The Study of Mosses. 43 



materially assisted in unravelling" them by the examination of 

 objects that present fewest complications ; and hence, among 

 others, mosses are very useful to the scientific botanist, as they 

 are sure from their beauty to interest the more casual observer. 

 Unfortunately, they do not readily admit of any classification 

 which is natural and intelligible. In the Micrographic Dic- 

 tionary, which has a high reputation for its botanical articles, 

 the system of Mullei- is followed, while Mr. Berkeley considers 

 that the arrangement of Dr. Montagne in D'Orbigny's Dictionary 

 is the most convenient as regards the natural orders, and he 

 tells us he has adopted it with few exceptions. He arranges the 

 mosses under four orders — Pleurocarpi, with the fruit lateral 

 and springing immediately from the stem ; Acrocarpi, with the 

 fruit terminal ; Schistocarpi, with the fruit splitting longitudi- 

 nally into four or more valves, adhering above ; and Syncladei, 

 mosses with fasciculate branches. The artificial group, Clado- 

 carpi, with terminal fruit on short lateral branches, he judi- 

 ciously arranges under other heads, on the ground that " it is 

 not strictly natural, and the character is difficult of application, 

 as Acrocarpus and Cladocarpus species occur in the same 

 genus." 



The shape of the spore vessel or capsule, the form of the hood, 

 the presence or absence of the peristome, and its exquisite rows 

 of finely-coloured teeth, the shape of the cells forming the 

 leaf tissue, and the mode of branching — these are the chief 

 points to be attended to in the examination of mosses ; but it 

 is to be regretted that as yet no sufficiently dominating 

 characters have been discovered to enable those who have 

 devoted themselves to the inquiry to establish genera which are 

 at once intelligible, and correspond with natural conditions. 



Mr. Berkeley, who is no mean authority on these subjects, 

 after devoting, as his present work proves, much attention to 

 the question, tells us that " on the whole, the state of Bryology 

 must be considered as extremely imperfect," and he adds, 

 " the entire subject clearly wants the revision of some master 

 mind." 



The reproductive processes in mosses are very curious and 

 characteristic. As is common with plants, and with many 

 animals, they have two or more modes of multiplication — the 

 one a genuine sexual process, the others belonging to the cate- 

 gory of budding. In the elegant urns, which form such beautiful 

 objects for the microscope, the moss produces spores ; but the 

 result of their germination differs materially from that of the 

 spores of ferns. Mr. Berkeley thus comments upon this sub- 

 ject : — " In ferns and their allies, the result of germination is 

 the production of a cellular expansion of various forms, whether 

 globose, or scale-like, or irregular, whether more or less differen- 



