mosses. 223 



Such is a short sketch of the herbage and fructifica- 

 tion of the Mosses, according to the observations and 

 discoveries of Hedwig, and of the theory founded upon 

 them, namely : That the Mosses are formed with all the 

 organs necessary to the constitution of a flower, and 

 producing perfect seeds ; a theory that seems at least 

 to be founded in fact, and that has obtained the appro- 

 bation of most succeeding botanists. 



Mosses are very tenacious of life, and flourish in the 

 Coldest climate and at the coldest season of the year ; 

 and it is said that after they have been preserved a cen- 

 tury, their freshness may be restored by the mere ap- 

 plication of water. Their uses in the economy of ve- 

 getation, are greater than is commonly suspected. " Na- 

 ture," says Willdenow, " always takes care to use one 

 plant for the benefit of another ;" and those which de- 

 cay are taxed to support those which are to succeed 

 them. This remark is peculiarly applicable to the 

 Mosses. They vegetate on naked barren rocks, to 

 which their seeds have been wafted by the wind, de- 

 riving their nourishment from the atmosphere, and 

 preparing the way for plants of a greater magnitude. 

 Sometimes they flourish only on the summit of lofty 

 mountains abstracting moisture from the clouds which 

 encircle them, contributing to the formation of foun- 

 tains, rivulets, and at last majestic streams. Wher- 

 ever they vegetate Mosses improve the soil, and when 

 it becomes capable of sustaining other plants, these 

 disappear as if the sole end of their existence was to 

 fertilize the ground. They overspread the trunks of 

 trees which in the winter they protect from cold and 

 in the summer from the parching rays of the sun, nor 

 do they, like other parasitic plants, derive nutriment 

 from the trees which support them. Shrubs covered 



