210 
second kind of cell. These cells are large, without color, ae 
and perfectly empty. It is to ony Dicer of these large, colo: 
less cells and to their which I shall ssi 
next, that the sphagnum owes its wonderful power to take 
liquids 
Now, to a certain extent, the cells of any moss leaf are able tc 
absorb Hanide oe the ability of the ordinary green cells in 
this when compared with that of the large, 
colorless cells of the sphagnum leaf. These, because of their 
tive ability is not confined to plants that are (eek: A dry, dead 
leaf is just as efficient, when it comes to taking up liquids, as a 
fresh one. This is due to the second structural peculiarity of the 
absorbing cells. For inside of each one of these cells there i is a 
Even after a leaf has become ees dried out, this ‘‘frame- 
work”’ serves to keep the cell cavity o 
Incidentally, while it is the leaves oa are most efficient in 
the absorption of liquids, in some varieties of sphagnum both the 
stem and branches are enveloped by one or more layers of ab- 
sorbing cells, essentially similar to those found in the leaves. 
It now becomes perfectly clear why it is that sphagnum is so 
much superior to cotton as an absorbent. In cotton liquids, for 
the most part, are merely held within a tangle of th n 
the sphagnu nd a highly specialized absorbing system, 
made up primarily of a vast series of absorbing cells, but supple- 
