152 MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS 



are apt to make their appearance, and to spoil the 

 results of the day's ramble. When all moisture 

 has heen thus removed the packets may be stored 

 in some dry and convenient place, out of the reach 

 of insects, until the opportunity offers itself for 

 a more thorough examination of their contents, 

 and in this state they occupy but a small amount 

 of space. 



The student will soon find that comparatively 

 few plants can be recognised with any degree of 

 certainty, with no further assistance than that 

 afforded by a pocket magnifying-glass, for the 

 distinctions between most of the various species 

 are generally very minute. Moreover, many of 

 the organs which we have been considering, and 

 much of the structure of the leaves and other 

 parts of the plant, demand a much higher magni- 

 fying power for their proper elucidation than can 

 be obtained with the best of glasses, and it is only 

 when they are subjected to the more searching 

 inspection which such an increased magnification 

 gives, that the hidden beauty and wonder of these 

 minute growths are brought to light. A micro- 

 scope of some kind is thus essential, if the study is 

 to be followed up with any degree of thoroughness ; 

 though the nature of this part of the student's 

 outfit becomes, as so often happens with regard fy> 

 the good things of life, to a large extent a question 

 of ways and means. Much good work has been 

 and may be done with a comparatively inexpen- 



