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of plants. A portion of the protonema is changed into root-hairs 
(rhizoids) which produce a secondary protonema. The protonema 
can reproduce itself by gemme or buds. A protonema is produced 
on the leaves of many mosses, and even a single leaf, if separated 
from the plant and kept moist, may produce it. Again, portions of 
the growing plant such as shoots and bulbils, become detached to 
form new plants. Hairs, even, may be transformed into protenema. 
These facts certainly go to show that mosses are not very likely to 
follow the Megatherium and the Dodo. How are our plants 
arranged, or better perhaps, how do they arrange themselves for 
our convenience? There are four orders—Sphagnacee, Andrewacee, 
Phascacece and Bryacee. The first has already had about its share 
of our time. The second includes but a few small plants, some not 
a quarter of aninch high, all of which are classed by Bryologists with 
the True Mosses from which they differ in the splitting of the 
capsule. The third order (Phascacece) includes only a few genera, 
all the species (e.g. Ephemerum) being quite small plants. The 
spores escape through the decay of the capsule. The fourth and 
largest order, the Bryacece, or True Mosses, is very clearly marked 
by an operculum (already described) which is separated from the 
capsule, sometimes by the aid of an annulus. The True Mosses 
are divided into two sections. The acrocarpi (summit fruit), and the 
Plewrocarpi (side fruit),—the fruit, in the former, being at the top 
of the stem, while, in the latter, it is on lateral branches. 
Polytrichums, Tortulas, Bryums, and Funarias are all acrocarpous, 
and Hypnums are pleurocarpous. Very little attention was given 
to Mosses until about the beginning of last century, when the 
botanist Ray made a collection. About 1750 Dillenius published 
an illustrated work which is still of value and interest for reference, 
although of course it is very ancient considering the present date 
of our knowledge. In the time of Linneus, and indeed by the 
great botanist himself, several of the allied orders of plants,—the 
Liverworts, the Club Mosses and Lichens for instance—were looked 
upon as Mosses, and we cannot be surprised at this when we re- 
member that the microscope had not then made its wonderful 
revelations. The now familiar instrument threw a flood of light 
on many branches of natural science. To a distinguished German 
(Hedwig) belongs the honour of having discovered the foundation 
for a true system of Moss-classification. Of late years our know- 
ledge has rapidly increased and many new species have been added 
to the list. Lastly, it cannot be claimed for Mosses that they are 
of any great use in every-day life, indeed, we make very little use 
of any of them—but they certainly have a beauty all their own. 
They decorate our old walls, fences, and trees as no human hand 
could, their ‘‘living green” contrasting splendidly, in our own 
