138 



ETON NATURE-STUDY 



we may refer to the chapter on lichens in Mr Scott Elliott's suggestive 

 book.* 



MOSSES 



Stone walls, the 



Mosses are almost as widespread as lichens, 

 bases and trunks of trees, 

 even the surface of the 

 ground in woods, and es- 

 pecially peat are the chief 

 habitat of these plants. Some 

 kinds are found almost any- 

 where ; others so fastidious 

 that they are only met with 

 in restricted areas. A study 

 of mosses, like that of lichens, 

 will need some botanical 

 knowledge on the part of 

 the student, but there are 

 many points in their natural 

 history which will appeal to 

 all nature lovers. For in- 

 stance, the soft little pieces 

 of tuft moss that cling 

 to old walls and weather- 

 beaten boulders may be 

 looked upon as living dust catchers. Pull off such as tuft and 

 shake out the under surface on to a piece of paper. The amount of 

 earth that is entangled in the fine " rootlets " is astonishing. Part of 

 this is actual dust caught from the air, the rest the older and dead 



/HjO' 



FIGURE 241. A Moss showing capsules. 



* " Nature-Studies." By F. G. Scott Elliott. Blackie & Son, Ltd. Price 3s. 6d. 



