NEWS CORRESPONDENCE. 



sr 



of our handsomest looking mosses when 

 growing. It grows in wet marshy places, 

 or near springs in hilly and mountainous 

 parts of the country, and is in fruit in our 

 neighbourhood in July. I have only met 

 with it in one locality in this vicinity, viz : 

 on some wet spongy ground, on the road- 

 side near Dunford Bridge, at an elevation 

 of about 1,100 or 1,200 feet above the level 

 of the sea, in July, 1861. And this is the 

 only one of the eight British species I 

 have found near here. It belongs to the 

 Acrocarpi or terminal fruited mosses, and 

 the sub. order (xxiii.) Bartramice. The 

 stems are upright, densely caespitose, co- 

 vered with fibres — from one to six inches 

 high (my specimens are about three inches) 

 growing in yellowish or glaucous green 

 patches, with innovations generally just 

 below the floral apex. Sometimes the 

 branches are very short at the summit of 

 tlie main stem, and sometimes longer and 

 more scattered. The leaves are mostly 

 ovate acuminate, sometimes longer and 

 almost lanceolate, concave, sub-erect, or 

 patent, and rather bluntly toothed towards 

 the apex. The areolae, are smallish, 

 quadrate and elongate. The margin of the 

 leaves is recurved below, the backs some- 

 what papillose, with a sub-excurrent nerve. 

 The inflorescence is terminal and in this 

 species dioicous, the barren flower being 

 discoid. The capsule is globose, erect, 

 large, of stout firm texture, and of a red- 

 dish brown colour when ripe. The peris- 

 tome is double, the outer one being com- 

 posed of sixteen equidistant lanceolate 

 teeth closely barred, and of a pinkish red- 

 colour ; the inner one is a membrane, 

 yellowish, divided into sixteen keeled lan- 

 ceolate processes, with cilia, sometimes 

 two or three together. Spores large, sub- 

 sphoerical, and reddish. 



The genus has received its name from 

 John Bartram an American traveller and 

 botanist, the species from its habitat. 



Syn:- 



Bartramia fontana. Bridel, Swartz. 

 Turner. "Web and Mohr. Schwcegr. 



Hook and Taylor. Bruch and Schimper. 



Mnium fontanum. Linn. Hedw. 

 Wahlenb. 



Bryum fontanum. Swartz. Sm. E. 

 t. 390. Dill. Muse, t, 44. f. 2. 



Bartramia falcata. Hook, in Lin. 

 Trans, vol. ix. p. 317 (in part). 



Important Conteibution to the Leeds 

 Philosophical and LiTEPtART Society. 

 — The extensive and valuable collection of 

 shells, corals, sponges, minerals, and vol- 

 canic rocks, formed by the late Mrs. Llob- 

 son, of Westliaugh House, near Pontefract 

 (formerly of Leeds,) has been most liberally 

 presented to the museum of her native 

 town, by her nephew, Mr. Edward Armi- 

 tage, of London. This collection consisting 

 as it does of many magnificent specimens, 

 will considerably enrich the museum of the 

 Philosophical Society in many departments 

 which were before deficient, or only repre- 

 sented by inferior specimens, more espe- 

 cially the minerals and corals. 



Konstanz, Baden, June 26th, 1865. 

 Knowing your devotion to I^'atural His- 

 tory, I propose to give you a few lines on 

 the peculiarities of this district, lying on 

 the shores of the Lake of "Bodensee", 

 nearly 1400 feet above the level of the 

 sea ; its climate is much more variable 

 than that of dear old Yorkshire, We had 

 five months of winter and snow ; the ther- 

 mometer descending as low as 4° Fah- 

 renheit. Three weeks ago, we had a tem- 

 perature of 96° in the shade, and 130° in 

 the sun ; flowers bloom and wither in half 

 the time theywould in England. Chaffinches 

 are much more numerous here than spar- 

 rows ; this I attribute to the small quantity 

 of grain grown in this neighbourhood. 

 The blackstart is much more common than 

 the red, I have two fine broods in my 

 garden, — In the forests the woodpeckers 



