma trichophyllum.

INDEX TO PLATES 197

no.

22. Jungermannia inflata.

23. Nardia scalaris.

24. Lepidozia reptans.

25. Fossombronia pusilla.

26. Frullania tamarisci.

27. Ditto (Under-leaf).

28. Kantia trichomanis.

29. Ditto (Under-leaves).

30. Scapania curta.

31. Lejeunea ulicina.

32. Lophocoka cuspidata— (Leaves and Under-leaves).
32a. Kantia trichomanis — (ditto).

33. Jubula Hutchinsice (ditto).

34. Ditto (Under-leaves).

35. Jungermannia quinquedentata.

36. Radukt complanata.

(b) Leaf-cells

37. Lophocoka cuspidata (x 140).

38. Scapania curta (x 140).

39. Nardia sphacelata (x 140).

40. Aplozia kmceolata (x 140).

41. Mylia anomala (x 140).

42. Cephalozia bicuspidata (x 140).

GLOSSARY OE TERMS USED

Acrocarpous, where the fruit or spore-vessel is produced at the
end of the stem.

Annulus, the ring of special cells round the mouth of the capsule,
just under the lid, the unrolling of which loosens or throws
off the lid (p. 61).

Antheridium, the fertilising organ which contains the fertilising
bodies (or antherozoids).

Antherozoids, the minute, spiral, thread-like bodies contained in
the fertilising organ (or antheridium), by means of which
the fruit-bearing organ (or archegonium) is fertilised (pp.
39, 127).

Antical, the upper portion (or lobe) of the leaves of certain
liverworts (p. 139).

Apiculate, having a small pointed end.

Apophysis, of certain moss capsules ; a swelling of the fruit-
stalk where it joins the capsule (p. 52).

Archegonium, the fruit-bearing organ from which the spore-
vessel is developed (pp. 38, 124).

Autoicous, when both fertilising and fruit-bearing organs are
formed on the same plant, but are separated from one another.

Axil, the angle or space between a leaf and the stem or branch on
which it grows.

Axillary, situate in an axil.

Bi-lobed, consisting of two portions or lobes ; of certain liver-
wort leaves (pp. 110, 139).

Bulbil, a very small bulb-like body, from which one or more
plants may be developed (p. 89).

200 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED

Calyptra. In mosses, the upper portion of the fruit-bearing
organ which has been torn off by the upward growth of the
capsule (p. 43). In liverworts, the swollen base of the
fruit-bearing organ, inside which the capsule is formed
(p. 128).

Capsule, the spore-vessel or fruit.

Cernuous, drooping ; of the capsule, where it is slightly inclined
from the line of growth of the fruit-stalk.

Chlorophyll, the minute green grains of colouring matter con-
tained in the leaf-cells.

Cilia, extremely delicate hair-like growths (by means of which
the antherozoids move about in water) (pp. 40, 127).

Colesule, the leafy cup or envelope borne by most of the leafy
liverworts, inside which the fruit-bearing, and sometimes
the fertilising organs also, are produced (p. 124).

Columella, the small rod or column which occupies the cenw« of
the capsule of mosses, and round which the spores are
formed.

Cribrose, of the peristome ; where the teeth are pierced with
minute holes (Plate V.a, fig. 9).

Cryptogams, " flowerless " plants, i.e. not possessing stamens,
pistils, and true seeds.

Cup, see Colesule.

Decurrent, when the base of the blade or lamina of the leaf is

continued down the stem.
Dioicous, when the fertilising organs and the fruit-bearing

organs are produced on distinct and separate plants.

Slaters, extremely delicate spiral or chain-like bodies found
mingled with the spores of most liverworts, and believed
to be connected with the dispersal of the spores (p. 135).

Excurrent, of the nerve of the leaf when extended beyond the
lamina.

Ezserted, where the capsule is lifted up by the fruit-stalk above
the surrounding leaves.

GLOSSARY OF TEEMS USED 201

Fertilising organ, see Antheridium.

