PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 



In presenting this Second Edition of my Synopsis op 

 Bkitish Mosses to the Bryological student, a few words 

 are necessary in addition to the prefatory remarks 

 already given. 



In addition to the works previously referred to, I 

 may mention that I have also consulted " De Notaris 

 Briologia Italiana," the first seven parts of Dr. Braith- 

 waite^s " British Moss-Flora " (all that are yet issued), 

 Dawson Turner's " Muscologia Hibernica," an occa- 

 sional reference to Mitten's " Musci Indise Orientalis," 

 and numerous papers, critical remarks, &c., in the 

 " Revue Bryologique," and the " Naturalist." 



It will be noticed that the arrangement and classifi- 

 cation have been entirely revised and altered. This 

 was a subjectrequiring much consideration and thought; 

 but I finally decided to adopt the arrangement of 

 families and genera proposed by Jaeger in his "Adum- 

 bratio Muscorum," as seeming to me the most natural 

 and convenient, besides which, with a few alterations, 

 it nearly coincides with that of the " London Catalogue 

 of British Mosses," second edition, the first edition of 

 which was compiled and arranged from the same source 

 by my accomplished friend Mr. H. Boswell, of Oxford, 

 and myself. The arrangement of the species under the 

 genera has been done at my own discretion — whether 

 well or ill remains to be seen — ^with one or two excep- 

 tions shortly to be named. 



The question of giving localities, even for the rarer 

 species, was one to which I have given much thought. 



