OF MOSSES. 
231 
OF MOSSES. 
Whatever diversity of opinion there may be about the value of the late 
harvest, it cannot be disputed that the present year is remarkable for its prolific 
yield of autumnal fungi, not only for the quantity and variety of species, but also 
for the gigantic size of some of the specimens. For this of course the wet, 
warm weather is responsible. However, it is not of the fungi that I would speak, 
but of another group of cryptogamic plants — the mosses. .My reason for this is 
twofold — there is a new moss-book which claims the notice of Selbornians ; and 
the season for gathering mosses has set in. 
It is in the cool, damp weather of the winter months that these hardy plants 
thrive best. From September or October onwards till the next wave of summer 
heat comes to shrivel them with its dryness, or to thrust them out of evidence 
beneath a fresh overgrowth of more robust vegetation, these exquisite little 
creatures have a free arena in which they unfold their bright but meek existence, 
gladdening our eyes in a barren world, covering open woodland spaces and way- 
side banks with a velvet carpet, studding old walls and trunks of trees with 
living gems. 
There may be Selbornians whose lot it is to spend the winter months in the 
country, and who through lack of occupation are apt to find their leisure time to 
hang heavily upon them. Should this be the case, I would venture to remind 
them that in the collection of mosses they may provide themselves with a hobby 
which is capable of affording great relief from the monotony of country life, and 
which may, in exceptional cases, develop into such an absorbing mania as to rob 
winter of all its terrors, nay, make it welcome as the season in which the ruling 
passion may be indulged. However, be that as it may, moss collecting is a soul- 
sustaining pursuit which may be recommended for the possession of sundry 
advantages of which the following are a few. It necessitates a good deal of out- 
door exercise, and supplies an object for one's walks. It trains the faculties of 
observation, reason, and memory ; and develops a neatness and skilfulness of 
hand. While much time may be spent out of doors in the search for the best 
hunting grounds and the gathering of suitable specimens, there is room for much 
indoor work in the preparation, examination, and identification of the specimens 
collected. Though good work can be done in the field with a powerful pocket 
magnifier, it is only by the use of the microscope that the student can expect to 
make satisfactory progress. And it is only under the microscope that the full 
beauty of the moss- plant — the delicate tracery of the leaf tissue and the marvellous 
symmetry of the peristome — is revealed. 
While the easiest way of beginning the study of mosses is to obtain personal 
instruction from an experienced friend, it is possible with a little patience and 
perseverance to get along with the help of books alone. And no better introduc- 
tion could be wanted than Bagnall’s Handbook of Alosses (Swan Sonnenschein, is.) 
which in a simple manner describes where and when the common species may be 
found, how to examine and preserve the specimens, and in fact is full of practical 
and useful hints on the subject. This, however, is not the new book mentioned 
above, of which a short account must now be given. 
The Student's Handbook of British Mosses * is a work which has long been 
wanted and is indispensable to all collectors of mosses. While suited to the 
advanced worker, it is so written as to meet the requirements of the beginner. 
By a simplification of the technical language, by a short but lucid sketch of the 
structure of moss plants and the addition of an ample glossary, the subject is freed 
from its repellent difficulties, and is rendered easily intelligible. With the help 
of the admirable keys the identification of even barren specimens is made 
possible. This feature enables the student, as no other work has done, to sur- 
mount the initial difficulty which besets the beginner, viz., the absence of fruit in 
* The Students Handbook of British Mosses, by H. N. Dixon, with illus- 
trations and keys to the Genera and Species by the Rev. H. G. Jameson. East- 
bourne : V. T. Sumfield. London: John Wheldon, 1896. Price i8s. 6d., pp. 
xlvi., 520; 60 plates. 
