SEAWEEDS. 1 5 i 



British Seaweeds, the name signifies, red membrane. 

 The R. lacimata was also lying among the stranded weeds, 

 the frond is thick and leathery, and cleft into many 

 broad blunt divisions, the margin is fringed with 

 tubercles. We also found the E. jubata that same day, 

 its frond is egg-shaped and tapering, often clustered, ami 

 fringed with young fronds the same shape as itself. 

 There are three other species, but they have not yet 

 found their way to our infant collection. 



The Sphserococcus is too scarce a weed in Scotland for 

 us to have any hope of finding it. It is thick and 

 gelatinous, doubly branched, and dark in tint. 



The Gracelarias are also gelatinous weeds : they are 

 slender and pretty, but pertain chiefly to the south coast 

 of England. Dr. Greville states that a species of Grace- 

 laria is greatly valued as an article of food in Ceylon, and 

 that our G. compressa is little inferior to it. G. tenax 

 makes excellent glue, and is used for this purpose by the 

 Chinese, who employ the glue in glazing silk, gauze, and 

 paper. Mrs. Griffiths prepared a beautiful pickle from 

 the G. erecta, small specimens of which Edward found 

 when in Cornwall. 



The Hypnea purpurascens we sought in vain : it has 

 since been given to me by a friend, who found it early in 

 the season on the same coast. It is a slender weed, much 

 branched, the branches either simple or forked, or thread- 

 shaped. 



The great order of Cryptonemiaceae contains many 

 genera, generally of a threaddike form and leathery 

 texture. 



