VII. 



USES. 



LOOKING at these plants from a utilitarian point of view, it 

 must be confessed that their uses are few that is, if by use we 

 mean only that which adds to man's material wealth, sustains 

 him with nutritious food, or conduces in one way or other 

 to his bodily comfort. But if we admit as of direct utility 

 that pleasure, or source of pleasure and pleasurable in- 

 struction, that these plants afford to the naturalist, and that, 

 too, at a season when few other plants offer themselves to 

 his notice, then we may claim for these plants a right to 

 be considered useful. 



As is well observed by one of our botanists (Dr. 

 Johnston) : " It is curious to notice how gay these little 

 mosses are on every wall-top during the winter months and 

 in early spring, almost or perhaps the only things which 

 seem to enjoy the clouds and storms of the season. They 

 choose the most exposed situations, spread out their leaves, 

 and push up their capsules amid rains, frost, and snow; and 

 yet there is nothing in their tender, loose structure from 

 which we could a priori infer their capability of resisting 

 influences so generally destructive to vegetation. But so it 

 is, the more simple the organization of plants, the stronger 

 is their tenacity of life : and its phenomena are exhibited 

 and called into play by stimulants, not only very feeble, 

 but apparently the very reverse of those necessary to excite 

 plants of a higher order. Thus mosses and lichens, over- 

 stimulated by heat and dryness, wither away in summer, 

 but vegetate freely at a season when there is no other 

 vegetation, and when their humble fronds cannot be over- 

 shadowed by a ranker growth." In highly civilized lands 

 like our own, we are so abundantly provided with not only 



