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THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



only be shaken out gradually through the spaces between the 

 inner teeth. The smooth-fruited kind (Fig. 25, C) has sixteen 

 inner teeth. Another kind (Fig. 25, B) has no inner teeth, and 

 in this case the outer teeth do not curve outwards, but simply 

 stand erect when dry. In another kind still capsules are not 

 often produced, but the leaves bear numerous brown brood 

 bodies, which can easily be seen with a lens, and which produce 

 new plants on being set free. 



The hair mosses (Figs. 26-29) have a peculiar peristome differing 



FIG. 26. Common Hair Moss (Polytrichum). A, top of a male-shoot, with a fresn shoot 

 growing out ; B, male * flower,' magnified ; C, capsule before opening ; D, open capsule. 



from that of all other mosses. The Common Hair Moss (Poly- 

 trichum commune) grows chiefly on wet heaths and moors, and 

 is the finest and most stately of our mosses. It often forms 

 huge cushions on Dartmoor I have seen them several yards 

 across and several feet deep and the stems have a star-like 

 appearance as seen from above. It is used for making light brooms 

 and for stuffing mattresses. Pull up a handful of the moss, 

 wash the soil off the lower part, and notice (i) the brown " root- 

 stock " which is covered with hairs and gives off the erect, leafy 

 shoots ; (2) the crowded dark green leaves, narrow and tapering. 



