966 
CRYPTOGAMIA 
BLECH'NUM. Capsules forming lines adjoining and parallel 
to the ribs of the leaves. 
PTE'RIS. Capsules forming a line at the edge of the leaf. 
ADIAN'TUM. Capsules forming oval spots under the re¬ 
flexed points of the leaves. 
TRICHO'MANES. Capsules solitary, inserted on the very 
edge of the leaf. 
MUSCI.* 
SPHAG'NUM. Capsules smooth, not fringed, covered with a 
lid; without a veil. 
* (Even at the risk of some little repetition, vve cannot refrain from endeavouring to 
attract the attention, especially of the junior student, to these diminutives, (in stature too 
humble, as it were, to speak for themselves,) by transcribing a succinct, yet comprehensive, 
passage, on this interesting subject, from an intelligent writer, who justly observes that. 
Mosses, by the inconsiderate mind, are generally deemed an useless or insignificant part 
of the creation. That they are not, is evident from hence ; that He who made them has made 
nothing in vain ; but, on the contrary, has pronounced all his works to be ‘ very good.* 
Many of their uses we know ; that they have many more which we know not, is unques¬ 
tionable, since there is probably no one thing in the universe of which we dare to assert 
that we know all its uses. Thus much we are certain of with respect to Mosses, that, as 
they flourish most in winter, and at that time cover the ground with a beautiful green car¬ 
pet, in many places which would be otherwise naked, and when little verdure is elsewhere 
to be seen ; so at the same time they shelter and preserve the seeds, roots, gems, and 
embryo plants of many vegetables, which would otherwise perish; they furnish materials 
for birds to build their nests with; they afford a warm winter’s retreat for some quadru¬ 
peds, such as bears, dormice, and the like; and for numberless insects, which are the food 
of birds and fishes, and these again the food or delight of men. Many of them grow on 
rocks and barren places, and, rotting away, afford the first principles of vegetation to other 
plants, which could never else have taken root there. Others grow in bogs and marshes, 
and by continual increase and decay fill up and convert them into fertile pastures, or into 
peat-bogs, the source of inexhaustible fuel to the polar regions. They are applicable also 
to many domestic purposes; some are used in dying of yarn, and in medicine ; others fur¬ 
nish convenient beds; some are useful in tiling of houses, stopping crevices inwalls, 
packing of brittle wares and the roots of plants for distant conveyance. To which may be 
added, that all in general contribute entertainment and agreeable instruction to the con¬ 
templative mind of the naturalist, at a season when few other plants offer themselves to his 
view.” A superabundance of Moss on orchard fruit-trees often becomes a serious evil, 
and may arise either from too dry a state of the soil, or more frequently, from excessive 
damp and crowded growth. The only effectual remedy for the latter inconvenience is 
under-draining and pruning, and occasionally scraping off the unwelcome parasite with 
a wooden instrument, or with a piece of rough haircloth, after soaking rain. It seems 
not improbable that the astringent quality of Mosses might be applied to useful purposes in 
the arts. Nor can we enter upon the present Order without acknowledging our obliga¬ 
tion to the elaborate “ Muscologia Britannica” of Drs. Hooker and Taylor, the professed 
object of which work is, “ to fix this department of Botany upon a firmer basis ; and by 
facilitating the investigation of one of the most beautiful parts of the creation, to place in a 
clearer light the wonders of the^ Divine hand.” Though we have not materially deviated 
from the Linnaean Genera, (for, notwithstanding the researches of Museologists both abroad 
and at home for half a century, no systematic arrangement has been established which can be 
