IV PREFACE. 



this simple organism all the thousand species and 

 varieties of moss are built up, all diversified, and yet 

 all alike mere cellular structures if you desire a 

 study which will find you employment, interesting 

 and fascinating employment for your leisure hours 

 the whole year round, and which, if pursued aright, 

 will never grow wearisome, let me advise you to 

 study the Mosses. To quote the glowing words of 

 Ruskin, " No words that I know of will say what 

 these Mosses are, none are delicate enough, none 

 perfect enough, none rich enough." 



In compiling these notes I have availed myself of 

 Wilson's very excellent " Bryologia Britannica, ' 

 Berkeley's "Handbook of British Mosses," Schimper's 

 " Synopsis Muscorum Europaeorum," Berkeley's 

 " Cryptogamic Botany," Braithwaite's " Sphagnaceae 

 of Europe and North America," and also a very 

 able paper by Dr. Braithwaite " On the Geographical 

 Distribution of Mosses in Europe." 



