1 76 FRESHWATER WEEDS. 



Vaucherias. It resembles little green seeds, these being 

 vesicles with tiny roots. I found it in a turnip field at 

 Hawkhurst that same wet summer. Some of the vesicles 

 seemed to have opened, and discharged their contents ; 

 for they were cup-shaped. All these plants belong to the 

 Siphoniacere order. 



Two curious plants rank early in that of Confervaceae, 

 though at first sight they seem to bear little resemblance to 

 any other in that thread-shaped colony. The two Chaeto- 

 phoras are gelatinous-looking plants, but the character- 

 istic threads are present nevertheless, but embodied in 

 jelly. The Endive-leafed species is found in streams. It 

 grows to the height of two or three inches, with forked 

 or indented fronds. The Elegant Chsetophora grows in 

 ponds or slow streams, attached to stones or stems. It is 

 of a full green, round, and varies in size from that of a 

 pea to a hazel-nut. 



The Draparnaldias are pretty little plants, green, 

 elegantly branched, and about an inch high. The 

 Globular species has a beaded appearance from the con- 

 traction of the stems. The Dwarf one is feathery in its 

 form. I have not found either of them, but have received 

 specimens. 



It was in a wood near Eichmond that we first saw the 

 orange Chroolepus : a moss-covered wall, under the shade 

 of thick trees, was gaily painted with it, the patches 

 resembling pieces of loose felt of a full orange colour. 

 The naked eye can discern the threads of which the mass 

 is composed, but we had to use a microscope to see the 

 branches. Of course we pressed specimens for our 



