208 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Sept. 1, 1869. 



or English one given to this weed. It is very 

 plentiful on the "Welsh coast, and is interesting to 

 the naturalist on account of the numberless small 

 zoophytes that are to be met with on its fronds. Its 

 air-vessels resemble pods, and from this likeness 

 comes the specific name of Siliquosa ; " Halidrys " 

 being taken from two Greek words signifying oak- 

 trees, and certainly the tiny tufts fixed on the stones 

 at low-water mark by an expanded disk do resemble 

 Lilliputian oak-trees. The beautiful fairy -like 

 plumes of the Plumularia crisiata are found on this 

 seaweed in full perfection. I have seen some of 

 these delicate zoophytes in an aquarium, but they 

 never live long in one. 



When staying at Little Hampton on the Sussex 

 coast a few years ago, 1 used to amuse myself by 

 collecting all the seaweeds and uncommon objects 

 of the seashore, for they were mostly novel to me 

 then, that I could fiud, and, keeping them for a short 

 time in sea-water, which I carefully changed every 

 day, to study their wonderful construction at my 

 leisure. I think I must have filled all the finger- 

 glasses at the Beech Hotel with my specimens. 

 The kind old landlady humoured my invalid fancies, 

 and the window-seats and tables in my drawing- 

 room looked, when the sun was shining on these 

 impromptu aquariums, rather like a chemist's shop. 

 The colours of some of the sea anemones are singu- 

 larly lovely ; they are aptly called living flowers, 

 Antlwzoa. I shall never forget a Crass I found 

 there. When very anxious for its dinner — that is, 

 fully extended — its tentacles expanded to their 

 utmost length, it nearly filled a finger-glass, and 

 looked exactly like a magnificent blossom. 



It was difficult to believe that the thing was a 

 living creature, that it moved and eat ; but had I 

 placed it in a larger glass, it would soon have left 

 the stone on which I found it, and which I brought 

 it home on, for some other place in the aquarium. 

 It is interesting to watch a" Crass" free itself; but 

 you must not attempt to remove it by force, as its 

 base is very sensitive, and therefore the chances 

 are ten to one that you will injure it by trying 

 to detach it. 



I kept a " Crass " for some time in a large globe ; 

 had it by itself, for the " Crass" is not an amiable 

 individual, and is apt to kill any other creatures 

 who live in the same aquarium, such as prawns or 

 shrimps ; besides it sulks, and it is not strong, and 

 if it, in a fit of temper, makes up its mind, perverse 

 animal, to die, it poisons the water, and the poor 

 anemones suffer. I lost some very nice " Mes " 

 once in this way. I had bought a large glass 

 aquarium of Mr. Alford Lloyd, and I drove out to 

 Southsca to fill it. I knew I could find some of 

 the Actinia Mesembryanthemum, called for brevity 

 "Mes" there. I had a "Crass," sole occupant of 

 this large Crystal Palace. 



My Crass sulked, he shut up, he evidently disliked 



the Actinia, and, to make short this history, he died 

 in the aquarium, and most of my pretty sea-flowers 

 followed his bad example. 



The Sea thong, as the fishermen call the Riman- 

 thalia lorea, is a curved cup-shaped seaweed; its 

 long, strap-shaped, branched filaments' spring from 

 the middle of a small green cup, and though it is 

 by no means an ornamental object in one's collec- 

 tion, still, for the sake of its quaintness, I say get a 

 specimen. It is very common. 



The red weeds are the most beautiful when 

 mounted, therefore collectors (misnamed) who only 

 care to bring away with them little scraps of pretty 

 coloured weed, mostly seek for Bonnemaisonia and 

 Plocamium, varied by an occasional bit of grass- 

 green Viva or Cladopliora, throwing aside all the 

 more sombre-lmed specimens of the olive-green 

 class, such as I have already described. 



Fig. 166. Plocamium coccineum. 



Of all the favourite "weeds" which the casual 

 visitor picks up and carries home as a memento of 

 the sea, none is more beautiful or common than that 

 which botanists call Plocamium coccineum. It is of 

 a beautiful crimson hue, when growing in deep 

 water, but very soon after it has been cast on the 

 shore it loses its brilliancy, becomes bleached by the 

 sun, and ultimately subsides into a dirty white. 

 Darker in colour, perhaps less common, more 

 feathery, but scarcely less beautiful, is Lasya 

 coccinea. But the large leaf-like fronds of the 

 Delessaria sanguined, more like delicate crimson 

 oak-leaves, and as large as oak-leaves, are regarded 

 as a treasure, especially if the form and colour 

 approach to perfection, and the margin is compara- 

 tively unbroken. But, alas ! during the calm sunny 

 weather when the citizen seeks the shore the 

 treasures of the deep are not cast up in such pro- 

 fusion as during the blustering days of March, and 

 such "fair-weather sailors" are compelled to rest 

 content with what they may find, and be thankful. 



