140 NATURE STUDY. 



very blosscJins appear in profusion. The botanists agreed that thej' 

 had never seen or heard of a similar instance. 



After the party had "sampled" the odd willow, the mosses, 

 deeper in the wood, aroused the enthusiasm of the entire party. 

 A livelj' discussion of the velvety green patches revealed the fact 

 that within a radius* of twenty-five miles of New York no less than 

 250 distinct varieties of moss can be found. 



Short-stemmed, brilliant green rock moss, moss with tiny brown 

 fruited stems growing from it, coarse, grey moss, said to be edible 

 for reindeers, and a queer-looking, long-stemmed moss kno^\^l as 

 "pigeon wheat " or " hair cap," attracted especial attention and 

 specimens of each one were secured. The " hair cap " moss is used 

 extensively, Mr. Nicholson explained, by the g^^psiesof Europe for 

 making fine brushes for uses similar to that of thetinj- feather dus- 

 ters for bric-a-brac. 



The enthusiasm of the English guest reached itsheight when the 

 fungi, or plant parasites, came in sight. Of these about 3000 varie- 

 ties exist in the woods about the suburbs of New York. One fun- 

 gus growth on a fallen tree so excited him that, magnifjdng glass 

 in hand, he lay prone upon the ground for several minutes carefully 

 examining the moldy specimen. Expressions of "beautiful," 

 " splendid " and " fine " gave evidence of his scientific delight at 

 his " find." 



Some 200 specimens of mosses and fungi were gathered during 

 the morning. One of the party found violets, only a few to be sure, 

 but violets, in a shady nook in the woodland. 



Sumach, its brilliant red dimmed by frosty winds, pin oaks, with 

 leaves all out of proportion to their slender stems, odd silvery mil- 

 dews on the leaves of the spice bush, varied growths and fungi all 

 became points of interesting discussion.— New York Mail and Ex- 

 press. 



