THE MOSSES OF THE NEW HEBRIDES. 127 



THE MOSSES OF THE NEW HEBRIDES. 

 By Dr. V. F. Brotherus and the Rev. W. Walter Watts. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N. 8. Wales, July 7, 1915.~] 



Foreword by Rev. W. W. Watts. 

 Many years ago, Dr. V. F. Brotherus suggested to me 

 that I should try to get some of my Missionary friends in 

 the New Hebrides to collect specimens of the Moss flora 

 of the islands. At the time I did not realise how little was 

 known of this flora, or my efforts would have been more 

 serious than they were. However, in response to my 

 request, Dr. Annand, who was then in charge of the Train- 

 ing Institute at Tangoa, on the Island of Santo, (a position 

 from which he recently retired, after nearly fifty years of 

 valued service), sent me, in 1903-4, two or three small but 

 intensely interesting parcels. In 1906, his colleague and 

 successor, the Rev. F. G. Bowie, m.a., sent a small collec- 

 tion to my friend, Mr. J. R. Murdoch, of Melbourne, 

 while, in 1909, he kindly sent to me, direct, a fine collection 

 of rarities. About the same time, the Rev. T. E. Riddle, 

 of Epi, (now in India), began to collect the mosses of that 

 island, with most interesting results. A little later, I was 

 fortunate enough to interest Dr. William Gunn, of Aneityum 

 and Futuna, in the mosses of his district, and he has sent 

 me several beautiful collections, exceptionally rich in new 

 species. His first material was divided, half of it being 

 sent to the Rev. David Lillie, of Caithness; but all the 

 mosses dealt with in this paper, including those sent to Mr. 

 Lillie, have been examined by Dr. Brotherus, of Helsiogfors, 

 who unites with me in expressing our great obligations to 

 the Missionaries who have so kindly sent specimens, and 

 our sincere hope that both Dr. Gunn and Mr. Bowie will 

 continue their good services; and that other missionaries 



