789 



to be supported by a very short thick peduncle, not exceeding fifteen 

 millemetres in length, and covered with down. A section having 

 been made across the axis in its thickest part, the centre was observed 

 to be pith, without cells, vessels, or woody fibre. This central por- 

 tion was surrounded by pith, abounding in cells and bundles of woody 

 fibre. The cells were filled with gurn, and very different from the 

 bundles of woody fibre. These latter, being destined to supply the 

 scales, first pursued a course parallel to the axis, and then turned out- 

 wards to the bases of the scales. In relating the history of this plant, 

 it is to be observed, lastly, that some time before the scales began to 

 fall from the axis, a set of young leaves made their appearance on 

 one side of its base. They were invested with a thick, silky, olive- 

 coloured pubescence. They at first took a horizontal direction, but 

 on the removal of the cone their tendency was upwards. 



Notice of • A Manual of the British Marine Algce. By W. H. 

 Harvey, M.D., &c.' London : Van Voorst. 1849. 



Immediately on its appearance in 1841, Mr. Harvey's * Manual of 

 British Algae ' became a standard authority on the Sea-weeds of the 

 British Isles. The author was fortunate in being able to avail himself 

 of the invaluable assistance of Mrs. Griffiths, and the published la- 

 bours of Dr. Greville, in addition to that store of knowledge he had 

 himself acquired during the many years in which he had devoted the 

 energies of a very superior intellect to the study of these most elegant 

 and interesting plants. In the first edition, however, he unfortunately 

 fell into the common-place, the all but universal, error of young au- 

 thors, of extending the bounds of their subject beyond the limits of 

 their knowledge, and so entailing on their works that inevitable con- 

 sequence and terrible drawback, a " lame and impotent conclusion." 

 He included in his ' Manual' those microscopic atoms which hover 

 (in the minds of our philosophers) between the animal and the vege- 

 table kingdoms, — a tribe for which he has no taste, which he had 

 never made his study, and of which, consequently, he possessed no 

 knowledge. This obscure tribe has since become the subject of two 

 important works, by Mr. Hassell and Mr. Ralfs : and Dr. Harvey has 

 very properly omitted it entirely from his new edition, which is con- 

 fined to Sea-weeds, properly so called ; which brings down their his- 



