174 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
Jottings from my Note-book. 
By Davip Rosertson, F.L.S., F.G.S. 
HAticysTis ovaLis (Areschoug), an Alga, specimens of which 
were exhibited. 
[Read 29th January, 1895. ] 
I wave not had the opportunity of seeing any book in which this 
species has been recorded, therefore I can say little of its habits 
or distribution further than what has come under my own obser- 
vation. About two years ago Dr. Murray, of the Challenger, in his 
yacht J/edusa, in company with Professor Schmitz, and Mr. George 
Murray of the British Museum, when dredging in Kilbrannan 
Sound in 8 to 9 fathoms on a bottom of Melobesia, met with a 
single specimen of this species about the size of an ordinary 
garden pea. I am not aware that it had been obtained prior to 
this in Britain. JI had the privilege of seeing the specimen, 
which ‘gave me the hope that if it ever came under my notice I 
would most likely detect it. In the month of September last. 
at Lamlash, Arran, on one of our dredging excursions, on a bank 
of Melobesia in 7 fathoms, near the north channel of the bay, 
first one and then another of the highly-prized Halicystis were 
secured by Mrs. Robertson, and by close search on various occasions 
a large number were obtained, but mostly all small, many not 
much larger than an ordinary-sized pin’s head. They are somewhat 
ovate, colour pale green, attached by a short peduncle to the 
branches of Lithothamnion coralloides (Cru.), and its var. swb- 
simplex (Batters). On looking for what we usually call a sea-weed, 
without a previous knowledge of the appearance of Halicystis ovalis, 
it is so like the ova of some animal that it might be readily mistaken 
for such. 
