t 
THE CULTIVATION OF MOSSES, 
remove those kinds tliat grow attached to the rock. In such cases the portion of rock should when 
practicable be detached bearing the tuft, and it may then be potted in the usual manner, making th^ 
upper part of the rock level with, or slightly above the surface of the soil. However the intelligent 
and persevering gardener at Arniston, near Edinburgh, Mr. R. Veitch (who has upwards of 100 
species of Mosses in cultivation) employs another mode of transplanting, the success of which is amply 
shown by his numerous progeny of healthy and vigorous plants. He thus describes his system {North 
British Ayricvtturist andJonrnal of HorticulUire i. 42) : — " For Grimmia pulvinata and Orthotrichum 
anomalum, I use a soft porous stone the size of the pot, filling it with di-ainage to such a height that the 
stone, when resting upon it, is level with the brim. The patches are then placed upon the stone with a 
little space between each, and, for the piu'pose of keeping them steady, I sprinkle a little fine mould 
into the open spaces. I then water them over head witli a fine rose. For Mosses of this description 
little water is necessary ; and it ought never to be applied until the leaves begin to collapse, and even 
then with a sparing hand. They should then be placed in a cool shady situation, and in six; or eight 
weeks they will be attached to the stones. The mould having being first removed by means of a gentle 
run of water, the pots are then placed in a more airy and exposed situation." Mr. Veitch has a some- 
what similar mode of transferring those species of a trailing habit fi'om their native banks to the flower 
pot. Speaking of these, he says : — " All varieties which partake of the same trailing habit as Hypnum 
prfelongum, should not be planted but laid upon the mould ; three or four small pegs will prevent 
them from being moved. In the com'se of a few weeks, the pegs will be covered -vdHh a mass of green 
foliage." It has always been our own practice to remove these, and, indeed, all the species with balls 
of earth attached, and some of them will, indeed, not remove withoiit this precaution, especially those 
that are minute and readily injured. 
The aquatic species will, of course, requh-e to be grown in water, in the way Pilulai'ia and other 
small aquatics are frequently seen under cultivation ; and special attention must be paid to them in 
order that they may not lack water at any time, or in any season, for it injiu'es then- appearance and 
checks then- growth to allow them to get dried up, although they will revive again at any time on the 
application of moisture. Even the specimens from herharia many years old have been brought into 
life by this means. 
The great majority of the species may, however, be grown in soil, or soil mixed with stones. When 
practicable the soil should be taken from the spot where the plant was found growing, as, in the absence 
of a better guide, this will be a verjf safe mode of proceeding, and the artificial mould prepared for fine 
varieties of florists' flowers will, indeed, have but a small chance of success in the growing of Mosses. 
A clayey retentive soil, mixed with well decomposed leaf moidd, ^vill perhaps be found the most useful. 
To this sand may be added for some particular species which prefer it, such as Bryum trichodes and 
Weissia nigrita. 
It is Mr. Veitch's practice to remove all his Mosses in the autumn to the back stage of a span- 
roofed greenhouse, which forms their winter quarters ; but we need not mention that, being native 
plants tills protection is not essential for their well-being. Dvmng winter, however, they should 
always have the protection of a cold frame, with matting during very hard fi'ost or frosty winds, 
because such of them as have their native habitats in the woods receive great protection fi'om the over- 
hangmg boughs and surrounding herbage, the want of which shouldbe compensated for when they are 
under artificial treatment. 
The generality of the conspicuous Mosses desirable for cultivation are perennials, and when once 
established in theii' pots, will contmue in health and ■\'igour for a long period. Many interesting 
sj^ecies, however, are annuals, and a difficulty thus stands in the way of their culture, as young plants 
must be sought for and carefully transplanted every season, unless, indeed, the cultivator succeeds in 
raising them from spores. We have ourselves grown the little Diphyscium foliosum successfully, 
transplanted from its native mountain in its early state; and we have seen the still rarer and not less 
curious Buxbaumia aphylla, cultivated in a similar manner. 
In these necessarily imperfect remai-ks, we have endeavoured to excite an interest among our gar- 
dening friends, in tins truly interesting tribe of plants ; not, indeed, by any high colom-ing of theii- 
merits, but by a plain representation of what may be expected from them in an horticultural point of 
view, accompanied by such general hints on theii' cultivation as have occurred to us. We may at a 
future time explain the habits and characteristics of those species which, from their superior elegance 
or interest, seem most desirable for garden growth. 
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