MOSSES 99 



in the case of the larger and sturdier forms of 

 the vegetable world, suffice to provide means for 

 keeping body and soul together. "We conse- 

 quently find that where a large surface of barren 

 and rocky soil is exposed, either by the work of 

 man, or, on a larger scale, by some convulsion of 

 nature, some of the first pioneers of vegetable 

 growth upon it will almost certainly be drawn 

 from the moss fraternity. No doubt to the 

 gardener this faculty of being able to start life 

 on very scanty means is often the source of 

 much annoyance, as his gravel paths are fre- 

 quently rendered unsightly, in his eyes, by the 

 soft covering of green velvet which creeps over 

 them in the least-used corners. But from Nature's 

 own point of view the matter bears an entirely 

 different aspect, for these tiny plants that manage 

 to cling here and there on the bare surface 

 will help to provide a lodgment, first for a little 

 more soil, then for some further green growth, 

 until step by step the ground is prepared for the 

 reception of larger and still larger plants. 



I well remember seeing this illustrated in a very 

 small way some time ago on one of my holiday 

 excursions. I was working up a small stream 

 in a wood, examining the rocks and stones and 

 out-of-the-way corners for " treasure," when I 

 came across a moss-grown object, which, from its 

 weight, was evidently not a stone, nor could it, 

 from its yielding nature, be a piece of wood ; and 



