204
the mosses of essex:
Dr. Hassall adds that it is absolutely free from "mechanical
impurity and . . . contains a remarkably small proportion
of the salts of magnesia, lime, etc." In consequence of this
unusual purity, it is in demand among medical men for stimulat-
ing the action of the heart. A far smaller quantity is required,
either for table or pickling purposes, than of the ordinary salt of
commerce, and there is an absence of that bitter after-taste so
often noticed in the case of ordinary salt and due to impurities.
Further, it is almost completely non-deliquescent—infinitely less
so than ordinary salt—owing to the much smaller quantity it
contains of chloride of magnesium, which greedily absorbs
moisture from the atmosphere. In every respect, therefore,
Maldon Salt is superior to ordinary salt.
The Maldon Salt is sold in card-board boxes of varying sizes,
and priced from sixpence upward, each box bearing the Com-
pany's trade-mark, a salt crystal. It is stocked by some of the
largest London shops and stores, and is used at some of the
leading London restaurants. In appearance it bears little
resemblance to ordinary table-salt, being sold, not in powder,
but actually in crystals. The larger of these naturally get broken,
but many small ones are to be found whole among the mass.
For use at table, it requires crushing.
Let us hope that the manufacture of salt at Maldon, small
though it is, may long continue to flourish.
[The Club is much indebted to Mr. Christy for the blocks and
prints of the three plates illustrating this paper.—Ed.]
THE MOSSES OF ESSEX: A CONTRIBUTION
TO THE FLORA OF THE COUNTY.
By FRED. J. CHITTENDEN, County Technical Laboratories, Chelmsford.
[Read February 24th, 1906.]
THE Moss Flora of Essex is by no means a rich one, since,
at present, the list (excluding the Sphagnaceae, which
formed the subject of a previous communication, see Essex
Naturalist xiv. (1906) pp. 111-116) includes only about 200
species and sub-species out of a total nearly approaching 600
known to occur within the British Isles. The shortness of this
list is due to three principal causes:—
1. The fact that only certain parts of Essex have as yet