374 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
They therefore, like the other various productions of nature, 
serve more purposes than one, and prove to us how wonder- 
ful are all the works of their great and benevolent Author. 
Most of the Mosses are so minute, that their vestigation 
is very difficult; some are scarcely visible to the naked eye, 
but their construction is as perfect as that of larger kinds. 
A few are considerable in size, even reaching the length of 
two feet; one (Polytrickum commune) is used in making 
brooms and hassocks; in Lapland it is very valuable. 
Linneeus says, “The Laplanders cut out a surface of this 
Moss, as large as they please, for a bed, separating it from 
the earth beneath; and although the shoots are scarcely 
branched, they nevertheless are so entangled by the roots as 
not to be separated from each other. This mossy cushion 
is very soft and elastic, not growing hard by pressure ; and 
if a similar portion of it be made to serve as a coverlet, 
nothing can be more warm and comfortable. The natives 
fold their bed together, tying it up into a roll that it may 
be grasped by a man’s arm; and thus, if necessary, carry it 
with them to the place where they mean to sleep the night 
following. If it becomes too dry and compressed, its 
former elasticity is restored by a little moisture.” 
All species of Mosses have leaves, though in some they 
