128 THE peacock's tail. 



of the new-born young, the danger they incur from 

 predatory enemies, and the vigilant care of the affec- 

 tionate parent, are well described. 



THE peacock's TAIL. 



One of the most interesting of our native sea-weeds 

 is the Peacock's Tail [Padina pavoyiia). It is so 

 called from its shape, which, springing from a point, 

 expands into a broad fan, with an outline formmg, in 

 fine fronds, nearly three-fourths of a circle. A more 

 apt comparison would perhaps be the Tm'key's tail, 

 as its form is more closely like, and the concentric 

 bands add to the resemblance. I had been familiar 

 Avith the plant on the shores of Jamaica, for it is 

 essentially a tropical species, but had never yet seen 

 British specimens in their native haunts ; it is marked 

 as rare in om- books, and is confined to a few locali- 

 ties on the Channel coast. My friend Mr. Thompson, 

 however, taught me to look for it at Weymouth. 



At the foot of the Nothe, bordering its southern 

 side throughout its length, the shore at low-tide runs 

 off in wide flat ledges, the structure of which I have 

 abeady described. On these, as one dips and another 

 rises, a number of wide shallow pools lie in a sort of 

 chain parallel to the low cliffs. Here I was instructed 

 to watch for the first appearance of the pretty Pea- 

 cock's Tail. 



Unlike most of om* Algae, it is an annual plant, to 

 be found only in the summer. The cold of autumn 

 mthers its fan-like fronds, and the waves soon wash 

 away all trace of their existence, and it is not until 

 somewhat late in the spring that we detect the 



