64 



KNOWLEDGE 



[April 1, 1892. 



Distribiitimi in Spttc. — If we turn, now, from the dis- 

 tribution of this family in tim3 to its distribution in 

 space, we shall observe some curious phenomeni. Of our 

 English Mosses same are of almost world-wide distribution ; 

 some are found here and in spots far removed from our 

 shores ; some are believed to be peculiar to our island. 

 One observation should be borne in mind in considering 

 the following statemsnt, viz., tlut Mosses are often small 

 and inconspicuous plants ; that they are often neglected 

 where flowering plants have been collected and studied ; and 

 that consequently the statements as to their non-existence 

 must always be accepted with this proviso, that they may 

 mean the non-existence or the non-discovery, or non- 

 observation of the plant in question. 



Of our Mosses I have said that some are cosmopolitan 

 in their extension. Our common Funaria hijfirometrica, 

 our Bnrtramia potii if onii is, and, amongst the Hepaticas, our 

 Marchantia are a few amongst many that are denizens 

 alike of the Old and of the New World. Of the New Zealarid 

 Mosses about one-fifth are British, or at least European, 

 species ; of the Tasmanian Mosses about one-third. 



But whilst there are instances of this wide dispersion, 

 there are instances too of the opposite kind. Amongst the 

 British Mosses and Hepatic:* (as we learn from Mr. Wallace 

 on the authority of Mr. Mitten) seventeen Mosses and 

 nine Hepatic;* are said to be peculiar to the British Islands, 

 and of these, three genera of Mosses and three of 

 Hepaticfe are also non-European {i.r., not known on the 

 CoQtinent of Europe). The three non-European genera 

 of Mosses have their greatest development in the Andes ; 

 the three non-European genera of Hepatic:* have their 

 greatest development in the temperate regions of the 

 southern hemisphere. Let me take one of the Mosses of 

 which the genus is non-European— Streptopogon. This 

 genus is thus distributed : Seven species in the Andes ; 

 one in the Himalayas ; three in the south temperate zone ; 

 one in Sussex. Take, again, one of the Hepatic:*, Aero- 

 bolhiis : its species are confined to New Zealand and the 

 adjoining islands, with one species in Ireland. 



Tliere are other noteworthy but isolated facts about the 

 distribution of Mosses to which I may here refer : one is, 

 that the great boulders of the plains of the centre of 

 Germany are fouud to bear alpine species of Moss as if 

 brought from some distant or elevated region ; is this due 

 to the actual transport of the boulders on which they live 

 or to the retreat of the northern flora in the tail of 

 the ice as it retreated northward as the glacial period 

 disappeared ? In any event it reminds one of the scattered 

 patches of alpine gentians, which are to be found in the 

 great stretch of moorland south of the Danube, and 

 between that river and the Tyrolese Alps. 



I have reason, furthermore, to believe that if the Mosses 

 of some parts of the south-west of England were worked 

 out carefully, northern forms would be found to prevail in 

 a way which would require, if possible, some explanation. 

 The facility with which the wind can carry the small 

 spores of the Mosses probably accounts in some cases for 

 the wide distribution of the organisms. The very small 

 area occupied by some species suggests great susceptibility 

 to local surroundings. 



ConclKsion. — I can cordially recommend the study of the 

 Mosses to any, old or young, who really love Nature : I have 

 found in it a great source of pleasure during the last few years. 

 The tops of walls, the banks of lanes, the slopes of woods, 

 the mountain passes, each inhabited by diS'erent classes of 

 Mosses, are as distinct iu their vegetation as the oak or 

 elm or beech counties of England, or the pine-clad slopes 

 or the birch groves of the Alps. A square foot, in some 

 situations, will contain a large number of species of 



different forms and mades of growth. Toe lon^ arms of 

 the Hypnum miy stretah along the ground, whilst the 

 Tortulas raise their spires of rich brown from out rosettes 

 of verdant leaves, ani th3 Bryums with th3ir penlant cap- 

 sule? vie with them in beiuty. On? stone or bit of boggy 

 lani miy ha a study in colours — greens, browns, reds, greys, 

 and gold— wh'.ch my p3n would fail to describe. A will- 

 top may show 



" A stubble Sill, or a c-inebra'ie ; a mirsU 

 Of bulruA whiteniQg ia the sua." 



Another miy present a mimic forest, built up of varied fjrms, 

 as different from one another as were the huge vegetables 

 of the Coil period from our trees. In a word, I find myself, 

 whenever iu the cjuutry, surrounded by a world of beauty 

 and interest which I only dimly perceived before I entered on 

 the study, though I have never, I hope, been entirely un- 

 observant of thiigs around me. More than ever I can 

 say— 



" In siiiiU p.'oportioni we just be.iuties see. 

 And in short m3.i3ures life invy perfect be." 



" But how shall I begin the study?" some miy siy. 

 Gather the first moss you come across, examine it with the 

 naked eye, and then with a microscope, and you will have 

 made some advance. If the British Museum ba accessible 

 to you, go to the Botanical Department and examine the 

 colleotioa beautifully arranged and exposed in one of the 

 rooms upstairs. But books — you must have books to aid 

 you, and therefore I will suggest a few. Bagnall's " Hand- 

 book of Mosses " will, I believe, be found a very useful 

 first book, and is very iuexpensive. " The Handbook 

 of Cryptogamic Botany," by Bennett and Murray, will be a 

 very good one with which to begin the study of the 

 organization of the Mosses. Berkeley's " Handbook of 

 British Mosses " m:iy serve as the second book on classifi- 

 cation. Wilson's " Bryologia Britannica " is a more 

 advanced book of the same description, and difiicult to get. 

 Dr. Braithwaite's " British Moss Flora," which is in course 

 of publication, is a more elaborately illustrated and ex- 

 pensive book. Two works of Schimper's — " Eecherches 

 sur les Mousses" and " Entwickelungsgeschichte der 

 Torfmoose " — are admirable, and his " Synopsis Muscorum 

 Europaeorum " is very helpful, especially for finding 

 European species not found in Britain. The work of old 

 DiUenius (" Historia Muscorum "), though of course out 

 of date, is very delightful, and contains many excellent 

 plates, worthy of study even in the present day. 



One pleasant dutv remains to be performed. Figures 

 4, 5, 6, 0, 10, 11, 15, 17, 21, '22, 23, 24 have been copied 

 from Schimper's " Kecherches sur les Mousses " ; Figures 

 IG, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, from the same author's 

 " Eutwickelungsgeschichie der Torfmoose" ; Figures 7, 8, 

 from Berkeley's " Handbook." For permission to use 

 these sets of figures I beg to thank respectively Messrs. 

 Freutel and Wfitz, Mr. Sohweizerbart, and Messrs. LoveU 

 Reeve and Co. ; nor can I omit to add my thanks to my 

 daughter, Agnes Fry, from whose drawings, partly origuial 

 and partly copies, most of the fo -egoing illustrations have 

 been taken. 



ELEPHANTS, RECENT AND EXTINCT. 



By R. Lydekkee, B.A. Cantab. 

 {Continued from pai/e 47.) 



WE turn now to the grinding or molar teeth, 

 which present far more remarkable peculiar- 

 ities, and of which a brief account was given 

 iu the article on "Teeth and their Variations," 

 already published in Knowledge. So peculiar, 

 indeed, and unique are the structure and mode of succession 



