9 



of them growing along the bank of the 

 brook,^ — tiny trees under which the fairies 

 surely sport and revel. This is the hand- 

 some tree-moss, Climaciiim americanum. 

 It cannot be mistaken because of its won- 

 derful tree-like form. It rarely fruits but 

 the little tree-like shoots spring from un- 

 derground stems. 



As we follow the mountain brook look- 

 ing for Climacium, we find anchored to the 

 stones and with their branches, sometimes 

 a foot long, submerged and spread along 

 in the flowing water, one, or perhaps two, 

 species of water moss, Fontinalis gigantea 

 with its strong, three-angled stems and 

 large leaves, and Fontinalis dalecarlica with 

 its tough hair-like branches and its capsules 

 found on the older branches which have 

 shed the leaves. The writer has never 

 found gigantea in fruit. 



Among the mosses which prefer dripping 

 rocks for their best development is Plagio- 

 thecium denticulatum, of a brilliant green, 

 with the leaves arranged evenly on oppo- 

 site sides of the stem and forming flat 

 compact mats of green, shining through 

 the dripping water. A great old gray rock 

 three thousand feet above the sea on North 

 Mountain is a sight never to be forgotten 

 with its ancient sides covered with a drap- 

 ery of Plagiothecium, its bright green soft- 

 ened most artistically with the soft gray 

 of spreading lichens. 



Moss hunters form the habit of looking 

 closely toward the ground, but many 

 mosses seek out the living tree for their 

 habitat. Such is Neckera pennata, found 

 quite high on trees, sometimes as high as 



Fig. 4. Male plant, with 



rosette of leaves at the 



summit. 



