Cash : On Cinclidium stygium. 



151 



by a letter they sent to him dated Sept. 12th, 1836. That letter bore 

 at the foot the joint signatures of Han worth, Greenwood, and No well 

 — (and they appear in the order here given) — a circumstance which 

 seems to show that no one claimed priority over the rest. It was the 

 first letter, apparently, which had reached Mr. Wilson from the 

 Todmorden muscologists, and I have no doubt that Cinclidium stygium 

 was the interesting medium of introduction between Nowell and 

 Wilson, forming the commencement of a lifelong acquaintance, and of 

 extensive correspondence on matters muscological. 



The writers intimated to Mr. Wilson the discovery, " in the vicinity 

 of Malham, Craven, June 13th and 14th ' — " on a v|ry wet bog near 

 Malham Tarn, a species of moss which,'' they said, appears to us not 

 to be described in volume 2nd, part 1, of Hooker's ' Brit. Flora.'" 

 The letter at this point bears a memorandum in Mr. Wilson's writing 

 giving the name of the moss, Cinclidium dygium. The writers enclosed 

 specimens of the moss for Mr. Wilson's acceptance, with remarks on 

 its general appearance. " It has," they said, " much the appearance 

 of Brijum punctatum. It was growing along with Flypnum scorpioideii 

 and Bryum dmlbatum. We will thank you to give us your opinion of 

 it, as we think none more competent than you, who have displayed so 

 much zeal in collecting and investigating the various species of the 

 British musci." 



Mr. Wilson lost no time in communicating the fact of Cinclidium 

 having been added to the list of British mosses, to his friend Dr. 

 W. J. Hooker, then Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. 

 To the author of the " Muscologia " it was a highly interesting discovery, 

 for in the second edition of that work, published in 1827, he had 

 included this very moss in the list of Continental species of which, up 

 to that time, Great Britain could not boast the possession.* Acknow- 

 ledging Mr. Wilson's communication in a letter dated Nov. 28, 1836, 

 he says : — " I am delighted to find that Cinclidium stygium has been 

 found in Britain, and hope, from what you say, in fruit." In a 

 subsequent letter to Mr, Wilson, he wrote: — "I shall be glad to 

 obtain specimens of Ciiiclidinm. stygium^ and to announce its exact 

 habitat." And again, Jan. 25th, 1837, not having got the desired 

 specimens, he wrote : "My dear Sir — I begin to be anxious to hear 

 from you again, especially upon the subject of Cmclidnm. stygiuw., of 

 which I am very desirous, as I scarcely need tell you to possess 

 British specimens. Will you intercede on my behalf with the 



* It is curious to find Dicranum Schraderi, Mnium turgidum (Aulacomnium 

 turgidumj^ and Bryum sguarrosum fPaludella sq.) in the same list. 



