Lees : Ox Three New West Yorkshire Mosses. 85 



that the hermit crab destroyed the living mollusc so that it might appro- 

 priate its shell, has rested upon the testimony of trustworthy fishermen : 

 we deem ourselves fortunate in having seen it, learning this latter fact 

 but a few days ago ; and lastly, we feel we have fulfilled a duty in giving 

 this exposition of the charms of a place situate in our own county. 

 With Pliny we exclaim — " Verily, for mine own part, the more I looke 

 into Nature's workes, the sooner am I induced to beleeve of her even 

 those things that seem incredible." 

 The Museum, Leeds, Oct. 18th, 1878. 



OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THREE NEW WEST 

 YORKSHIRE MOSSES. 



By F. Arnold Lees, F.L.S. 



I HAVE pleasure in reporting the discovery of three new mosses, two of 

 them new to Britain— in a sense at least, since their names do not appear 

 in any catalogue of British mosses as yet published. They are Ortho- 

 IricJimi rupestre, Schleich. ; Atilacomiiinm targid^tm.^ Schpr. • and Fonti- 

 nalis gracilis, Lindb. Let us consider them seriatim. 



I. Ortfiotrichum rupedre, Schleich. Until last month this ranked as 

 dinincognit in the MS. moss flora of the Riding now in course of compo- 

 sition by the printers, since the only record was one of Dr. Carrington's, 

 and that admittedly doubtful, viz : " I think I collected one tuft near 

 Ingleborough in lfe57 1" for the plant recorded in Baiues' Flora of 1840 

 as rupestre from near Bolton Bridge, was afterwards ascertained to be a 

 form of 0. haxatile, Brid.. then known as 0. anoih alum of Bry. Brit. In 

 August last, however, Mr. W. West and myself made an excursion to 

 Whernside fur the purpose of investigating the altitudinal range of our 

 sub-alpine mosses, and amongst the mosses we found this 0. rupedre 

 occurred. Mr. H. Boswell has verified the name. It was growing on 

 high exposed rocks at about 2,300 to 2400 feet {i.e. the summit ridge), 

 with Racomitrium helerodichum var. alopecurim, 



II. Aulacomnium turgidum, Schimp. — This moss was one of the fifty 

 uota*ble species gathered by Mr. West and myself on Whernside, in the 

 excursion already alluded to. We did not recognise it at the time — 

 indeed we gathered only one tuft of it (matted with Sphagnwn papillosnm\ 

 and that, as nearly as I can recollect, on the north-east slope of the 

 mountain, ascending the shoulder by Great Blake Gill frt^m Dentdale 

 head. I remember picking it, and saying to my companion, Aulacom- 

 nimn'paludre ^Vl^ Sphagnum rigidum^"' and he acquiescing, the tuft was 



