122 



( % orbett : I T orksh in • A V//// nil is/ s 



these mosses the best and rarest is Eurhynch him speeiosnm, a tine 

 glossy-leaved moss, which, until quite lately, has been con- 

 sidered as specially belonging- to the South of England. The 

 same moss occurs at Ackworth and Staddlethorpe. Ambly- 

 stegium juratakce is also a good moss, and one that 1 have 

 proved to be well distributed throughout .Yorkshire and Durham. 

 Bryum cicspiticium also occurs on a wall near Balby, where it is 

 quite hoary, due to its long leaf points, this state being caused 

 by the dry habitat on the magnesian limestone. Eurhynchium 

 confertum is found in large patches on the walls at Wadworth 

 village. Near Balby is a shallow quarry where grow Pottia 

 truncatula Lindb., Barbula cylindrica Schimp. (a golden yellow 

 form), Brachythecium velutinum B.&S., Hypnum chrysophyllum 

 Brid., H. stellatum Schreb. , H. molluscum Hedw. 



Crossing the Don near Conisborough we soon reached a wall 

 carpeted with a delicate form of Amblystegium serpens B.&S., 

 which has collected a vast amount of the finest black dust, 

 proving the state of the atmosphere in that part. 



On passing through the wood we found two good mosses on 

 blocks of magnesian limestone. These are the delicate and 

 minute Fissidens pusillus Wils. (crowded with fruit), and the 

 rare Plagiothecium depressum Dixon. In the Rectory grounds 

 at' Sprotborough occurs Enrhynchium murale, very near var. 

 juldceum Schimp. 



Between Sprotborough and Doncaster, and close by the Don, 

 is a quarry rich in mosses, as the following, which I have found 

 in spring and oh the present occasion, will show : — -Fissidens 

 bryoides Hedw., F. taxifolius Hedw., Pottia truncatula Lindb., 

 Tortula muralis Hedw., Barbula rubella Mitt., B. convoluta 

 Hedw., B. revoluta Brid., Encalypta streptocarpa Hedw., which 

 carpets one part of the floor of the quarry with its vivid green 

 patches, but always barren, as it is an exceedingly rare fruiter ; 

 Brachythecium rutabulum B.&S. (fruiting freely on the sides of 

 the quarry), Eurhynchium prcelongum B.&S., E. Swartsii Hobk. 

 (a dark green form), E. striatum B.&S., E. confertum Milde, a 

 very delicate form of Amblystegium serpens B.&S., Hypnum 

 riparium L. , in fruit (proving how wet a magnesian limestone 

 can become, as this is a moss particularly delighting in water, 

 as its specific name implies), H. chrysophyllum Brid. (of golden 

 yellow, as its name signifies, on the earthy side of the quarry), 

 H. cuspidatum in fruit, and another large, very pinnate, and 

 highly chlorophyllose form, due to the blending of the two fine 

 conditions, i.e., abundance of water and abundance of lime- 

 Naturalist, 



