are POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
I shall give in this chapter some little account of Mosses ; 
but as there are two hundred and ninety species found in 
the British Isles, I cannot enter into details, but must refer 
the student to Dr. Hooker’s work, called “ Muscologia 
Britannica,” which is entirely devoted to this family. These 
curious productions, some of which are so minute that it 
requires a good glass to see their construction, are found 
chiefly in damp and shady places; but they are not entirely 
confined to such localities, for some may be seen on thatched 
roofs, as Zortula ruralis, and T. muralis, on the tops of the 
driest walls. In dry seasons they become crisped and 
shrivelled, appearing lifeless; but a slight shower or the 
evening dew will revive them; even those that have been 
some years in the Herbarium may be revived by immersion 
in water. The greater number exist, however, in moist 
situations. Boggy and marshy places abound in them, and 
our climate being damp and mild, Great Britain is peculiarly 
rich in these productions; even the lofty Scotch mountains 
produce many very rare species. One of the most beautiful 
is the Bryum alpinum, tufts of which resemble purple velvet 
of the most brilliant colour. The soil on which Mosses will 
often grow is very remarkable; one is found only on the 
sides of pure chalk pits in Kent and Sussex; some 
