THE MOSS FAMILY. 493 



amount to four hundred and forty-four, of which we have near Man- 

 chester two hundred and sixteen. The district is favourable to them, 

 supplying excellent habitats in the high hills beyond Bury and Staly- 

 bridge, and in the numerous damp woods and doughs that occur in 

 the lowlands, Ashworth and Bamford Woods, Cotterill Clough, and 

 Burley Hurst, near Mobbcrley, in particular. This part of England has 

 long been celebrated for its muscologists. The late Edward Hobson 

 had a European fame, at present enjoyed by Mr. Nowell of Todmorden. 

 The Bryologia, the finest work on mosses ever written in the English 

 language, comes to us, in its lustre, from Warrington. The nomen- 

 clature of the following list is adapted from this noble volume, and 

 several species are inserted on its authority. The Greenfield, Fo-edge, 

 Prestwich, Radclifie, &c., localities, have been kindly supplied me by 

 James Percival, jun. ; the Disley, Marple, Charlesworth, &c., by Mr. 

 Sidebotham ; the Cotterill ones are chiefly from the manuscripts of the 

 late George Crozier. Where no particular places of growth are speci- 

 fied, the species is understood to be more or less common, and to 

 have been observed by myself. It is not necessary, in a volume of 

 this nature, to mention all the known localities, even of the rarest 

 species ; and as regards the habitats of the common ones, instead of 

 repeating the words "walls," "rocks," "banks," &c., over and over 

 again, I consider it sufficient to denote them by an initial letter, 

 resolving all habitats into nine general classes, as particularised below. 

 The degree of frequency of the common species is indicated by signs 

 prefixed to the names. It is further unnecessary, and indeed incom- 

 patible with the limits of the work, to give desc?-iptwns of the vaiious 

 species. These require to be very minute, and even if attempted, the 

 student would still have to seek further details in works devoted 

 expressly to the subject. Wilson's Biyologia, with its multitudinous 

 coloured drawings, is inestimable, both to the proficient and to the 

 beginner. If not at hand, there is a copy at the Chetham Library, of 

 Hobson's " British Mosses," consisting of natural specimens, and very 

 useful to consult. Popular or English names the mosses can hardly 

 be said to possess ; for although in books, such names are often added 

 to the Latin ones, by translating the latter, no one ever uses them 

 with the lips. A few generic terms, such as "bog-moss" and " feather- 

 moss," are part of the national language, and beyond them the student 

 will do well not to trouble himself, giving his attention exclusively to 

 the scientific ones. 



