28 ANIMAL PLANTS. 



only where they are collected in masses that they are observed ; but 

 with a powerful glass the forms we have mentioned appear distinctly. 

 The various species of microscopic mosses have, of course, variously 

 formed organs. The seed receptacle under the glass presents very 

 singular appearances ; and, on examination of their structure in this 

 and other particulars, they cannot fail to strike us with surprise. Many 

 species which inhabit the water keep it pure and wholesome and their 

 remains ultimately contribute to the formation of useful soil. Peat- 

 moss, so valuable in many countries as fuel, are formed in a great 

 measure of these mosses. They sometimes protect plants from too 

 great heat in summer and from severe frosts in winter. They are 

 likewise useful as food for animals. , The arctic bear is said to line 

 nis cave with them against the approach of winter. The squirrel's 

 warm pendulous nest is formed of them, and also that of many birds. 

 Numerous tribes of insects find a safe retreat within them and subsist 

 on. their delicate leaves. The Laplanders prize a bed of moss as 

 much as we do one of feathers 5 they also employ it as bed clothes for 

 infants in the cradle. The mosses are made into brooms in some 

 places in England and the north of Europe and some have been used 

 as dyes and medicines. 



Minimal Plants. 



These are generally marine productions : many are fixed to rocks? 

 and are generally called zoophites and radiated animals. The sea- 

 nettle, daisy, marygold, carnation, etc., are carried about by the water 

 without any apparent volition. The great variety of corals, the 

 sponge and other animals are little, if any in advance of plants. 

 They are not so sensitive, and consequently manifest less of life. 

 Sensation in them cannot therefore be any more evidence of their 

 being animals than the same power in plants. Some species of the 

 sponge attach themselves to crabs in the same manner as some 

 parasitic plants do to trees. They are nourished by the water which 

 they imbibe through their smallest pores and which they part with 

 through their largest ones. The fibrous part is therefore the skeleton 

 of the animal. They produce their species in a similar manner to 

 plants. A kind of germ is formed like a bud upon a stalk. This falls 

 off at a proper time and becomes an animal, like its parent. If these 

 are separated into parts, each part will become an animal, like the 

 polypus, or like plants by cuttings or shoots. Some of these are called 

 hydras, or many headed, from this circumstance. 



Infusoria, small homogeneous masses, are an extensive class of ani- 

 mals. These with many of the fungi before mentioned, are greatly 

 inferior in their organization to plants. The single sense of touch 

 characterizes the zoophites as animals. The senses are increased in 



