Mr. ?. II. Gosse on the Growth of Sea- Weeds. 489 



of their species ; their deHcacy of habit ; and their organic rank 

 in the class. The Chlorosperms, or Green Sea-weeds, have been 

 mastered; and the central tanks in the Zoological Society's 

 Aquarium afford interesting and easily accessible examples of 

 the successful treatment of these. Here the visitor sees a pro- 

 fuse growth of Ulvay E7iteromorpha, and Conferva^ covering the 

 slate ends of the tanks with their abundant vegetation, all of 

 which has grown since last summer ; and an object of exquisite 

 beauty is presented by a large stone completely concealed by a 

 crop of the lovely Bryopsis plumosa, which has overspread its sur- 

 face with luxuriant fronds growing so densely as to remind us 

 of a bank of moss, though greatly excelling it in elegance, and 

 affording shelter to myriads of tiny Entomostraca, that play in 

 its foliage like clouds of moving dust. Hitherto, however, the 

 Rhodosperms have resisted domestic culture^ refusing, like the 

 eagle *, to propagate in captivity. 



It was therefore with great satisfaction that I thought I per- 

 ceived indications of new growth in some Red Algse which I am 

 keeping in a small tank at my residence at Islington. Some of 

 these were received from the coast at the end of February last, 

 and others had survived the winter in confinement, having been 

 brought up from Weymouth on the 1st of December 1853. 



The first suspicion which I had that any of these were sprout- 

 ing, was produced by my observing, early in April, minute points 

 projecting from various parts of the frond of a Qracilaria con- 

 fervoides. They were of a paler red than the rest of the frond, 

 and from their appearance I conjectured that they might be new 

 shoots sprouting forth. I observed the same appearance on 

 other fronds of the same species, of which several tufty plants 

 were in the" tank; but it was not until the I4th of April that I 

 instituted a careful examination of these and other Rhodosperms. 

 On that day I selected fronds of different species, noting with 

 precision the size, form, and number of their projecting tubercles, 

 and making accurate sketches of them, both of the natural size, 

 and as they appeared under a lens. Thus I obtained fixed data 

 from which to determine the question of their growth. 



The flattened wire-like fronds of Gracilaria, which I selected, 

 had a considerable number of these tiny points, none of which 

 exceeded half a line in length ; they generally projected in pairs 

 from opposite sides of the frond, but showed a tendency to 

 cluster about the terminations of the fronds, which had been 

 broken off and were therefore truncate. On the 21st the points 

 had increased to twice, and in some instances to thrice their 

 former length ; they had acquired a fusiform figure, and were 

 indubitably growing shoots. 



* " The prison'd eagle will not pair." — Byron. 



