THE PAGE OF NATURE. 41 



meadows, particularly in moist, low-lying situations. 

 They spread in large patches over the ground in woods 

 and forests; and at a certain elevation on mountain 

 ranges, they take exclusive possession of the soil, forming 

 immense beds into which the foot sinks up to the ankle 

 at every step, bleached on the surface by the sunshine 

 and rain, blackened here and there by dissolving wreaths 

 of snow which lie upon them through all the summer 

 months, and gradually decomposing underneath into black 

 vegetable mould. The shoulders, ridges, and elevated 

 plateaus of all the Highland mountains are covered with 

 huge luxuriant masses of the woolly-fringe moss (Tri- 

 chostomwn lanuginosum), growing continuously over whole 

 acres of ground, and banishing every other plant from 

 its domains. Mountain peat, which is of a dry, friable 

 nature, is formed almost exclusively by the decay of this 

 moss. It seems intended by nature to serve as a cover- 

 ing to the soil in the absence of grass and heather 

 as it is found most luxuriantly and in the greatest pro- 

 fusion in spots considerably above the heather line, as 

 well as the point where grass ceases to be a social plant, 

 and occurs only in scattered tufts here and there. In 

 these bleak and desolate spots, it sometimes furnishes 

 materials for an extemporaneous couch to the belated 

 traveller compelled to sleep in the shade of a rock on 

 the hills ; although care must be taken in arranging the 

 couch to place the dry surface uniformly uppermost, 

 otherwise the wet decomposed portions will here and 

 there obtrude, and render the repose of the tenant ex- 

 ceedingly uncomfortable. The common hair moss 1 (Poly- 



1 See Frontispiece. 



