THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



141 



atfected, while the other ( the guest ) is benefited. The 

 host plant ahvaj's thrives better vvitiiout the parasite, as 

 in the case of the oak and the mistletoe. 



These plants exist in three general types or forms, 

 fruticose, foliose and crustose. The fruticose are more or 

 less branched and filamentous. The widely distributed 

 beard moss ( Usiiea barbata ) on trees, on oaks especially 

 and less commonly on ])osts and fences, is typicall_\ 

 fruticose. The foliose (leaf-like) are thin, papery and 

 flat, and are rather looselx- attached to the bark. They 

 are also found on rocks and fences. Iceland moss ob- 

 tainable in drug- stores is an examjjle. The crustose ap- 

 pear to be mere discolorations. 



Lichens are indefinitely perennial. It is probable that 

 most of these on large mountain rocks, or on aged tree?, 

 are hundreds of }ears old. In the reindeer moss of the 

 tundra there is a continuous growth at the top, while the 

 basal portions are as constantly dying. 



The growth of many is extremely slow, some taking 

 years to arrive at the spore bearing stage. One variety 

 has been known to grow- for forty-five years before pro- 

 ducing the spore bearing structures. 



Any bit of lichen will develop into a new jilant provided 

 the part includes both partners. In fact a lichen dried 

 so thoroughly that it may be powdered, will renew its 

 activity as an indefinite number of plants, if the powder 

 is scattered in a suitable place and kept moist. Further- 

 more there are special propagative organs called seredia, 

 minute bodies composed of both alga and fungus and 

 usually formed along the edges of the thallus. To the 

 naked eye these clusters appear as slightly raised specks, 

 or as a white fringe. The individual soredia composing 

 these clusters are too small to be seen by the naked eye. 

 Other propagative structures are the apothecia, small cup- 

 shaped or dome-shaped growths about a quarter of an 

 inch in diameter, and generally slightly raised, occurring 

 on the surface in the foliose forms, and on the ends of 

 the branches in the fruticose. In the lichen known as red 

 cup moss, the bright red spots are the apothecia. These 

 tiny cups belong to the fungal portion. 



The following are a few of the more interesting species 

 with a brief reference to their real nr supposed economic 

 value. 



No lichen has been of greater industrial value than 

 dyer's moss or dver's fungus, which yields a dye known 

 as orchil, cudbear or litnnis. Orchil proper, a rich purple 

 dye, is obtained from Rocclla iiiictoria, a species common 

 in the Mediterranean countries. Western Mexico, Central 

 America and in warm countries generally. The blue and 

 the purple of the Old Testament (Ezekiel XXXII, 7) is 

 supposed to refer to the dye obtained from this plant. 

 It was also used by the Greeks and Romans, and was an 

 important article of commerce. Other lichens yield 

 various dyes. Cudbear, from Lecanora, is much used 

 by the peasantry of Northern Europe for dying woolen 

 cloth scarlet or purple. Many species yielding red, brown, 

 purple and yellow dyes have been, and probably still are 

 used as domestic dyes by the natives of the regions in 

 which thev are found. The coloring matter is in the 

 acids contained in the ])lants. but little is definitely known 

 of their chemistry. Another interesting form is the beard 

 moss found chiefly on oaks. It hangs in beard-like tufts 

 from the branches, and varies in length from several 

 inches to several feet. It serves as food for certain wild 

 animals, and also sometimes for domestic animals. Dur- 

 ing the earlv middle ages this "moss" was much used as 

 a "remedy for insanity" epilepsy and other nervous dis- 

 orders, but to be efficacious it should be gathered from 

 the skull of a criminal thai had leen left hanging on the 

 tree. . 



Reindeer moss (dadoiiia raiiiiifcrinn) is the chiet food 



of ti-.e reindeer. Even the Laplander in time of need does 

 not disdain to prepare it for his own meal. Of all the 

 lichens this is doubtless the most useful. In winter the 

 animals scrape away the snow, and feed upon this growth. 



In recent years, in Scandinavia and Russia, alcohol has 

 lieen distilled from reindeer moss. Formerly another 

 lichen, Slicta pidmonaria (lungwort), was much used 

 instead of hops in brewing. .\ certain Siberian monastery- 

 was celebrated for beer that owed its flavor to this lichen. 

 A small greyish or nearly white lichen, known to botanists 

 as Lecanora csculenta, and called in Western Asia "earth- 

 bread," is believed by some to have been the manna of 

 the Israelites. In times of drouth and famine, it has 

 served as food for man and beast on the arid [jlains of 

 Xorthern .Africa, Eastern Europe and Western .\sia. It 

 grows unattached or very lightly attached to the ground 

 in the form of irregular lumps, sumetimes si.x or seven 

 inches thick. 



Iceland moss is still highly prized as an article of diet, 

 especially by convalescents. The Swedish peasantry make 

 a bread of it and it often forms the chief food of the poor 

 Icelander. A lichen commonly know'n as "rock tripe" 

 ( Uiubilicaria ) has been used as food by hunters and trap- 

 pers of the far Xorth where these i)lants are ahundnnt 

 on rocky ledges. It is stated that the members of the 

 Franklin ])olar expedition subsisted on this lichen for 

 some time. 



Peltigera canina formed the basis of a one-time cele- 

 brated cure for hydrophobia. Ramalina reticulata is 

 another attractive lichen, known as "old man," "old man's 

 beard" and sometimes "beard moss." It differs from the 

 true beard moss with which it is often confused. Ilie 

 thallus branches are flattened while those of the true 

 beard moss are cylindrical. It is abundant on oaks along 

 the California coast. "Old man" is used for packing 

 material, bedding for cattle and as fodder. 



Lichens by an eminent botanist of long ago were called 

 "the beggarly among jilants." Like the jjoor they are 

 always with us. The number of different kinds sometimes 

 found (in a single boulder are surprising, as are the 

 variety and numlier on fence rails and trees along the 

 roadside. The rejiresentative species may be easily identi- 

 fied by the liel]) of special books on the subject. 



To 'one fond of collecting they will jjrove a joy, as no 

 special drying apparatus is immediately necessary. .\t 

 one's conv^enience they may be moistened, spread on dry- 

 ing sheets and mounted in the usual manner. It is well 

 toremember that the lichen, like everything else, is most 

 beautiful in its natural setting. If you do not need it 

 for real and detailed study, let it remain where it grows. 

 Too many plants find their'way into the amateur collector's 

 box. A real lover of nature is loathe to destroy or to take 

 from its home any living growing thing. Far more im- 

 portant than the classification of any plant, is an ajijirecia- 

 tion of its beauty and fitness in the general scheme of 

 creation. — TJie Guide to Nature. 



WRINKLES IN HORTICULTURAL WRITINGS. 



It is nne thing tu write a book to suit oneself, and 

 another to write one which shall be beyond criticisni. 

 The horticulturist generally is beyond the pale of criti- 

 cism as far as a description of his practice goes, but 

 when he launches into word ])ictures he does not seem 

 to know where to "fetch up." -X certain Rev. E. A. 

 Bowles, who has achieved more or less prommence as a 

 horticultural writer, recently published a book entitled 

 "Aly Garden in Spring." 



this book is about Mr. Bowies' garden, but n sets 

 us asking questions about the mind of man, and in par- 

 ticular tile questirn whv men find it so difficult to write 



