106 



The Naturalist. 



doing so, for in 1865 Lindberg described and published the same 

 plant under the name of F. gracilis. Before and since 1869 Mr. 

 Anderson and myself have distributed the species in great quantities, 

 and it has been gathered and distributed to a greater or less extent by 

 other botanists. The species is indeed widely diffused throughout 

 Great Britain, from the Shetland Isles in the north to the m_ountains 

 of Kerry in the south-east of Ireland, and ranges from about 250 to 

 2900 feet. I was therefore surprised to find that Dr. Lees neither was 

 aware, nor suspected, that it was known as a British species previous 

 to the date of its discovery at Malham Cove. 



It may be the case that no recent work on, or catalogue of, the 

 British Mosses makes mention of this and other species which were 

 gathered, recognised and distributed before the publication of such 

 works. It would have been extraordinary if such works had been 

 complete, but ifc by no means follows that the unpublished is identical 

 with the unknown. However this may be, the notice of Fontinalis 

 gracilis as a British species, given in last month's Naturalist, is not the 

 first which has appeared : there is an earlier one in a list of mosses 

 new to the county of Forfar, which list was published so long ago as 

 1869. 



It may be useful to know that the plant grows in streamlets, large 

 springs, rarely in lakelets, and more rarely still, if at all, in streams 

 entitled to the name of rivers. It will be somewhat difficult for a 

 fairly practised eye to mistake it for anything but a Fontinalis. 

 Diligent search in the field, and careful examination of small forms 

 supposed to belong to F. an,tipy7'etica, will no doubt enlarge the area of 

 its distribution south of the Tweed. I may state that I have specimens 

 of the same plant from Wahlenberg's herbarium, named F. minor, and 

 that I think this name rather than Lindberg' s should be used. 



Leptotrichum {TricJiost.) tortile, Schrad. — Schimper describes this 

 species as having a compound annulus ; Wilson describes it as having 

 a simple one, European and American specimens show that Schimper 

 is right ; Castle Howard specimens show that Wilson is right also. And 

 yet the annulus is much more constant in its character than almost any 

 other organ of a moss. Does not this point to a suspicion that our 

 British plants may belong to a different species than some of the 

 European and American forms I should be much obliged if anyone 

 would send me specimens of this moss from any quarter. 



The Manse, 



Ferns, near Brechin. 



