THE SHORES OF BRITAIN. 61 



common, being abundant on every rocky shore, or- 

 dinarily presents, though subject to much variation, 

 the form of a spreading busby tuft, from one to 

 four inches high, growing from a broad stony base, 

 of a shape more or less round. Each branch con- 

 sists of many short joints, a little broader at the 

 upper than at \he lower end, which often send out 

 other jointed branches from each upper shoulder, as 

 well as from the centre. The joints are of a stony 



Coralline (Corallina officinalis). 



or rather shelly consistence, being chiefly a deposit 

 of lime; when dead they are perfectly white, but 

 in a living state they assume a purplish tint. Lin- 

 naeus and many other eminent men were deceived 

 by this shelly appearance into an opinion of their 

 animal nature, maintaining that animals alone ever 

 produced lime. But on removing the calcareous 

 deposit, we perceive that it is merely a crust en- 



F 



