MOSSES 11 



are kept constantly moist by the splash of the 

 water or the drip of the rain, will be tenanted by 

 some of the smaller and more dainty species. 

 And again, on looking down into the stream as it 

 runs rippling along we may notice that the rocks 

 and stones which form its very bed are often 

 clothed with a dark green covering of moss, while 

 in the deeper pools long green tresses float grace- 

 fully in the water, rising and falling with the 

 current. Plate II. fig. 1 is an enlarged drawing 

 of a small piece of a particularly pretty little 

 moss, with small, tapering leaves, known as the 

 Dwarf Feather-moss (EurhyncMum pumilum), 

 which generally chooses stony ground and rocks, 

 in shady situations, on which to take up its abode, 

 its small delicate leaves shrinking from exposure 

 to the rays of the sun. Figs. 7 and 19 of the 

 same plate represent small portions of another 

 moss belonging to the same family, the Long- 

 beaked Water Eeather-moss (Eurhynchium rusci- 

 forme), which is extremely partial to moisture, for 

 it frequently grows, not only on the rocks which 

 are constantly drenched by the spray from some 

 small waterfall, but also on those which are 

 actually covered by the stream, where it seems 

 to revel in the continual flow of the water. These 

 two mosses are members of a large family (the 

 Hypnacece] popularly known as the "Eeather- 

 mosses," doubtless from the feather-like nature 

 of their growth, though " fern-mosses " would 



