M2 



SCIENCE OK AGRICTT.'ITKE. 



P.VKT II. 



generally adopted division of imperfect plants is thai by which they are distributed into 

 filices, Equisetacese, Lycopodlnee, ftfusci, Hepatice, ./'lia-, Lichenes, and Fungi. 



1389 The FiUeet, Eqittsetbcew, and Ljfcopodbiete are for the most i><irt herbaceous, and die down to the 

 ground in tin- w mirr ; but thej .in- furnished with a perennial root, from which there annaabj issues a 

 ii oud bearing the fructification The favourite habitations of m mj of them are heaths and uncultivated 

 grounds, where they are found Intermixed with furse and brambles; but the habitations of such as are 

 tin- nu»t luxuriant' in iluir growth are moist and fertile spots, in shady and retired situations, as on 

 mossji dripping rocks, or by fountain! and i Ills of water. Some of them will thnvo even on the dry and 



barren roek, or in the chinks and assures Of walls ; and others only ill wet and marshy situations where 

 tlicy are hall' Immersed in water 



1330. The tiCsd {fig. 179. a A forma tribe of imperfect plant* of a diminutive size, often consisting 

 merely of a root, surmounted with a tuft of minute leaves, from the centre of which the fructification 

 Springs ; but furnished fbl the most part with astern and branches, on which the leaves are Closely iinliri- 



cated, and the fructification terminal or lateral. They are perennials and herbaceous, approaching to 



shrubby ; or annuals, though rarely so, and wholly herbaceous, the perennials beiny also evergreens. 



1331. The Hep&tfcce {fig. 179. c) form a tribe- Of small herbaceous plants resembling the mosses, but 

 chiefly with frondose herbage, and producing their fruit in a capsule that splits into longitudinal valves. 

 In their habitations, they affect for the most part the same sort of situations as the mosses, being found 

 chieflv in wet and shady spots, by the sides of springs and ditches, on the shelving brinks of rivulets, 

 or on the trunks of trees. Like the mosses, they thrive best also in eold and damp weather, and recover 

 their verdure though dried, if moistened again with water. 



1332. The \'tgtP, or sea-weeds, include not merelv marine and many other submersed plants, but also a 

 gre.it variety of plants that are not even aquatics. All the A'\gx agree in the common character of having 

 their herbage frondose, or but rarely admitting of the distinction of root, stem, and leaf. 



13:33. The utility of the h.'lgee is obviously very considerable, whether we regard them a» 

 furnishing an article of animal food, or as appli- 

 cable to medicine and the arts. The Laminaria 

 saccliarina (Jig. 180 a), Halymerria palmata(6)and 

 edulis (c), and several other i'uci, are eaten, and 

 much relished by many people, whether raw or . ( 

 dressed; and it is likely that some of them are fed \L 

 upon by various species of fish. The JFiicus li- 

 chenoides ( Turner, c. 118.) is now believed to be S' 1 

 the chief material of the edible nests of the East 

 India swallows, which arc so much esteemed for 

 soups, that they sell in China for their weight in 

 silver. (Far. Mag., vol. xx.) When disengaged 

 from their place of growth and thrown upon tlie 

 sea-shore, tlie European jilgvc are often collected 

 by the fanner and used as manure. They are 

 also often employed in the preparation of dyes, 

 as well as in the lucrative manufacture of kelp, a 

 commodity of the most indispensable utility in 

 the important arts of making soap and glass. 



1334. The utility of the Lichenes is also worthy of notice. The Lichen rangiferinus forms 

 the principal nourishment of the reindeer during the cold months of winter, when all 

 other herbage fails. The Lichen isk'mdicus is eaten by the Icelanders instead of bread, 

 or used in the preparation of broths; and, like the Lichen pulmonarius, has been lately 

 found to be beneficial in consumptive affections. Many of them are also employed in 

 the preparation of some of our finest dyes or pigments ; and it is from the Lccanora parel- 

 la that the chemical analyst obtains his litmus. The lichens and the mosses seem in- 

 stituted by nature to provide for the universal diffusion of vegetable life over the whole 

 surface of the terrestrial globe. The powdery and tuberculous lichens attach themselves 

 even to the bare and solid rock. Having reached the maturity of their species, they die 

 and are converted into a fine earth, which forms a soil for the leathery lichens. These 

 again decay and moulder into dust in their turn ; and the depth of soil, which is thus 

 augmented, is now capable of nourishing and supporting other tribes of vegetables. The 

 seeds of tlie mosses lodge in it, and spring up into plants, augmenting also by their decay 

 the quantity of soil, and preparing it for the support of plants of a more luxuriant growth, 



