-89- 



by the lustrous pale green color of the leaves. A form of Pogonatum alpinunt 

 which Prof. Holzinger thinks closely resembles var. Macounii (Kindb.) T. C. 

 Frye^ forms thick deep mats over portions of the dry shaded ledges and, if one 

 has patience and a microscopic eye, what at first glance seems to be a stain on 

 the back of some shallow niche in the limestone face will, upon close inspection, 

 prove to be Seligena pusilla (Ehrh.) B. & S., one of the exceedingly minute 

 mosses that is no less rare than it is attractive. 



Just a short distance east of the cliff, where a small spring trickles over the 

 rocks, a dripping curtain of Didymodon tophaceus (Brid.) Juratz with the lower 

 portions of the stems so thickly encrusted with lime as to be noticeably brittle, 

 brings to a close what seems to be rather a noteworthy aggregation of rare mosses 

 from one restricted locality within less than one hundred miles of New York City. 

 Further search will no doubt reveal new finds, but when one can supplement 

 the above list with such species as Timmia CMCullata, Pohlia Lescuriana, Barbula 

 fallax, Trichosiomum cylindrtcum, Bartramia Oederi, etc., it is eas> to imagine 

 what a perennial source of pleasure such a place may be, especially when it is 

 within sight of one's front door. 



I am under obligation to Prof. Holzinger and Mr. R. S. Williams for their 

 kind and patient assistance in the determination of many of the above-mentioned 

 mosses. 



BUSHKILL, Pa. 



SPHAGNUM USED AS SURGICAL DRESSING IN GERMANY DURING 



THE WORLD WAR 



J. W. HOTSON 



[Concluded] 



Sources of Sphagnum Moss in Germany 



Sphagnum bogs containing the best moss for surgical dressings are found 

 in cool, humid regions; consequently few bogs are found in France or Belgium, 

 while in Germany as in Scotland and Ireland, they are very abundant, especially 

 in the Bavarian Alps, Bavarian Forest, in Spessart, Rhon, etc., where extensive 

 "raised bogs" frequently occur. These bogs are somewhat dome-shaped, 

 something like an inverted saucer, so that the center of the bog is often ten or 

 fifteen feet higher than the edge and all built up of sphagnum and plants assoc- 

 iated with it. Extensive bogs, often with an open lake in the center, also occur 

 in eastern and northeastern Germany, so that the Germans had at their disposal 

 an inexhaustible supply. Kronacker writing from Miinchen in 191 6 on the 

 subject of moss dressings says "The lack of sphagnum moss can never be felt. 

 Everywhere in the beautiful German forests it stands at our disposal, growing 

 luxuriantly, — no blockade can present itself as an obstacle here. " It was through 



1 cf. Exsic. Holzinger, Musci Aero. Bor.-Amer. No. 417. 



