186 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



As it may not be generally known that it is to the Sphagnums 

 that we are principally indebted for our peat, I will quote what 

 Huxley says on the subject : — 



" In this part of the world, the principal peat forming plants 

 are certain mosses known to botanists under the generic name of 

 Sphag7iu77i. The stems of the Bog-Moss die away in their lower 

 part, while the upper portion continues to grow freely. The inter- 

 woven dead portions form a tangled mass, which holds water like 

 a sponge and favours the growth of the above moss. Remains of 

 other plants become mixed with the moss, and contribute to the 

 formation of the peat, while trunks of trees occasionally get 

 imbedded in the bog ; muddy matter is likewise washed during 

 floods, and helps to consolidate the felted mass, and to produce a 

 deposit of considerable firmness. The rate at which peat grows 

 varies greatly under different conditions, but some notion of the 

 rate may be gained from the fact that Roman remains, and even 

 Roman roads, have been found beneath eight feet of peat. In 

 Ireland peat bogs are so abundant tliat they cover about one- 

 tenth of the entire surface of the country ; and, in some cases, 

 the peat may be as much as forty feet in thickness." 



W. H. Read. 



The slide under notice, containing as it does six species of 

 Sphagnum^ is a very instructive one, and forms an example of 

 educational mounting that I would strongly recommend our 

 members to copy. Seeing six different kinds together, we are 

 enabled to note the very marked similarity in the shape of the cells, 

 though each species has its own distinctive form. I should have 

 thought that the form of the cell and shape of the leaf would be 

 an easier means of determining the species than the utricles of the 

 stalk. Let me point out this, taking the mosses as they appear on 

 the slide : — 



I. — Sphagnwn cymbilifolium. Leaf — Roundish egg-shaped. 

 2. „ molluscum. Round egg-shaped. 



The special difference between these two consists in that the 

 first has glands (papillae) at the back of the apex of the leaf, which 

 are wanting in the second. 



3. — Sphagftiim acutifolwm. Leaf — Pointed egg - shaped, 



with perichsetial leaves, 

 small. 

 4. „ compactutn. Egg-shaped, with blunt 



point. 



