43 



CHAPTEE VII. 



RANGE or BRITISH SEA-WEEDS. 



" Lord, how manifold are thy works ! In wisdom hast thou made them 

 all. The earth is fuU of thy riches: so is this great and wide sea." — 

 Psalm CIV. 



" Almighty Being ! 

 Cause and support of all things ! Can I view 

 These objects of my wonder, — can I feel 

 These fine sensations, and not think of Thee ? 

 Thou who dost through the eternal round of time, 

 Dost through the immensity of space exist 

 Alone, shalt Thou alone excluded be 

 From this thy universe ? " — Stillingfleet. 



Soil and climate are the chief causes that influence the 

 distribution of land-plants ; and we doubt not they are 

 also the chief causes that operate in the distribution of 

 sea-plants. Their influence^ however^ is less in sea-plants, 

 because they receive much less nourishment by means of 

 their roots, and also because the temperature of the sea is 

 much less variable than the temperature of the air. Some 

 of our British Sea-weeds are so widely spread in various 

 climates and seas, that they may be regarded as citizens of 



