New-York tribune., 1908-11-29

TIE little Men ans Women who read about the
zo-k Of The Echens Z last Sundays Tribune VIII
remember that they are -eture's pioneers. To-day
zs are zoizz 70 learn something about the plants
-ha- cone after TIE Itcheas- When see e rock
covered zgiIh green velvet mantle nay always
know -hzr lchens have been there before. and II
6v4ng have eft Just euough soil for the moss'plant
n ROOT In The r-oss when II dies leaves soil
enough Tor some higher plant Until al last tai
nay grow where 81 was oa-Teoness oecoTe-
zs nave seer rnar the Ifchen Is g very strange
Ila1- z-G moss IS almost as queer Like The
Hc-e- Z IS hard 70 Kill ard for the same reason
Although Z owes water, = ca1 c-y I'd without
doing Itself the least harm. and then neither cold
no heat car hurt Il Siosses that have been kept
f1- ~e--s VII come 70 Efe and grow again = they
ca Eet --ate- Even artificial drying greater than
a-v----E they would ever have 70 endure II nature
GOES not XII them 4 German scientist brought
-iee q moss 70 lie after Il had been kept eighteen
months n z drie-. This. BY the way is 2 nice
r.-re -rzzJe 1o- -ne scientists Why should MOSES
hz~e power OF resisting d-y-ess SO much greater
-ha~ they reed2 Il 5as not been solved get and
-hz-e a-e many puzzles OF the same kind IN nature
Even 2 TIE moss is broken 70 pieces II its dry
E-sre 10 harm is done because each separate piece
VI grow into new plant For this reason some
moses that have very hard time 70 get along 90
rcr ho-her % grow seeds They just let the wind
break then 70 pieces and blow them about
-. s 81 very strange, and can't understand
s.. 5,-t Is not the strangest thing about the moss
SEED q pzrlt that does not blossom Is called We
-ra- E-t a moss plant OF may get one that
zoez--- -oolz q .F1e least IKE moss Then Il the
p.z-- nat doesn't look Ike produces spores,
C-5-z-v moss plants vii grow FROM them THIS
IS z-s- scientists call alienation o1 ge~rations
Ez-- new pIau- IS Ike rs grandmother Instead OF
3 --r-Ae- We and the same thing among ferns
Ea5 s-7o-g 4eIIyfsh as wei among other plants
sa5 ANNALS anc when ths little folk ere little
ODE perhaps they VII Ike 70 Know hO~ the scien-
tsts explain Il
Noses have beer loved by poets cor their beauty
eve E-ce re have had any poetry, but, as we nave
re- & x not merely their beauty that nature
hzs gwen them 70 Us Thar would be reason
enough 70 De sure but being beautiful does not
prevent thing from being useful, and moses are
sc uEesul that we couldn't possibly get on without
,he-- -he~ make sol on the rocks. and they also
make = = za-e-- There are some kinds Of moss
which seen 70 have been specially designed oy
-z-u-s % e. I'd sva-nps and the soil thus made Is
s1--z9-Sf-a-1ly fertile AL Europe and Amer
ica ze ind tnat large part Of The most fertile
Ia-c va. once bog land. and almost anywhere we
ozn md ne moss at work filing Up other fogs-
BoE moss - not rooted II the earth, but floats free
II ne water and as 4 grows the older part oies
Ezc s-ks 70 the bottom L does not cecon1pose as
cezc plants usually Do because bog moss has the
pove- q manufacturing al antiseptic fluid which
preserves &; And SO the bog IS gradually filed Up
Sometimes the dead r1oss IS used for fuel and then
~ CAL Z peat
Another useful thing thar moss does is 70 store