THE SPHAGNACE^ OR FEAT-MOSSES OF 



Russow, in 1865, gave us his Beitrdge zur Kenntniss der 

 Torfmoose, containing some excellent observations on their histo- 

 logy, and notes on the various species and varieties, which display 

 an intimate practical acquaintance with these plants. He insists 

 on the inconstancy of the monoicous or dioicous character of the 

 inflorescence, and hence reduces the number of species. 



ScHLiFPiiACKE, in Vcrhandl. Zool. Bot. Gesells. Wien, vol. xv. 

 p. 383 (1865), has also a good paper on the subject, Beitrdge zur 

 Kenntniss der SpJiagnn,, with clear and valuable notes on distinc- 

 tion of species, and their variations. 



M. PiRE, in Bull, de la Soc. royale de Bot. de Belgique, t. vi. 

 n. 3 (1868), gives a short paper, Les Sphaignes de la Flore de 

 Belgique^ in which the result of his investigation of the Belgian 

 species is recorded, accompanied by a very beautiful plate illus- 

 trating the structure of their leaves. 



Klinggp \ff has an article on the Prussian species, in Schriften 

 der K'on. Physikalisch-CEkon. Gesells. zu Konigsberg, vol. xiii. p. i 

 (1872), in which several generally accepted varieties are raised 

 to the rank of species, as he acts on the opposite view to 

 that advocated by Russow, and insists on the stability of the 

 characters founded on the monoicous or dioicous position of the 

 inflorescence. 



M. E. RozE, in Bull, de la Soc. Botan. de France, xix. p. 91 

 (1872), gives an elaborate paper, De la F4condation chez les Crypto- 

 games stip^rieures, et en particulier chez les Sphaignes, in which 

 he dissents from the opinion of Hofmeister that the canal in the 

 neck of the archegonium is formed by dissolution of the central 

 string of cells, and states that it pre-exists as a cavity in common 

 with that of the body of the archegonium. Further observations 

 are also given, detailing the actual mode of contact between the 

 antherozoids and the germinative cell of the archegone. 



Dedecek, in Verhandl. der k. k. Zool. Bot. Gesells. Wien, 

 vol. xxvi. p. 601 (1876), has an article. Die bohmischen Sphagna 

 und ihre Gesellscha/ter, giving a list of the species, but principally 

 interesting in enumerating all the mosses and Hepaticce which are 

 found growing associated with the Sphagna. 



The above named are all the more important works or papers 

 bearing on the subject, but numerous other articles or descriptions 

 of species find a place in general works on mosses, or in the 

 periodical literature of the day ; these will be found quoted in the 



