30 



BRITISH MOSSES. 



upon the ground. At first, they should be kept well watered, but afterwards the 

 mosses must be let alone, for they abhor to be meddled with, and will revenge 

 themselves upon all busy-bodies by refusing to grow ; nay, the more they are 

 persuaded to thrive, the more pertinaciously will they decline to do it, as they enter- 

 tain the usual aversion to " good advice." Only, when the mossery is in formation, 

 let jilenty of fresh dead leaves, of oak, beech, ash, and sycamore, be scattered 

 about, fallen leaves producing the dampness of atmosphere which is essential to 

 their well-being. They dislike evergreens in general, and laurels in particular, 

 not growing among them even in mossy districts ; but they do not object to the 

 neighbourhood of the pine and fir tribe. The muscology of a district may be 

 improved by these means, it being possible to bring together both kinds of plants 

 of the dioicous mosses, which would then bear fruit ; the spores of the rarer kinds 

 might be scattered far and wide, and fresh mosses be naturalized, and the liking 

 of mosses for special soils and situations' may be investigated as it has never been 

 before. But the moss-garden, whether on the smaller or more extensive scale, 

 may be left, with these directions, to the taste and skill of any who choose to follow 

 them ; and, in accordance with the practical sjririt of the age, we now proceed to 

 inquire, " Of what use are mosses V 



1 In sub-alpine districts, for example, Hypnum tamariscinum and Hypnum splendens grow 

 together. But in approaching the high lands the former gradually disappears, and the latter 

 becomes finer and more abundant ; until on the open hills large masses of splendens are found, 

 and tamariscinum is only seen in sheltered nooks under the rocks. 



