100 MOSSES. 



the Collar moss group, to which I suspected that my 

 new treasure belong. The tubercle decided the question, 

 that beino- the leading feature of the Collar mosses. 



According to Hooker, the veil in this group is small, 

 cone-shaped, and torn at the base, and the lid convex. 

 I could not judge of either of these particulars, for the 

 fruit of my species was over-ripe, and the veil and the 

 lid had perished (Splachnum sphaericum, fig. 12). There 

 is a Large-fruited Collar moss, growing by springs in 

 mountainous places, and a Flagon-fruited Collar moss, 

 flourishing on manure in low situations. 



Unfortunately, it was not a cavernous neighbourhood, so 

 I had no chance of finding the Cavern moss (Schistostega 

 osmundacea, Plate VI, fig. 17). This moss is of a pale 

 irlaucous green, very slender, and not reviving in water 

 after it has been once dried. The urn is very small and 

 < >val ; it has no fringe, and its tiny veil soon perishes. The 

 delicate young shoots have often been taken for a Con- 

 ferva ; they have a refractive power, and on this account 

 are said to illumine the gloomy caverns with a "golden 

 crreen Hght.' v The plant is most frequently found on 

 -andstone {Plate VII., fig. 1). 



Several allies of the Collar mosses, as Tetrapladon, 

 Tayloria, Dissodon, and Odipodium succeed them, but 

 they are all rare Alpine species, and did not reward our 

 search at that time or since. 



The Flat-fork mosses (Fissidens) follow the Cavern 

 moss in natural order. They are very small plants, with 

 the leaves placed alternately on either side the stem, so as to 

 be flat before and behind, something like minute ferns. The 

 urn is oval, sometimes erect, but more often with its head 



