LICHENS. 91 
rocks where they repose. And yet they too are 
interesting, both as regards their history and 
their uses; as interesting as many plants which 
occupy a far higher position in the ranks of vege- 
tation. Uninviting and apparently lifeless although 
their external aspect may appear, they are found, 
when subjected to the microscope, to have their 
own peculiar beauties and wonders. Simple as is 
their construction, being entirely composed of an 
aggregate of minute cells united together in various 
ways by intercellular matter, and completely des- 
titute of stems, leaves, and all those parts which 
enter into our ideas of perfect plants, yet by 
a wonderful compensation they are so exten- 
sively diversified in their form and appearance, as 
to present to the student of nature a field for his 
inquiry, as wide and wondrous as the display of 
green foliage and blossoms of every hue which 
glow in the summer sun. 
To the landscape painter, intent upon seeking 
materials for the foregrounds of his sketches, 
lichens possess a special interest. Through their 
instrumentality the miserable hovel, with its rough 
unmortared walls, becomes a charming and ro- 
mantic object. The old dike by the wayside, 
commonplace and disagreeable although it may 
look when newly constructed, becomes a pleasing 
feature in the landscape when garnished with the 
