Excerpt from Muscologia Britannica: Containing the Mosses of Great Britain and Ireland, Systematically Arranged and Described; With Plates Illustrative of the Characters of the Genera and Species To render the Mosses of England generally known, to give to other naturalists an Opportunity of profiting by those researches upon which we have ourselves bestowed -much time and patience; to'fix, if possible, this depart ment of our botany upon a firmer basis; and, by render ing more easy the investigation of onebf the most beau tiful parts of the creation, to place in a clearer light the Wonders of the Divine hand, - such are the motives that we set before us in the undertaking of this work, and such the objects which we flatter ourselves we shall be found in some measure to have attained. At the same time, however, that we trust we may be allowed to in dulge in this hope, we are sensible that it can only be entertained in a very imperfect degree. Much may not withstanding still be done, though all cannot be aecom plished; and to us the very study requisite for the doing of it is in itself a pleasure that repays the toil. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.