66 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS 



plete, for, in one or other of the ways above 

 described, the spores may be freed, to begin 

 again the never-ending circle of plant-growth. 

 I trust that, even so far, enough has been said 

 to show that these unpretentious little plants 

 have a tale of their own to tell which may well 

 claim a hearing from all nature lovers. As has 

 been so well written : 



The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes 



The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise, 



Like fairy urns, on stalks of golden sheen, 



Demands our admiration and our praise, 



As much as cedar, kissing the blue sky. 



We have not, however, by any means yet come 

 to the end of our story, and, indeed, some of the 

 most wonderful parts of it have still to be told. 

 But before passing to them let me pause for a 

 moment, in order to point out certain broad and 

 important distinctions that exist between the 

 mosses and so-called " flowering plants," both as 

 to the period in the plant's history at which 

 fertilisation takes place, and also as to the par- 

 ticular results that fertilisation brings about ; 

 for while in both cases the goal is the same, 

 namely, the production of fruit, it is reached by 

 very different routes. In an ordinary flowering 

 plant, such, for instance, as the common white 

 lily of our gardens, the seed, when sown, produces 

 a stem, on which are formed, first a succession 

 of green leaves, and ultimately, at its end, a 



