MOSSES 87 



as an instance of a moss having a capsule with 

 only four peristome teeth, it was mentioned that, 

 although it may often be found growing in con- 

 siderable profusion on peaty banks and rotting 

 wood, it rarely fruits in this country. When one 

 of these tiny plants is examined under the micro- 

 scope, it will usually be found that the stem is 

 crowned by a cluster of specially large leaves, 

 forming a beautiful leafy cup (Plate VI. fig. 7), 

 through the filing half-transparent sides of 

 which a number of dark, round bodies may be 

 indistinctly seen lying inside. These are the 

 bud-like bodies, or gemma, just alluded to, and 

 it is through their instrumentality that the moss 

 is usually multiplied. Eigs. 8 and 18 of the same 

 plate give some buds highly magnified. Again, 

 the Bud-headed Thread-moss (Aulacomnium 

 androgynum, Plate VI. fig. 9) is a bright green 

 moss that may not unfrequently be seen, covering 

 considerable portions of the hedge-banks by the 

 roadside, or clinging to some rotting tree-stump ; 

 but, comparatively common as it is, its fruit is 

 rare, and consequently it, too, cannot look alto- 

 gether to the spores as a means of preserving the 

 species. If we examine a colony of these plants 

 somewhat more closely, we shall probably at 

 once be struck by the fact that it literally 

 bristles with numerous pale green stalks, and, 

 with the help of a glass, we shall further find 

 that each of these tiny stalks is tipped with a 



