— 4i 
REVIEW 
Flore des mousses de la Suisse 1 
We learn from the general preface that the present work was begun in 
1884, completed ten years later and that for a long time no publisher could be 
found. Even when M. Barbey secured publication through the Boissier Her- 
barium, the printing was greatly hindered and finally interrupted through causes 
beyond control, so that it was not possible really to undertake active work 
until 19 1 1, by which time the progress of science had made great revision necessary. 
We feel that these circumstances should be kept in mind in judging the book: they 
explain the cases of disagreement between the two parts, the omissions from 
the keys and indexes, the presence of two sets of keys for Sphagnum , and the 
unusually large amount of material that has been put in the Supplement and 
Addendum — (some thirty-five pages, in part separately paged, both before 
and after the plates). No one is, probably, more conscious of such defects than the 
authors, and such things, while rendering the use of the bookless convenient, do not 
diminish the very great value of the painstaking records of facts regarding 
the species mentioned. We most sincerely congratulate the authors upon the 
book, finished in spite of discouragement. We wish most sincerely that a 
similar volume were available for our own flora. 
At the outset it should be stated that the flora is much more than a set 
of keys and a list of the Swiss mosses. Nearly all European species are mentioned, 
or noted, even those like Schistidium maritimum, or Myurium hehridarum 
which are not in the least likely to be found in Switzerland. 
An introductory essay of some twenty pages deals with the methods of 
microscopic study and the structure of the mosses. Though much is well-trodden 
ground, there are several very interesting suggestions; such as the use of polar- 
ized light for studying peristome structure, the use of the number of cells per 
square millimeter (see discussion at end of Part II) as a unit of comparison 
for the size of areolation, and the careful directions for the preparation and 
preservation of microscopic dissections. As a medium for temporary mounts 
a mixture of equal weights of pure carbolic acid, lactic acid, and water with 
twice the weight of glycerine is recommended, on account of its high refractive 
index (it is almost that of optical crown glass)-, its slow evaporation, and the 
absence of the distortion of tissues which is produced by pure glycerine. A 
similar preparation containing gelatine is recommended in place of the customary 
glycerine jelly. The advice “Pour les commencants” is especially good. We 
quote, in abstract: “Examine collections when fresh. Note on the spot such 
1 Flore des mousses de la buisse. 
Premiere partie: Tableaux synoptiques pour la determination desmousses, par Jules Amann 
et Charles Meylan. Pp. 1-215. Lausanne, 1912. 
Deuxiime partie: Bryogeographie de la Suisse; Catalogue des mousses suisses, avec douze 
planches, par Jules Amann en collaboration avec Paul Culmann et Charles Meylan. Pp. 1-414-f 1-4 
with 86 figures in 12 plates. Lausanne, 1912. 
[Though the inner title pages are dated as above and the prefaces are dated February and 
March 1912, respectively, the cover page bears the imprint, “Publication de l’herbier Boissier. 
Geneve, 1918.” The two portions are separately paged and indexed.] 
