MOSSES. 19 



being concentrated and reflected from the innumerable 

 and inconceivably minute lenses of its thin, pellucid, and 

 pale green leaves, which shine as if wet with dew. The 

 cavernous and gloomy rocks of Dartmoor are beautifully 

 illumined by this mild light, as also the shady recesses of 

 the Rowter rocks in Derbyshire. 



Others of our race are found in places the most dis- 

 similar ; some on commons open to the sun, or mantling 

 with untiring diligence high cliffs or swampy hollows. 

 Level marshes and bank sides are visited by mosses of 

 luxuriant growth, while some of the more graceful species 

 delight in woody places, filled with dancing lights and 

 shadows, and all pleasant sounds. The greater water-moss 

 prefers the neighbourhood of cataracts, and flourishes most 

 where the waters rage impetuously in their onward course ; 

 the slender-branched thread-moss thrives, on the contrary, 

 amid dry rocks ; and the great hairy thread-moss roots 

 itself on walls and the roofs of cottages. 



c 2 



