PLANTS OF THE MOORLAND 97 



exterior by round pores. These water chambers form 

 a continuous system of capillary tubes throughout the 

 plant, and allow much water to be stored. There is 

 also a sort of external storage in the fine capillary 

 spaces between one leaf and another. There are two 

 ways, then, in which the Bog Moss acts as a very 

 efficient sponge. 



Now the crucial question arises : What water? It 

 seems that almost all the water which you can wring 

 out from the Bog Moss sponge has come from the 

 air in the form of rain and mist. It has not been 

 absorbed, except in very minute quantities, from the 

 wet soil; indeed, the soil- water seems to be poison to 

 the Bog Mosses. We suppose that enough soil-water 

 is absorbed to give the Bog Moss a small quantity 

 the indispensable minimum of nitrogenous salts ; but 

 perhaps there is something here awaiting discovery. 

 It must be admitted, of course, that the living matter 

 of Bog Moss is, so to speak, very thin. Apart from 

 the non-nitrogenous (cellulose) framework of the 

 plant, there is not a great deal more than animated 

 rain ! 



In recent years we have come to know the value 

 of "moss" in hospitals; it is so deliciously soft, and 

 it can absorb like a sponge. But we must not forget 

 the incalculable importance of these great beds of 

 Bog Moss on the moorlands and at the foot of the 

 hills. It is because of the Bog Moss sponges that 

 the rivers continue to flow. From the Bog Moss 

 come many of the runlets of water which feed the 

 rivulets which form the streams which make the 

 rivers. 



The making of the peat is going on still, and no 



7 



