INTRODUCTION. 



27 



when gummed must be placed immediately under a heavy weight to press them 

 again, as the moisture of the gum will revive them. Or they may be folded 

 neatly in paper, and their names should in this case be written outside ; the locality 

 should be given also, which is a point of some importance. For example, we know 

 a spot in which Mnium imdulai/wm is found abundantly in fruit ; and two miles off is 

 found the same moss with male blossoms. For years we knew of Bryvm roseum 

 growing in two or three places, very large and plentifully, but always barren ; 

 coming accidentally upon a fresh bit of ground, we discovered the moss there, and, 

 to our delight, with the male flowers. 



Having collected mosses for two or three days, you will be prepared for the 

 distinctions of the species, for which the aid of the microscope must be called in. 

 A Stanhope lens, or a botanical glass, will be very useful in the earlier examinations ; 

 but a microscope is necessary for the minute parts, and with this any one may now 

 be provided at the cost of a few pounds. It is, nevertheless, far better in the first 

 stages of the study to have no microscope at all, and to become thoroughly 

 acquainted with "the aspects of mosses," solely by the eye, or by the help of the 

 lens for the minuter ones. A familiarity with their forms will thus be gained 

 obtainable in no other way, and the want of the microscope will teach for what it 

 is really required better than anything else can do, and double the enjoyment of it 

 when at last it is possessed. There would be far more eager pursuit of science if 

 scientific helps and appliances were a hundred times or a thousand times less 

 plentiful than they now are, for people seem to think that by getting a great many 

 books on any topic they can with little trouble attain to a vast amount of know- 

 ledge of it. But " he who would rise to the highest place must ascend by steps, 

 and not by jumps." 1 



For microscopic examination the moss should be damp enough to keep it fresh, 

 and how damp this is varies with different mosses. The leaves and sections can 

 be afterwards mounted as microscopic objects, but the student should have the 

 plants fresh. It will be impossible to see the whole of the plant at a time ; but in 

 order that you may have as much under examination as you can, it is best to begin 

 with the lowest power that your instrument has. Put a moss flat between two 

 slips of glass, place it under the microscope and look at its leaves, the shape of their 



1 Letter of Gregory the Great to Augustine, quoted in Stanley's "Memorials of Canterbury." 



