10 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



eight sphere-like bodies, continues to swell, until finally it 

 ruptures and the spherical oospheres are liberated ; they are 

 immediately surrounded by the zoospores, and from their union 

 the seed of a new plant is formed. This method of reproduction 

 is very much alike among all the brown and olive-coloured sea- 

 weeds. 



If some of the larger seaweeds in the pool be moved aside, a 

 lovely little red seaweed may be found. This is a Polysiphonia, 

 so-called from its curious structure. The stem consists of 

 a large central tube, completely surrounded by a great number 

 of smaller tubes at the top. 



If you get a thick stick of macaroni and surround it closely 

 with thin pieces of vermicelli you obtain a very good likeness 

 to the stem of one of these plants. It may be observed that this 

 structure is very different from that of the seaweeds already 

 described. Indeed, in the red Algge, of which the Polysiphonen 

 may be considered a fair type, the structure and methods of 

 reproduction are of a very much higher order — I mean more 

 closely resembling land plants — than any others. Before leaving 

 the first uncovered pool I must notice the presence of two plants 

 which occur in great numbers, and which puzzled me greatly 

 when I first examined then. One is a grass-like plant often seen 

 covering large sandy patches of the bottom of the pool. These, 

 although growing in seawaler, are not considered as seaweeds, but 

 belong to a separate order of higher plants, inasmuch as they have 

 true roots, stems, and leaves, and contain also in their structure 

 the vessels which were mentioned as being peculiar to land 

 plants. The second of these plants is worth examining. It is 

 called Cymodacea, and consists of a long stem with a bunch of 

 thick green leaves. If it is growing on the rock you will 

 find that it has long creeping horizontal stems, firmly fastened 

 to the rock ; from these creeping stems the plants arise. 

 But if you discover the same plant growing on sand, take it up 

 carefully and you may perceive a quantity of small pieces of sea- 

 weeds fastened round the base ; remove these carefully, and find 

 two comb-like anchors, to which the seaweeds were fastened, and 

 two or four fleshy roots which had penetrated the sand seeking for 

 nourishment. These two conditions may be explained by the 

 plant's efforts at reproduction. It has true flowers like land 

 plants, but unless quite uncovered by the tide these seldom 

 produce seed, so the plant grows longer and longer. I have 

 frequently found it from three to four yards long. At last two 

 leaf-like outgrowths are formed at the base of the tuft of leaves. 

 These outgrowths increase in size, and consist of a very stiff 

 skeleton of spines, surrounded by the usual fleshy material. The 

 soft part decays, and thus the plant has two spiny anchors below 

 its leaves. The top of the stem now breaks just below the 



