'Neighbourhood of Aberdeen. 417 



Hypnum commutatum. Den of Rubislaw. 



scorpioides. Ferryhill and Corseliill bogs. 



. cupressiforme. Abundant. 



From this list it will be remarked, that, of the twelve British spe- 

 cies of Phascum, only two have hitherto been detected in this neigh- 

 bourhood. This may perhaps be partly accounted for when it is 

 considered that they are generally minute plants, and not, there- 

 fore, readily discovered. And, according to Sir W. J. Hooker, " the 

 species are more frequent in the southern than the northernjparts 

 of Great Britain." It is, therefore, very probable that few if any 

 other species remain to be discovered about Aberdeen. In Dr Gre- 

 ville's Flor. Edin. seven are mentioned. In the Parisian Flora of 

 Merat, twelve species are enumerated ; and at Hudson's Bay, where 

 the mean annual temperature is low, no species of Phascum is found, 

 according to Richardson, in Edinburgh Phil. Jour. Vol. xii. 



The species of Didymodon and Trichostomum found in this dis- 

 trict are, with one exception, the same as those mentioned in Flor. 

 Edin. Didymodon purpureus is one of the most common and abun- 

 dant mosses about Aberdeen, and occurs in many different varieties 

 of soil and situation. It frequently springs up along with Funaria 

 hygrometrica, where the Ulex Europaeushas been burnt down. Of 

 the species of Dicranum, D. pellucidum is the rarest in 'this neigh- 

 bourhood. D. squarrosum occurs near the sea level, along with Jun- 

 germannia blasia. I have gathered the same moss at a considerable 

 height in Glen Callader. Orthotrichum anomalum seems to be most- 

 ly confined to a range of serpentine rocks at the locality mention- 

 ed, where it is abundant. I have seen only a few specimens on 

 gneiss. O. pulchellum and O. diaphanum are the rarest, O. 

 crispum and O. affine are the most common and abundant. Of the 

 twelve species of Bryum all are more or less plentiful, except the 

 interesting B. androgynum, which is of rare occurrence, and found 

 upon gneiss. I have never yet seen it in fruit. Gemmae are fre- 

 quent and abundant, and from the readiness with which they germi- 

 nate, there is no difficulty in accounting for the propagation of this 

 beautiful species. B. palustre and B. ventricosum are common in 

 our peat bogs, along with Hypnum scorpioides and cuspidatum, and 

 all these four occur along with Splachnum ampullaceum in the 

 only locality where this elegant moss is found. Bryum palustre 

 frequently bears gemmae as well as capsules. B. ligulatum and 

 punctatum are abundant in some places, and generally grow in 

 company. Specimens of the former are found with nine setae 



