26 



CHArXER lY. 



TRUCTIFICATION. 



" By the brightest cups on the emerald moss, 

 Whose fairy goblets the turf emboss." 



Among " flowering plants/^ the flower and fruity or, to 

 speak scientifically, the Eeproductive organs, are regarded 

 as a most important, as well as a very interesting, branch 

 of botanical study. It is no less so throughout the large 

 families of Cryptogamia ^ and among these the Mosses }ield 

 to none in the beauty, elegance, and interest of their fructi- 

 fication. 



True, if we except the red and yellow heads of some 

 foreign species of Splachmim, we have little brilliancy of 

 hue to attract the gaze of the general observer. We have 