Foliose, leaf-bearing ; of certain liverworts which bear leaves,

as distinguished from the frondose plants.
Frondose, frond-like, i.e. taking the form of a flat green plate ;

of certain liverworts.
Fruit-bearing organ, see Archegonium.

- GemmcB (Latin, gemma, a bud), small bud-like bodies on the

plant, from which fresh plants may spring (pp. 86, 117, 137).
Germ-cell, see Oosphere.

- Guard-cells, the crescent-like cells which surround the pores,

(or stomata) on the capsules of certain mosses (p. 55).

Immersed, covered ; of the capsule, when it is covered by the
surrounding (perichsetial) leaves (p. 54) ; of the stomata,
when the guard-cells are situate below the surface of the
capsule wall (p. 56).

Inclined, of the capsule, when it is slightly bent at an angle to
the fruit-stalk.

- Involute, rolled inwards ; of the margin of certain leaves (p. 18).

Lamina, the blade of the leaf, as distinguished from the nerve.
Lid, see Operculum.

Mitriform, shaped like a bishop's mitre ; of the veil (or calyptra).
~ Monoicous, the equivalent of Autoicous.

Neck, the lower end of the capsule, where it joins the stalk.

Nerve, the central strand running up the middle of the leaf-
blade of most mosses, corresponding to the mid-rib in the
leaf of a " flowering plant."

Oosphere, the special cell in the base of the fruit-bearing organ
from which, when fertilised, the capsule is developed (p. 38).

- Operculum, the lid of the moss capsule (p. 60).

202 GLOSSARY OE TERMS USED

Papilla, minute excrescences on the cell-walls.

Papillose, having a roughened appearance, owing to the presence

of papillae.
Paraphyllia, small leafy bodies produced among the leaves of

certain mosses (p. 94).
Paraphyses, minute thread-like bodies which accompany the

reproductive organs of mosses (p. 37).
Paroicous, where both fertilising and fruit-bearing organs are

produced in the same flower, but in distinct groups.
Pendulous, hanging down ; of the capsule, when the fruit-stalk

bends round at its upper end (Plate III. fig. 21).
Perianth, another name for the cup-like envelope (or colesule)

which in certain liverworts encloses the fruit-bearing and

sometimes the fertilising organs.

Perichcetial leaves, the special leaves which surround the fruit-
bearing organs.
Peristome, the fringe of teeth (or hairs) which surrounds the

mouth of the capsule of a moss (p. 68).
Phanerogams, " flowering " plants, having stamens, pistils, and

Pleurocarpous, where the fruit is produced at the side of the stem

or branch.
Postical, the lower portion (or lobe) of the leaves of certain

liverworts (p. 139).
Protonema, the first growth from the spore ; in mosses generally

taking the form of delicate branching threads (p. 30), though

sometimes a flat green plate (p. 120).
Pyriform, pear-shaped.

Ring, see Annulus.

Secund, of the leaves, when all turned to one side.

Seta, the stalk of the fruit or capsule.

Sheath, the lower portion of the fruit-bearing organ in mosses
(surrounding the base of the fruit-stalk), which is left
behind when the veil is formed (Plate I. fig. 8).

Spathulate, spoon-shaped.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 203

Spore-sack, the portion of the interior of the capsule in which

the spores are formed.
Spores, extremely minute round bodies produced in the capsule,

and from which future plants are developed.
Squarrose, spreading out ; of the leaves when standing out from

the stem.

Stipules, see Under-leaves.
Stomata, small pores or openings in the capsule walls of certain

mosses (p. 55).
Struinose (Latin struma, a wen) ; of the capsule of some mosses,

which have a small swelling at the base (Plate IV. fig. 2).
Sulcate, of the capsule wall, when marked with furrows.
Superficial, of the pores (or stomata), when the guard-cells are

situate on the surface of the capsule wall (Plate IV. fig. 23).
Synoicous, when the fertilising and fruit-bearing organs grow

intermingled.

Trigones, thickenings at the angles of the cell-walls of the leaves
of certain liverworts, generally triangular in form (p. 142).

