108 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



Lund., St. brasiliense, Nord., foi-ma, Lund., from North Wales, 

 and from Connemara in Ireland ; and St. verticillatum, 

 Arch., from Connemara. The entire absence of these species 

 is somewhat remarkable ; but no doubt there is a fine field 

 for the future investigator along our whole western slope. 

 In passing, though it does not come directly in my way, I 

 would remark on St. brasiliense. Lundell's form does not 

 accord well with Nordstedt's Brazilian species bearing that 

 name; but it does agree exactly with St. multicotne, 

 Grunow, issued by Hilse in No. 2165 of Rabenhorst's 

 " Algen Europas," in March 1870. It seems to me that 

 Grunow's name should be adopted. 



Perhaps it may be thought that some explanation of 

 the terms expressing the distribution should be given. When 

 the words " general " or " common " are used, it is to be 

 understood that the species has been found in suitable 

 localities in all the counties examined, though not occurring 

 in every gathering, or in every district of a county. " Not 

 common ' implies that in many districts the species is 

 awanting, or occurs sparingly. In this case a list of the 

 counties from which it has been seen is given ; and if it 

 occurs very sparingly the localities are also added. W T hen 

 " rare," " very rare," etc., occur, it is to be understood that 

 though the species may occur in more than one county, it 

 may be in only one or two localities, and there very sparingly. 

 Single examples of a species have been occasionally found, 

 which no amount of searching has been able to detect 

 again. Onychonema Iceve, Nord., is a remarkable instance 

 of this. An unmistakable filament was once found in a 

 gathering from a spot near Aboyne ; but though that spot 

 has been searched many times since, the Onychonema has 

 not been seen again. Agricultural improvements, such as 

 drainage, etc., account for the loss of some species. Several 

 of our most productive localities on Deeside have been lost 

 from this cause. 



Exception may perhaps be taken to the alphabetical 

 arrangement of species adopted in the following pages. I 

 admit at once that it has nothing to recommend it except 

 convenience. On this ground it was adopted when this 

 work was begun a good many years ago ; and now I shrink 



