MOSSES AND LICHENS. 229 



to the moss, relieving its uniformity and adding to the 

 general effect. 



On bare rugged rocks, dead wood and barren soil, a 

 patch of silvery brightness catches the eye, and involun- 

 tarily we stop a moment to inspect one of the hardy 

 little mosses of the wayside, the Bryum argenteum. It 

 is so named from its silvery sheen, the brightness of its 

 tiny capsules and the minuteness of its very inconspicu- 

 ous foliage. It is the very least of the Bryums, yet the 

 most fruitful ; the little silvery caps are so close together 

 that they form a shining host, and many a rugged spot 

 is adorned and made attractive by them. 



Perhaps it was some such insignificant moss as our 

 Bryum argenteum that brought strength and comfort 

 to the weary heart of the lonely African missionary, 

 Mungo Park. Alone in the desert, despairing of all 

 human aid, he had sunk down, and like the Hebrew 

 prophet of old was ready to cry out, " It is better to die 

 than to live!" when his eye chanced to rest upon a little 

 plant, beside him, and attracted by its beauty, he argued 

 thus . within himself : " If the great Creator has thus 

 preserved and nourished this little, plant with the dew 

 from heaven, and protected . its helpless form so frail 

 from injury, will He not also care for one for whom 

 Christ died ? " and rising from the arid desert he once 

 more pursued his journey, strengthened by the sight of 

 that simple desert plant. 



When . these, hardy little Hypnums and Bryums 

 16 



