ITS CONTENTS. 55 



busily fringe, reaching from the edge to about six 

 inches down : a few plants of the Bladder Fucus are 

 scattered around and above the brim ; and the arching 

 fronds of the Sweet Laminaria, that I before spoke of, 

 hang down nearly to the bottom, closely resembling, 

 except in their deep-brown hue, the hart's tongue fern 

 that so profusely adorns the sides of our green lanes. 

 Below the Coralline level are a few small red sea- weeds, 

 as Rhodymenia palmata ; and the dark purple 

 Chondrus crisjnfs growing in fine tufts reflecting a 

 rich steel-blue iridescence. But all the lower parts 

 of the sides and the bottom are abnost quite free from 

 sea-weeds, with the exception of a small Ulva or two, 

 and a few incrusting patches of the Coralline-base, 

 not yet shot u^) into branches, but resembling smooth 

 pink lichens. The smooth surface of the rock in these 

 lower parts is quite clean, so that there is nothing to 

 intercept the sight of the Actinice, that project from 

 the hollows, and spread out their broad circular disks 

 like flat blossoms adhering to the face of the interior. 

 There are many of these, all of the species A. bellis, 

 and all of the dark chocolate varietv, streaked with 

 scarlet ; and they are fine in the ratio of the depth at 

 which they live ; one at the very bottom is fully three 

 inches in diameter. 



There is something exceedingly charming in such 

 a natural vivarium as this. When I go down on my 

 knees upon the rocky margin, and bring my face 

 nearly close to the water, the whole interior is dis- 

 tinctly visible. The various forms and beautiful tints 

 of the sea-weeds, especially the puii^le flush of the 

 Chondrus, are well worthy of admiration ; and I can 



