CHAP. X.] MOSS HOUSES. 279 



for the entire building, but for the arrangement 

 of the moss in different patterns. The first 

 thing to be considered in carrying the design 

 into execution is the foundation ; and this, if 

 the soil be damp, should be duo- out two feet 

 deep, and nearly filled with concrete. In this 

 must be fixed the rustic pillars which are to 

 support the roof; and these are generally com- 

 posed of the trunks of young larches or spruce 

 firs with their bark on, which should be chosen 

 as nearly as possible of the same size. The 

 number of pillars, and the manner in which 

 they are to be arranged, depend, of course, on 

 the design; but the general number is from 

 eight to twelve. Great care must be taken to 

 drive the posts firmly into the ground, and all 

 to the same depth. The rafters for the roof 

 are then fixed on, and narrow laths or hazel 

 rods nailed between them, and also between 

 the uprights. Between these laths or rods the 

 moss is pushed with a wedge-shaped piece of 

 wood ; the pattern having been first rudely 

 traced with chalk on the outside of the rods. 

 The mosses and lichens to be used should be 

 first collected and sorted, all of the same kind 

 being put together; and, when they are used, 

 the root end should always be the part pushed 

 in between the rods. 



The best Mosses for this purpose are, for the 

 green, some of the kinds of thread moss 

 (Bryum), and feather moss (Hypnum), which 

 are common everywhere, and frequently very 

 beautiful. If gathered in summer, some of the 

 seed-cases will be scarlet, as in Bryum car 

 neum; but they are purple in B. bicolor, and 



