MOSSES, HEPATIC^ AND LICHENS. 189 



before printing the combined list of Channel Island species, 

 the editor had taken the trouble to ascertain that his contri- 

 butors employed different systems of nomenclature, and that 

 consequently in numerous cases the same moss is designated 

 under two names, he would have avoided the absurdity of 

 cataloguing mere synonyms, and then counting them as 

 distinct species. 



The Dryologist will find plenty of occupation and much 

 to interest him in Guernsey, for in this mild, moist climate of 

 course mosses abound, and. some species fruit here which are 

 rarely seen fertile in England. Old walls, rocks and roadside 

 boulders are very productive, but tree-trunks as a general rule 

 are barren, at any rate as regards variety. Hedgebanks, old 

 disused quarries and sandy commons like l'Ancresse, furnish 

 some excellent things; and so also deep sheltered valleys 

 and streamsides. Grande Mare, which looks so promising, will 

 prove a sore disappointment to those accustomed to the 

 prolific sphagnum-bogs of the south-west of England. It is 

 as poor in mosses as it is rich in flowering plants. Three or 

 four species are abundant enough there, like Aulacomnion 

 palustre, Hypnum cuspidatum and H. stellatum, but a host 

 of species peculiar to peat bogs and wet heaths are absent; 

 even the beautiful genus Sphagnum is but meagrely repre- 

 sented and will soon have disappeared from our Flora if the 

 regrettable project of draining the marsh is carried on much 

 further. 



The great bulk of the mosses occurring in this island are 

 of course lowland forms, and yet we find among them a few 

 which are strictly sub-alpine in their range, although the 

 highest elevation here hardly reaches 400 feet. This probably 

 points back to a period when the altitude of the land greatly 

 exceeded what we know at present ; at any rate the 

 occurrence of such mosses as Bryum alpinum, Grimmia 

 leucophoea and a few others is remarkable, and carries 

 with it a history which may some day be unravelled. 

 But besides these there are several other rare and in- 

 teresting species to be found in Guernsey, the two best 

 being Fissidens rivularis and Trichostomum lutescens. Both 

 these are recent additions to the British list, and the last 

 named moss has hitherto been found only at Killarney. For 

 the determination of these and many other critical species I 

 am indebted to my friend Mr. Henry Boswell, M.A., of Oxford ; 

 during his visit to me last summer he kindly went through 

 the whole of my gatherings and cleared up satisfactorily a 

 number of doubtful and very puzzling forms. 



