98 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS 



and some of the larger species of the Feather- 

 mosses (Hypnacece) serve as good material for 

 packing objects of a fragile nature ; while Gilbert 

 White, in an oft-quoted passage in his " Natural 

 History of Selborne," tells us that, in his day, 

 the long stalks of the Common Hair-moss (Poly- 

 trichum commune) were made into besoms, which 

 were handy in the "dusting of beds, curtains, 

 carpets, hangings, etc." We also read that the 

 same moss is used by the Laplanders as a substi- 

 tute for the ordinary stuffing of mattresses, and 

 that the Esquimaux make their lamp wicks of 

 another species. Again, the growth of the Bog- 

 mosses through long ages has been one of the 

 principal means by which peat has been gradually 

 formed, and this has, of course, for long provided 

 a by no means unimportant fuel to man. 



It is, however, when we consider mosses as 

 part of the botanical community that we learn 

 the true purpose that they fulfil. And here the 

 humble but most important duty which they 

 perform seems to be in keeping with the unpre- 

 tentious character of the plants themselves. From 

 their very minuteness, and from the fact that 

 they draw the bulk, if not the whole, of their 

 nutriment from the rain and air, they are of 

 course not only peculiarly fitted to find a foot- 

 hold in situations where more bulky plants would 

 be unable to establish themselves, but also to live 

 and flourish under conditions which would not, 