Tympanum, the small round membrane (the top of the columella)
which closes the mouth of the capsule in certain mosses
(P- 75).

Under-leaves, small leaf -like growths on the under side of the
stem in certain liverworts.

Vaginula, see Sheath.
Veil, see Calyptra.

INDEX

Acetic acid, for cleaning cover-
glasses, etc., 166

Acrocarpous mosses, 58

Air, removal of, in mounting, 163,
164, 166, 167, 168

Andreoeat 64

— family, mode of opening of
capsules of, 64, 133

— alpina, 65, 133

— Rothii, 64
Andresea, Alpine, 65, 133

— Black Falcate, 64
Aneura multifida, 116
Annulus. See Ring.
Anomodon, Tall, 24
Anomodon viticulosus, 24
Antheridium. See Fertilising

Organ.
Antherozoid (liverworts), 127

— (mosses), 39
Antitrichia curtipendula, 93
Apophysis, 52

" Apple-moss," 48
Apple-moss, Common, 48, 72

— Fountain, 22

— (Eder's, 24
Archegonium. See Fruit-bearing

organ.
Asphalt varnish, for sealing cells,

181

recipe for, 181

Aulacomnium androgynum, 87
Autoicous plants, 41

B

Barbula unguiculata, 76
Bartramia (Ederi, 24

— pomiformis, 48, 72
Beardless-moss, Slender, 15
Bibliography, 143

Bichloride of mercury, use of, in

mounting, 174
Bi-lobed leaves (liverworts), 110,

139

Blepharostoma trichophyllum, 113
Bog-dwellers (mosses), 21
Bog-moss, Blunt-leaved, 21

— Spreading-leaved, 126
Bog-mosses, 21

— earliest stages of, resembling
those of liverworts, 120

— fertilising organs of, 123

— leaf-cells, 96

— reproductive organs of, re-
sembling those of liverworts, 123

Brachythecium rntabulum, 36, 92

— velutinum, 38, 47, 57, 69
Bristle-moss, Frizzled, 86, 88

— Lyell's, 89

— River, 45, 53

— Wood, 56, 80

" Bristle-mosses," 22

" Brown cement " for sealing cells,

183
Bryum argenteum, 17

— inclinatum, 42

— intermedium, 40

— murale, 79

205

206

INDEX

Bryum pollens, 25
— pendulum, 73
Bulbils, 89, 90
Buxbaumia aphylla, 51
Buxbaumia, Leafless, 51

Cabinet for slides, 158
Calcareous soils, mosses of, 23
Calyptra. See Veil.
Camptothecium sericium, 36
Campylopus pyriformis, 20, 69
Canada balsam, use of, for seal-
ing cells, 181
Capsule (liverworts), 129, 131

opening of, similarity to

certain mosses, 133
rupture of, 132

— (mosses), 46-55

— exserted, 54

furrowed, 53

immersed, 54

stomata on, 55

variations in form of, 46-54

Carbolic acid, use of in mounting,

173

Catharinea undulata, 12, 48, 74, 78
Cements for sealing cells, 181
Cephalozia bicuspidata, 114, 130
Ceratodon purpureus, 20, 47, 52,

61,82

Cernuous capsule, 47, 57
Chiloscyphus polyanthos, 109, 119
Cilia, 40
Cleaning cover-glasses, etc., 166

— slides for sealing, 171
Club-moss, 7
Colesule. See Cup.
Columella, 75
Commons, mosses of, 19

Copal varnish, use of, for sealing
cells, 182

Cord-moss, Common, 20, 52, 57

— Fallow-field, 50
Cover-glasses, shapes and sizes

of, 157, 158

— cleaning of, 166
Cribrose peristome teeth, 79
Culpeper's " Herbal," quotation

from, 103
Cup (liverworts), 125

forms of, 125

resemblance to in certain

mosses, 126
Cup-moss, 7

Deane's gelatine, mounting in, 177

recipe for, 177

Decurrent leaves, 94
Dicranoweisia cirrata, 22
Dicranum palustre, 49

— scoparium, 13, 78
Didymodon, Bent-leaved, 23
Didymodon flexuosus, 23
Dioicous plants, 41
Diplophyllum albicans, 109, 123,

