148 ROMANCE OF LOW LIFE AMONGST PLANTS. 



In the Arctic region it was discovered on snow, on 

 rocks, on decayed mosses, and on the bare soil. In 

 Scotland its locality is curious. The island of Lis- 

 more, in which it is found, is very low, ten miles in 

 length by only one or two in breadth, and resting on 

 a limestone rock of a slate-blue colour. " It occurs," 

 says Carmichael, "in abundance on the borders of 

 the lakes of Lismore, spreading over the decayed 

 reeds, leaves, etc., at the water's edge, but in greater 

 perfection on the calcareous rocks within the reach of 

 occasional inundation ; and, what is rather remark- 

 able, it seems to thrive equally well, whether immersed 

 or exposed to the dry atmosphere. It is to be found, 

 more or less, at all seasons of the year." 



Dr. Greville examined some of the Lismore speci- 

 mens, and some from the Arctic regions, with the 

 following results : " I had them immersed in water 

 for a period of three weeks, but did not succeed in 

 tracing any appearance that was not developed equally 

 well in the course of a few hours. In every instance 

 I found no difficulty in detecting a gelatinous sub- 

 stratum, various in thickness (sometimes exceeding 

 the diameter of the globules), colourless, diffuse, with- 

 out any defined border. Upon this gelatine rests a 

 vast number of minute globules, the colour of fine 

 garnets, exactly spherical, nearly opaque, yet very 

 brilliant, for the most part nearly equal in size ; the 

 smaller ones generally surrounded with a pellucid 

 limb like the capsules of Ccramiimi, and this limb 

 gradually becoming less as the globules enlarge, at 

 last entirely disappearing. In the full-sized globules 

 a favourable light shows the existence of internal 



