12 BRITISH CHAROPHYTA. 



Professor Prosper, in ' Las Carofitas de Espana,' 

 devotes an interesting chapter (pp. 197-202) to the 

 present and potential uses of Charophyte vegetation. 

 He begins by referring to certain parts of Switzerland, 

 where the Charophytic deposits are collected from 

 pools and lakes, left to dry in heaps, and then spread 

 upon the land as manure, and he advances the opinion 

 that the offensive odour emitted by these plants serves 

 to some extent to free the soil from insects and 

 rodents. He tells ITS that in order to study for himself 

 the importance of the Charophytes as manure, he 

 requested Professor Don Ramiro Suarez to make a 

 chemical analysis of samples of Chara liispida from 

 the Lake of the Isles (Daimiel) with the following 

 results : 



Centesimal composition of the plant dried in " air." 



Water 5'25 



Pare ashes and silica . . . 47'00 

 Crude fat . . . . .1-80 

 Crude protein . . . . .4*37 

 Crude cellulose .... 7'64 

 Other carbonic hydrates . . . 3o'94 

 In the ashes for every 1,000 parts 161 are lime and 

 1-57 phosphoric anhydride. He adds : " This analysis 

 will suffice to demonstrate the importance of the Charo- 

 phytes for manure and their potent calcareous incrus- 

 tation, but, in order further to convince myself, I have 

 compared the cultures of various grasses and papilio- 

 naceous plants manured with the said dried Charas, 

 and others grown without any such manure, and have 

 convinced myself of the enormous efficacy of the 

 Charophytes." Dr. Prosper gives photographic illus- 

 trations of the growth of two pots of barley, the one 

 manured with Chara-debris showing a higher and 

 stouter growth than the other not so manured. He 



