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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[April 1, 1865. 



offer myself as a guide to give the benefit of my 

 experience, and am induced to do this from having 

 seen several papers on the mosses in various perio- 

 dicals, evidently written by persons who had not 

 studied what they wrote about; the advice given 

 being rather calculated to mislead those who acted 

 upon it. The first thing necessary (after making up 

 the mind that, if anything is to be studied at all, it 

 must be done in a proper, that is, in a scientific 

 manner, and entails real tcorlc) is to provide a suit- 

 able text-book ; and the only serviceable one in the 

 English language on the British mosses is Wilson's 

 " Bryologia Britanuica." The next requirement is 

 a microscope — we shall want two : a dissecting, and 

 a good compound nucroscope; likewise a pocket- 

 magnifier ; we shall also require a two-inch oljcctive 

 to the microscope. Yfilhout good magnifying power 

 no real good can be accomplished. The following 

 are also requisite : a gross of glass sides, 3 inches 

 by 1 ; a gross of india-rubber rings, ij-iuch diameter, 

 outside raeasurement ; an ounce of round, thin, glass 

 covers, |-inch diameter; some dead-hl&ck paper, and 

 a steel punch, f inch diameter; a bottle of Canada 

 balsam ; a botl.le of glycerine, to be mixed with equal 

 parts of camphor-water; a bottle of asphalte; and 

 a Shadbolt's turn-table, for making shallow cells ; 

 Lalf-a-dozen glovers' triangular needles, for dissect- 

 ing ; a few camel-hair brushes ; and a small vice, to 

 fix on the table (this last makes a splendid section- 

 machine, by placing the object between two pieces 

 of cork, and with a sharp knife or razor, made flat 

 on one side, taking a thin slice of the cork and object 

 together) ; a few quires of blotting paper, and a 

 memorandum-book, complete our requirements. 



Before collecting, it will be advisable to get a 

 general idea of the Eamilies and Geneba of the 

 mosses; and this will be best accomplished by 

 carefully studying the descriptions given by AVilson, 

 at the same time constantly rcferrmg to his beauti- 

 ful plates, until the family-likenesses are imprinted 

 on our memory ; and it is in addition a considerable 

 help to enter into the memorandum-book all the 

 most important parts of structure, and the principal 

 distinguishing marks of the genera. We shall thus, 

 from knowledge gradually and imperceptibly ac- 

 quired, know wheii we get a Sphagnum, a IFeissia, 

 a Tortula, a Bryum, a Hypnum, &c. ; and the genera 

 more closely alike — as, Trichostomtmi and Tortula, 

 'Riicomitrium and Grimmia, Bicrannm and Campy- 

 lopus — will also soon be easily distinguished. 



Now for collecting ; and all that is needful is a 

 bag of good, strong material (such as lawyers use), 

 a couple of newspapers torn into, say nine-inch 

 squares, and a good, strong oyster-knife. 



My advice is, eschew all tin vasiculums. A moss 

 having been found, take it carefully up (with the 

 knife), wrap it in a piece of paper, and place it in the 

 bag. The day's work finished, on arriving home wc 



shall have clean, unbroken specimens, very different 

 from the unsightly heap turned out from an ordinary 

 vasculum. Having made out the names of several, 

 we put the specimens into cold water, clean by means 

 of a camel-hair brush, place on a white linen cloth, 

 gently press them, and then lay on a sheet of blot- 

 ting paper, with small slips bearing name, date, &c., 

 cover with another sheet, and so on, put some large 

 book on top to ]}vc?,?,— avoiding too great a tceight ; 

 and when the specimens are dry, by means of gum 

 fasten them on to the inside of the second leaf of a 

 sheet of note-paper ; write on outside ol first sheet 

 the family at top, the genus in the middle, and the 

 species, habitat, &c., at the very bottom, commencing 

 at extreme left hand. As,hytlie slightest jyt'essure, 

 mosses lose much of their character, it is requisite 

 to have a quantity impressed, but classified and ar- 

 ranged for reference. These specimens should be 

 made up in paper bags formed of note-paper, thus— 



Take half a sheet, turn up the lower edge to within 

 half an inch of the top, fold tlie top over it, then 

 turn the sides about half an inch over and inwards, 

 open out the paper, and it will appear as represented 

 in the above figure ; cut away the dotted part, fold 

 1 on 2, then the sides 3 and 4 over that, and 5 over 

 all. The bags thus formed will contain your un- 

 prcssed specimens; write genus, species, habitat, &c., 

 on the outside of No. 1, and arrange in cigar or 

 other box. 



Ws now come to the most fascinating part of our 

 study, viz., the collection of microscopic dissections 

 of leaves, capsules, peristomes, &c. These are in- 

 valuable even to the beginner. The first thing to be 

 done is to take the f-iuch punch, and cut a number 

 of circles of dead-black paper ; gum these upon the 

 centre of the 3-inches-by-l slides ; when dry, take 