139
Dissecting microscope, 153

— needles, 155
Drawings, remarks as to, 5
Dried specimens, 162

E

Early stages (liverworts), 117

(mosses), 30

Earth-moss, Pointed, 19, 50, 65

— Serrated, 19, 30, 64
Elaters, 134

— supposed action of, 135
Encalypta streptocarpa, 94
Envelopes for collecting specimens,

149
Ephemerum serratum, 19, 30, 64

INDEX

207

Eurhynchium prcelongum, 35, 97

— pumilum, 11

— rusciforme, 11
Excurrent nerve, 92
Exserted capsules, 54
Extinguisher-moss, Spiral-fruited,

94

Fallow fields, mosses of, 19
Farrant's solution, use of, for
mounting, 178

— recipe for, 179
Feather-moss, Common Rough-
stalked, 36, 92

Cypress-leaved, 23

Dwarf, 11

Long-beaked Water, 11

Pointed Bog, 21

Prolonged, 35, 97

Sharp Flat-leaved, 13

Tamarisk, 13

Velvet, 47, 57, 69

Wood, 13

"Feather-mosses," 11, 60
Fertilisation (liverworts), 127

— (mosses), 39, 42, 66
Fertilising-organs (liverworts),

121 123,

— (mosses), 37, 39

Fissidens family. See " Flat
Fork-mosses,"

— bryoides, 34

— taxifolius, 24

Flat Fork-moss, Common, 34

Yew-leaved, 24

" Flat Fork-mosses," 24, 140
" Flower less 'J and " flowering "

plants, 29, 66
Flowers (liverworts), 121
resembling those of bog-
mosses, 123

— (mosses), 32, 39

Flowers (mosses), leaves sur-
rounding, 35

position on plant, 33

Foliose plants (liverworts), 105,

109

Fontinalis antipyretica, 71
Fork-moss, Broom, 13, 78

— Marsh, 49

— Purple, 20, 47, 52, 61, 82
Formalin, solution of, for mount-
ing, 179

— use of with glycerine-jelly in
mounting, 174

Four-tooth Moss, Pellucid, 70, 86.

89, 120

Fringe-mosses, leaf-cells of, 96
Frondose plants (liverworts), 107,

115

Fruit, position of, in mosses, 58
Fruit-bearing organ (liverworts),

124

(mosses), 38

Fruit-stalk (liverworts), 129

— (mosses), 56-58

FruUania dilatata, 111, 125, 129,

136, 139
Funaria fascicularis, 50

— hygrometrica, 20, 52, 57
Furrowed capsules (mosses), 53

Gather mosses, when to, 26
Gemmae (liverworts), 137

growth of, 88

Germ-cell, 127

Germ-leaves (moss) resembling

liverwort growth, 120
Glycerine as mounting medium,

176
— use of, in preparing specimens,

164

208

INDEX

Glycerine- jelly as mounting me-
dium, 163, 172

— experiments with, 173

— recipe for, 173

— rules for use of, 175
Gold-size, for sealing cells, 181
Qrimmia apocarpa, 78, 79

— maritima, 25

— pulvinata, 16, 93
Grimmia, Grey-cushioned, 16, 93

— Seaside Sessile, 25

— Sessile, 78, 79

Grow mosses, how to, 31

— liverworts, how to, 118
Guard-cells, 55

Habitats (liverworts), 107

— (mosses), 9
Hair-moss, Aloe-leaved, 44

— Common, 74, 75, 98

— Wavy-leaved, 12, 48, 74, 78
"Hair-mosses," 20, 33

— capsules of, 54

— flowers of, 33, 41
Hair -points of leaves, 93
Handles for dissecting-needles, 156
Heaths and commons, mosses of,

19

Hedgerows, mosses of, 18
Hookeria, Shining, 106
Hot- water bath, 165

— reviving and cleaning speci-
mens with, 147, 155, 163

Hypnacece, 11

Hypnum cupressiforme, 23

— cuspidatum, 21

I

Immersed capsules, 54
Implements for collection and ex-
amination of specimens, 149, 155

