268 



NATURE FOE ITS OWN SAKE 



that would fit it to cover a royal throne. And 

 the coloring of the mosses is not less wonder- 

 ful. Chlorophyll is in their minute cells, as in 

 those of the grasses and the leaves. The hue 

 is green evergreen in most of the wood-mosses 

 but what a variety in the color ! You can 

 hardly bring two pieces of moss together and 

 find them of the same hue, because the con- 

 ditions of light and moisture under which 

 they grew were not the same. But none of 

 the greens is harsh or discordant to the eye ; 

 from olive to green-gold all are harmonious, 

 and all luxuriant in their depth of hue. Again, 

 how soft and grateful to the touch the texture 

 of the mosses ! The awns that start up with the 

 earliest awakening of spring are delicacy itself ; 

 and in the summer, when the tiny stems and 

 leaves have woven their carpet of velvet, how 

 pleasant it feels under the foot. The mosses were 

 not designed to be walked upon by human feet, 

 but, like the field-grasses, they are so constructed 

 that human feet will not permanently injure 

 them. Lying low on the ground, rain and hail 

 fall upon them, snow covers them, frost binds 

 them, but from none of these assaults comes 

 harm. They were designed for places of ex- 

 posure, but they were given a hardy, resistant 



