THE WOOD. 77 



evaporates, the little threads (elaters, as they are 

 called, from their elasticity,) will set themselves in 

 motion, and very soon disperse the seeds, so that 

 none are left on the glass, with the exception of a 

 few which were placed out of their reach. 



It would almost seem that nature has been more 

 solicitous to ensure the propagation of such incon- 

 siderable plants as that which I have described, 

 than of more stately vegetable productions. Not 

 only are they furnished with innumerable seeds, 

 but the seeds themselves are protected and dissemi- 

 nated by various contrivances, all of which are 

 most wonderful ; and, added to this, they are so 

 light that they float about in the air, and are ca- 

 pable of becoming plants, on almost every sub- 

 stance on which they alight. Walk where you 

 will, over heath, hill, or wood, you will scarcely be 

 able once to set your foot on the ground without 

 treading on some species of Moss : you may, per- 

 haps, cover with the palm of your hand some 

 hundreds of perfect plants, each of which shall 

 be furnished with roots, leaves, stem, and seed- 

 vessels, and every seed-vessel shall contain a count- 

 less number of seeds, so minute as to be singly 

 invisible to the naked eye. 



From thirty to forty different kinds of Moss 

 grow, probably, within two or three yards of the 

 spot on which we are standing. Of these, some 

 have long straggling stems, which take root wher- 

 ever they touch the ground ; others are growing 

 in tufts on the rugged barks of neighbouring 

 trees ; some you will find springing from the per- 

 pendicular sides of banks, or crowded in dense 

 masses at the edges of streams. Different from 

 each other, as all are, in shape, mode of growth, 



