May 10, 1916 
91ss J2mily L, Or oswell, 
91 St, James Ave., 
Boston Mass. 
Sear Madam:- 
I hove toon examining your specimen 
of Polytrichum from Bartlett,gif.H.; not as much 
as I ought, hut as much as I may have a ohanoe 
for a week or more, so it is possible that I may 
want to change my rind regarding its identity if 
I got time to make a more thorugh study of it 
Usually lira, Dunham and I agree pretty close- 
ly on our determinations, hut in this case I am 
inclined to think your moss is nearer 1. ^mithioc 
than £, olrioonso , though not typical oH either. 
In moacuremenfs ' of loaf, sporophyte, and gameto- 
phyte, and in the height and numhor of lamellae 
it seems to clo: oly match Srout’s original doacr5 
tion o*g _s. Smith!ae It does not match this 
species, however,* in th® general habit of the 
gainetophyte, and, aseibly, in the end coll of 
the lamellae. 
In this connection it is interesting to note 
that in co-type specimens of r. txalthia e distirib* 
uted by Ilolzingor, the lower parks’ of’ t&o gameto- 
phyte shows a spreading habit to th© leaves, 
soemwhat as in your , peoimon. Of course, the 
slender stems with apprescod leawos—suggesting. 
P. striotum —are entirely lacking in your speci¬ 
mens. 2his character is emphasized by 3-rout in 
his description, but specimens distributed by 
Ho1singer show in some oases the other typo of 
foliage when dry, as well as the strict stem. 
If either you or Mrs, Dunham get an oppor¬ 
tunity to study this material more before I get 
a chance, 1 would be glad to hoar what you decide 
Very truly, 
i 
