234 MOSSES. 



hair, Polyt'richum commu'ne one of the largest 

 species belonging to this tribe, they form excellent 

 beds, by cutting thick layers of it, one of which 

 serves as a mattress, and the other as a coverlet. 

 Linnaeus tells us, that he himself often made use 

 of such a bed, when he was travelling in Lapland. 

 These mossy cushions are very elastic : so that a 

 bed may be rolled up into a parcel small enough 

 to be carried under a man's arm, and the inha- 

 bitants can easily take them about with them in their 

 jpurneys. They do not grow hard by pressure ; 

 and when they lose a part of their elasticity by 

 long use, it can soon be restored by dipping them 

 in water. 



The Lapland women make great use of the 

 grey Bog-moss, Sphag / num palus'tre, which is 

 particularly soft, like a thick fur, or fleece. They 

 wrap their infants up in it without any other 

 clothing, and place them in leathern cradles, lined 

 with the moss. In these soft and warm nests the 

 little babies are completely defended from the cold. 

 The Greenlanders use this moss as tinder, and for 

 wicks to their lamps. 



There is a plant of another cryptogamic genus, 

 Lycopo'dium clava'tum, which though not belong- 

 ing to the same order, is called Club-moss: the 

 seeds of it are collected and sold in various parts 

 of Europe, for the purpose of imitating lightning 