Inflorescence (liverworts), 121
— (mosses), 32

Jubula Hutchinsce, 114, 140
" Jungermannia," use of, 102
Jungermannia crenulata, 113

— exsecta, 115

— inflata, 110

— sphcerocarpa, 114, 123

— ventricosa, 137

Kantia trichomanis, 112

Leaf-cells (liverworts), 140

treatment of leaves to show,

140

— (mosses), 95

forms of, 95

Leaves (liverworts), 138

— (mosses), 90

from branch and stem, 92

papillose, 13, 88, 94

perichjetial, 35, 92, 124

Lejeunea serpyllifolia, 112

— ulicina, 114
Lepidozia reptans, 110
Lid (mosses), 60

raised by the ring, 62

Life-history (liverworts), 117

— (mosses), 27, 81
Liverwort, Broad- veined, 116

— Common, 122, 138

— Creeping, 110

— Crenulated, 113

— Flat-leaved, 125, 130

— Forked, 116, 130

— Four-lobed, 116

INDEX

209

Liverwort, Globe-fruited, 114

— Hair-leaved, 113

— Hutchins', 114, 140

— Inflated, 110

— Large-leaved, 119

— Little-lobed, 112

— Maidenhair, 112

— Many-lobed, 116

— Notch-leaved, 115

— Round-fruited, 114,122

— Square-leaved, 109, 118

— Tubercled, 111, 125, 129, 136,
139

— Tumid, 137

— Two-horned, 114, 130

— Two-toothed, 109

— Whitish, 109, 123, 139

— Wood, 112

Liverworts, bi-lobed leaves of
certain, 110, 139

— derivation of name, 102

— earliest stages of growth of, 117

— fertilisation, 127

— foliose and frondose, 105

— frondose, 107, 115

— general characteristics of, 105

— habitats of, 107

— how to grow, 118

— illustrative plants, 108

— number of species, 104

— relationship to mosses, 101

— reproductive organs of, 121

— spores of, 134
Lophocolea bidentata, 109
Lunularia crucicUa, 116

M

Marchaniia polymarpha, 122, 138
Marine glue, for sealing cells,

182

Marsh-dwellers (mosses), 21
Metzgeria furcata, 116, 130

Microscope, necessity for, 152

— dissecting, 153

— lenses used, 153

Mnium hornum, 31, 49, 60, 69,
78

— punctatum, 12, 106

— stdlare, 24
Monoicous plants, 41
Mosses, acrocarpous, 58

— earliest stages, 30

— fertilisation, 39, 42, 66

— flowers, 32

— habitats, 9

— how to grow, 31

— illustrative plants, 11-25

— number of species, 7

— pleurocarpous, 58

— reproductive organs, 36, 39

— spores, 28

— times for gathering, 26

— uses of, 97

Mounting, instruments for, 155

— media, 163, 172-181

— slides for microscope, 163-172

N

Neck, of capsule, 52
Neckera crispa, 23
Neckera, Crisped, 23
Needles, dissecting, 155

bent, how to make, 157

Nerve of leaf (mosses), 16, 92

— pseudo, in liverwort leaf, 110,

Oosphere, 38, 43, 128
Operculum, See Lid.
Orthotrichum aff.ne, 56, 80

— Lydlii, 89

— rivulare, 45, 53

— saxatile, 53

14

210

INDEX

Pans for soaking specimens prior

to mounting, 165
Papillose leaves, 13, 88, 94
Paraphyllia, 94
Paraphyses, 37
Paroicous plants, 41
Pettia calycina, 116

— epiphylla, 119
Pendulous capsules, 57
Perichsetial leaves, 35, 92, 124
Peristome, 68

— action of, 69, 72

— double, 71

— markings of, 77

— opening and closing of, 69

— sensitive to atmospheric con-
ditions, 69

— teeth of, 69-74, 77
erect when dry, 79

— twisted, 75

Phascum cuspidatum, 19, 50, 63
Philonotis fontana, 22
Plagiothecium denticulatum, 13

— sylvaticum, 13
Platyscopic lens, 151
Pleurocarpous mosses, 58
Polytrichum. See " Hair-mosses."

