ALG^. 99 



filaments, repeatedly branched, and firmly entangled 

 together. The joints contain a green fluid substance, 

 which by drying settles in an opaque form at their 

 extremities, as in others of the genus. No traces of 

 real fructification have been observed, though the 

 extreme points of the filaments have an appearance 

 which might be mistaken for such. It would seem 

 that several of these filaments spring from one centre, 

 perhaps fixed to some earthy particle, which, like the 

 Dodder, they soon leave, and their lower parts wither 

 away, while by branching and extending themselves 

 upwards they form a gradually enlarging globe." 

 Mr. Williams informs us of these balls being used 

 to wipe pens upon. The specific name alludes to their 

 resembling the hairy balls found in the stomachs of 

 goats. 



Hassall mixed up the present species with another, 

 Cladophora glomerata, because he considered them 

 merely as conditions the one of the other. The com- 

 pact form, which constituted the " moor balls," he 

 believed to be formed as follows : " A specimen, by the 

 force of some mountain stream, swollen by recent 

 rains, becomes forced from its attachment ; as it is 

 carried along by the current, it is made to revolve 

 repeatedly upon itself, until at last a compact ball is 

 formed of it, which finally becomes deposited in some 

 basin or reservoir in which the stream loses itself, and 

 in which these balls are usually found." ^ 



The appearance which these balls present is not by 

 any means suggestive of an agglomeration of filaments 



* A. H. Hassall, "A History of British Fresh Water Algw," vol. i. 

 p. 215. (1845.) 



