74 Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. 1, No. 5 



It is desired that the pupils consult teachers, parents, and others, 

 who may be able to advise as to the subject, kind and extent of the 

 work, also as to the best arrangement and wording of the report, 

 and the labelling and preparation of the accompanying illustrative 

 material. 



The report is to contain a detailed account of the work actually 

 done by the pupil and in no case to contain anything not his own. 



The names of those entering the competition must be sent to the 

 undersigned on or before March 30th. The suggestions, dii'ections 

 and explanation of the three subjects proi^osed are as follows: 



BRYOLOGiCAli.— All the kinds of Mosses in the region should be 

 collected and put under slight pressure till dry; then a small por- 

 tion should be glued directly upon a piece of card-board and a larger 

 amount placed in a paper i^ocket and attached to the same piece; 

 the notes and drawings can also be attached to the same card-board 

 which for each species should be 8^ x 11 J inches. Most of the kinds 

 (species) can be found in fruit; the latter is a capsule (little pod) on 

 a slender stem- called the seta. Specimens without fruit are not 

 very satisfactory. 



Tell in each ease on what the specimen grows, as the ground, 

 tree trunk, old log, rock, boulder, etc. ; add other notes relating to 

 its situation (habitat), abundance, appearance, general character 

 (habit), etc. 



Draw an enlarged figure at least of the capsule (fruit) of some 

 or all of the species (kinds) collected. In the early stage there is 

 usually a cap (called calyptra) on the capsule. When the capsule 

 is ripe it opens by a lid (called the operculum) for the escape of the 

 spores. Notice the teeth (called collectively the peristome) sur- 

 rounding the mouth of the capsule— evident when the operculum 

 falls off. 



A good pocket lens must be used for this woi-k. The drawings 

 must be clear; after completed with a sharp lead pencil it would be 

 well to retrace with a fine pen and India (or drawing) ink. Exces- 

 sive shading of the figures is objectionable. 



If a book is desired, a suitable one for beginners is Grout's 

 " Mosses with a Hand-lens," price $1.10; orders sent to the author 

 or to the writer of this article will be promptly attended to. But for 

 the i^urposes of this competition the botanical names of mosses are 

 not required ; it will be of course more interesting if an attempt at 

 the identification of the species is in all cases made. 



LicHENOi>oaroAij. — All the kinds of Lichens in the region should 

 be collected. The little disks, or saucer-like bodies, on the plants 

 are the fruit (called the apothecium); the apothecia are more dis- 

 tinct and striking in appearance, as is the whole plant also, when 

 moist; therefore the best time to collect lichens is after a prolonged 

 rain, or when the air is moist; when dry they are usually brittle 

 ■and cannot be satisfactorily handled. 



