154 -D'". GooDENOUGH and Mr. Woodv/ardV Ohfa-vations on 



ftalk is round — in bulbofus perfe6lly flat: m dighalus it is fimple 

 throughout — in bulbofus \t is inflated at the bafc, whence it refem- 

 bles a hollow bulbous root. This<ippareut bulb is covered with ihort' 

 pezizi-form excrefcences, which authors have imagined to be ru- 

 diments of other plants. However, as this fucus is always found 

 folitary, we would fuggefl: the idea, that they may be receptacles of 

 frudtification. We rather dwell upon this idea, becaufe in the 

 younger plants there is no appearance of tubercles. The ft^ik in. 

 bulbofus is fometimes flightly twifted, and juft above the bafe has its 

 marc^ins thinnifh, and extremely curled or undulated : in digitatus. 

 the flalk is fimple throughout ; it has no inflation at the bafe» 

 and is entirely free from all excrefcences whatfoever. Thedivifions 

 of the frond, except that they are rather more numerous in bulbofus, 

 are in both alike, as to their fword-like, or rather fcymetar-like 

 {hape, and, according to their age, of a membranaceous, car- 

 tilao-inous or leathery texture. The colour in both is a dirty 

 green. 



There is fuch a fimilarity in the habit, texture, and root oifaccha- 

 rinusy digitatus, and bulbofus, that we cannot but be flrongly inclined 

 to think the fruftificatbu is alike in them all. They feem to form 

 a feparate family. It was this idea which induced us chiefly to look 

 Tipon the bullated faccharinus to be the variety, and the fmooth one 

 fo like bulbofus and digitatus^ to be the principal. All thefe fpecies 

 have mucus enough to conflitute a receptacle for the feeds or fruc- 

 tification ; fo that that confideration need not force us to have re- 

 courfe to the bullated variety oi faccharinus to account for the fource 

 of propagation of that fpecies. If there were bullated varieties of di- 

 gitatus and bulbofus, we might in that cafe allow that the bullated 

 variety was the perfeft plant ; but as that is not the cafe, and as in 

 two of thefe fpecies the fruftification is latent in the fmooth frond, 



3 ^^'6 



