COIJRESPONDENCK. 
45 
CoiTfspoiikiitf. ctr. 
Sphagnace.e of the South Midlands oathehed in 1882.—It is 
generally admitted that the cryptogamic flora of the South Midland 
Counties has received but little attention from bryologists. That it is 
not without interest, and would repay a careful investigation, is, I 
think, suggested by the following list. The specimens were gathered 
during the summer and autumn of 1882, but chiefly in the second 
week of August. The character of the summer, which, as a whole, 
was both cool and drv, affected the habit of such of these mosses as 
grew in the shelter of woods. The water in the pools, in which these 
plants find a congenial habitat, gradually diminished as the summer 
advanced, and as a consequence considerable portions of the living 
part of the stems were left standing above the water. The surrounding 
woods protected these from the force of the wind, and hence they 
were not beaten down, as were others which had been observed in 
July in some of the exposed bogs of the New Forest. But as it is 
essential to the life of these plants that their tissues should be 
saturated with moisture, in the case of those before mentioned, the 
spreading branches of the apexes of the stems became considerably elon¬ 
gated, so as to assist in drawing up the water. This was most strikingly 
the case with those that grew in “Mermaid’s Pond,” Aspley Woods, 
and has produced what Dr. Braithwaite designates “ comal, attenuated 
branches.” Specimens of all the gatherings were submitted to Mr. 
Boswell, who, with his usual courtesy, rendered valuable assistance in 
naming them. Besides this, duplicates were subsequently sent to 
several eminent bryologists, by whom they have been critically 
exa’uined, and to whom also my best thanks are due. 
Si'liAONUM. 
acutifoUuni. 
b. defle.vuin. 
c. tenue. 
fimhriaUnn. 
sqnarwsum. 
h. imhricainm. 
intermedin m. 
cmpidatum. 
var. riparioides. 
rigidum. 
compactum. 
subsecunduni. 
h. contort Hill. 
c. obesum. 
d. anricHidtiiin 
tenellum. 
cijmhifolinm. 
b. coiigestuiii. ] 
(. squarro.'oilimi) 
DELS. 
Aspley Woods. 
Aspley Woods, 
f Aspley Woods. I 
( Flitwick Marsh, j 
Flitwick Mai’sh. 
Flitwick Marsh, 
f Aspley Wood. ) 
I Flitwick Marsh.)' 
Aspley Wood. 
f “ Mermaid’s Pond,” 
( Aspley. 
( Flitwick Marsh. ) 
( Aspley Woods, j 
P^litwick MiU’sh. 
BUCKS. HE UTS. 
Little Brickhill — 
< BricketWood. 
(Mr. A. F. Gibl)s. 
Little Brickhill. — 
— BricketWood. 
Little Brickhill. — 
— BricketWood. 
Little Brickhill. — 
Little Brickhill. — 
Little Brickhill. — 
Little Brickhill. . — 
.1. SAUN])Eits, Luton. 