— aloides, 44

— commune, 74, 75, 98

Pores in capsules of some mosses,

55

Pottia, Common, 18, 19, 50
Pottia truncatula, 18, 19, 50
Preparation of specimens for

mounting, 164

Preparatory mixture, for pre-
paring specimens to mount, 164
Protonema (liverworts), 118

— (mosses), 30, 89

— of bog-mosses, 31
Pterygophyllum lucens, 106
Pyriform capsule, 51

Radula complanata, 125, 130

Register of slides, etc., 158

Reproduction, special modes of
(liverworts), 136

(mosses), 85

Reproductive organs (liverworts),
121, 131

resembling those of bog-
mosses, 123

(mosses), 36, 39

leaves surrounding, 35,

124

minuteness of, 38

position on plant, 41

Ring, 61

Rock-dwellers (mosses), 14

S

Saucers for soaking specimens in,

155

Scapania nemorosa, 112
Screw-moss, Awl-leaved, 58, 76

— Bird's-claw, 76

— Curly-leaved, 23

i —Great Hairy, 23
' — Roughish-leaved, 88

— Smaller Hairy, 47, 94

— Wall, 16, 43, 46, 60, 75, 93
" Screw-mosses," 76

Sea, mosses growing near to the, 25
Secund leaves, 13
Sheath (mosses), 43
Seta. See Fruit-stalk.
| Slides, cabinet for, 158

— arrangement of, 159

— cleaning of before sealing cells,
171

— register of, 158

Soils, preference of mosses for

certain, 23
i Spathulate leaf, 16

INDEX

211

Species, number of (liverworts), 104

(mosses), 7

Specimens, collection and preser-
vation of, 147

— preparation of, for mounting,
164

Sphagna. See Bog-mosses.
Sphagnum cymbifoHum, 21

— squarrosum, 126
Spore-sack, 54

Spores (liverworts), 134

escape of from capsule, 131

— (mosses), 28

escape of, 62, 65

Squarrose leaves, 23
Stag's-horn moss, 7
Stipules. See Underleaves.
Stomata. See Pores.
Strumose capsules, 52
Swan-neck Moss, Dwarf, 20, 69
Synoicous plants, 41, 42

Tetraphis pellucida, 70, 86, 89, 120
Thatched roofs, mosses of, 22
Thread-moss, Bud-headed, 87

— Pale-fruited, 89

— Pale-leaved, 25

— Pink-fruited, 33

— Silky Pendulous, 77

— Silvery, 17

— Small-mouthed, 42
Thuidium tamariscinum, 13
Thyme-thread Moss, Dotted, 12,

106
Star-leaved, 24

— Swan-neck, 31, 49, 60, 69, 78
Tortula Icevipila, 47, 94

— muralis, 16, 43, 46, 60, 75, 93

— papillosa, 88

— ruralis, 23

— subulata, 58, 76

Tree-dwellers (mosses), 22
Trichostomum tortuosum, 23
Trigones, 142
Tympanum, 75

U

Ulota pnyllantha, 86, 88
Underleaves (liverworts), 111
Uses of mosses, 97

Vaginula. See Sheath.
Varnishes for sealing cells, 181
Veil (liverworts), 128
rupture of, 129

— (mosses), 43, 128

W

Wall-dwellers (mosses), 15
Ward's " Brown cement " for

sealing cells, 183
Watchmaker's glass, use of, for

dissecting, etc., 155
Water-moss, Greater, 71
Webera annotina, 89

— carnea, 33

— elongata, 52

— nutans, 77
Weisia, Bent-leaved, 22

— Green-tufted, 18

— Pointed-leaved, 24
Weisia mucronata, 24

— tennis, 15

— viridula, 18
Wing-moss, Pendulous, 93

Yoke-moss, Green-tufted, 22

Zygodon viridissimus, 22

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