CHAPTER I. 
MOSSES. 
VERY thoughtful mind must be struck 
with astonishment at the boundless pro- 
~ digality with which the riches of Nature 
are thrown broadcast over the whole surface of the 
earth. The loveliest objects are, as it were, care- 
lessly scattered here and there in waste spots and 
lonely unvisited haunts, where there is no hand to 
gather, and no eye to admire them. The great 
temple of Nature is like the magnificent old 
temple of Solomon,—upon the top of every pillar 
is lily-work. The massive and rugged foundation 
stones of the earth are almost concealed by a pro- 
fusion of graceful and beautiful things,—the grass, 
the flowers, the forests ; while the craggy pillars 
have their capitals enwreathed with exquisite gar- 
lands of ferns and mosses. Not a rock peeps 
above the surface of the soil but has its steep sides 
