130 On Gathering, Growing and Preparing Mosses. 
in a greenhouse or under a bell-glass. The air of an ordinary 
living room is too dry for the purpose unless the moss is pro- 
tected, and it is not quite safe to plant the specimen in a garden, 
as birds have a mischievous habit of pecking at anything that 
looks fresh or of a bright colour, and will probably carry away 
the tufts bodily. I usually spread a layer of sand about half 
an inch deep on the surface of a dinner plate, and plant the 
mosses—if possible with their natural earth undisturbed—in 
the sand, and use an ordinary “ fish globe’ or propagator to 
cover them. They should be kept moist, but, unless they are 
aquatic species, not too wet, by sprinkling with water occasion- 
ally, and the bell-glass cover should be partially or wholly 
removed for a time each day or two, otherwise the mosses may 
become unhealthy and mould may injure them. I have grown 
some rarely-fruiting species in this way for several months 
with great success. Hypnum sarmentosum, with very young 
fruit, gathered by the snowdrifts above Loch Coire an Lochan 
on Braeriach, at 3,400 feet, in July rg1o, produced fine ripe 
capsules a few weeks later. Hypnum stellatum, with similarly 
young fruit, from the margin of Hawes Water Tarn, Silverdale, 
gathered in February 1908, produced ripe fruit at home in 
April. A quantity of Fossombronia cespitiformis from Warton 
Crag, near Carnforth, brought home in November, yielded by 
Christmas fine ripe capsules. Without these the specimens 
were almost valueless, as in Fossombronia spores are necessary 
to properly determine the species. I have found the small 
annual winter fruiting species, as Pottia, etc., especially easy 
to grow. 
I should like to urge and emphasize the duty which every 
bryologist owes to the British flora in trying to protect and 
preserve it. If only a small quantity of a rare moss be found— 
say a single tuft—it is often desirable to mark the spot, and 
make a careful search in the neighbourhood for more, before 
any specimen is gathered. If no more be discovered, a very 
small fragment only should be taken, sufficient just to serve 
as a voucher, the remainder being left to grow and increase. 
lO} 
Among the recent additions to the Warrington Museum are ‘ pearls 
from six species of freshwater mollusca in Lancashire.’ 
The Leicester Museum was recently reopened by the Right Hon. 
John Burns, ‘after a somewhat lengthy period of chaos due to recon- 
struction and enlargement.’ Mr. Burns appealed for funds for the ac- 
quisition of three adjoining houses as a branch museum of local antiquities. 
The Report of the Manchester Museum (Publication No. 73, 46 pp., 
6d.) contains a list of the additions made during the year and a record of 
the work accomplished in the various departments. A _ particularly 
valuable addition is the Churchill collection of foreign coins, the Dresser 
collection of Palearctic birds’ eggs, etc. 
Naturalist, 
