204 THE MOSSES OF ESSEX : 



Dr. Hassall adds that it is absolutely free from " mechanical 

 impurity and . . . contains a remarkably small proportion 

 of the salts of magnesia, lime, etc." In consequence of this 

 unusual purity, it is in demand among medical men for stimulat- 

 ing the action of the heart. A far smaller quantity is required, 

 either for table or pickling purposes, than of the ordinary salt of 

 commerce, and there is an absence of that bitter after-taste so 

 often noticed in the case of ordinary salt and due to impurities. 

 Further, it is almost completely non-deliquescent — infinitely less 

 so than ordinary salt — owing to the much smaller quantity it 

 contains of chloride of magnesium, which greedily absorbs 

 moisture from the atmosphere. In every respect, therefore, 

 Maldon Salt is superior to ordinary salt. 



The Maldon Salt is sold in card-board boxes of varying sizes, 

 and priced from sixpence upward, each box bearing the Com- 

 pany's trade-mark, a salt crystal. It is stocked by some of the 

 largest London shops and stores, and is used at some of the 

 leading London restaurants. In appearance it bears little 

 resemblance to ordinary table-salt, being sold, not in powder, 

 but actually in crystals. The larger of these naturally get broken, 

 but many small ones are to be found whole among the mass. 

 For use at table, it requires crushing. 



Let us hope that the manufacture of salt at Maldon, small 

 though it is, may long continue to flourish. 



[The Club is much indebted to Mr. Christy for the blocks and 

 prints of the three plates illustrating this paper. — Ed.] 



THE MOSSES OF ESSEX : A CONTRIBUTION 

 TO THE FLORA OF THE COUNTY. 



By FRED. J. CHITTENDEN, County Technical Laboratories, Chelmsford. 

 {Read February Z\th, 1906.] 



THE Moss Flora of Essex is by no means a rich one, since, 

 at present, the list (excluding the Sphagnaceae, which 

 formed the subject of a previous communication, see Essex 

 Naturalist xiv. (1906) pp. 111-116) includes only about 200 

 species and sub-species out of a total nearly approaching boo 

 known to occur within the British Isles. The shortness of this 

 list is due to three principal causes : — 



1. The fact that only certain parts of Essex have as yet 



