Wheldon : Mosses of the Mersey Province. 



On studying - this table it will be seen that the figures for the 

 three sub-divisions approximate so closely, that the slight 

 difference between them may be well considered to be due to 

 the varying- degrees of assiduity with which they have been 

 explored. Apparently Cheshire is the richest in species, and the 

 relatively small number of varietal forms recorded therefrom 

 probably does not truly reflect the proportion in which they 

 occur. Probably the least attention has been devoted to West 

 Lancashire, and that portion of South Lancashire not embraced 

 in the areas covered by the floras of the Manchester and Liver- 

 pool Field Clubs. Around each of these cities, including part 

 of Cheshire and South Lancashire, appears to have been care- 

 fully and exhaustively investigated. 



Only 184 species have been ascertained to occur in all three 

 vice-counties, and if we add to these 16 varieties, we have 

 a total of 200 forms (or less than half) which are common to 

 the three minor divisions of the province. 



Proceeding from the most general to the most local forms, 

 we present the following table of species which have been 

 recorded from one vice-county only, and are apparently absent 

 from the other two. Further careful work will probably con- 

 siderably modify these figures. 



Mosses Found in One Vice-County Only. 



District. I Species. Varieties. Total. 



^ ■ j 



58. Cheshire 39 J 4 53 



59. South Lancashire ... 13 17 30 



60. West Lancashire ... | 28 36 64 



I 1 



A complete list of these species will be found below, but of 

 the varieties, many of which are unimportant, only the more 

 interesting are enumerated. 



I. Recorded from Cheshire Only. 



Species. 



Sphagnum rigidum (type). 

 Sphagnum teres (type). 

 Buxbaumia aphylla. 

 Ditrichum tenuifolium. 

 Cynodontium Bruntoni. 

 Dicranodontium longirostre (type). 

 Dicranum Scottianum. 



Racomitrium ellipticum. 

 Campylostelium saxicola. 

 Pottia lanceolata. 

 Tortula marginata. 

 Tortula angustata. 

 Weisia mucronata. 

 Weisia rostellata. 



Naturalist. 



