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CHAP. VIII. - 



PHYSIOLOGY OF MARINE PLANTS. 



Claims which they have on our Attention. Fructification. Pe- 

 culiarity of their Structure. Keproduction. Their remarkable 

 Structure as related to the Element they exist in. Artificial 

 Uses of Sea-weeds. Their Relation to Marine Animals, &c. 



THE beauty of many of these plants, their impor- 

 tance in the economy of nature, their use in various 

 respects to man himself, are all considerations 

 likely to dispose the intelligent observer to inquire 

 into their structure.. 



It has been already stated that ail the marine 

 plants are comprehended in the class termed 

 Cryptogamia, in which are included ferns, lichens, 

 and other non-flowering terrestrial plants. The 

 fructification of cryptogam ic plants differs, as our 

 readers are aware, from that of the class which 

 produce blossoms, and this peculiarity may be 

 readily observed by examining in autumn the 

 back of a fern leaf, or frond on which a multitude 

 of seed-like bodies may be seen grouped together 

 in various forms. These bodies consist of a num- 

 ber of distinct capsules, in which are the germs or 

 spores, analogous to the seeds in flowering plants. 



The fructification of marine plants is of this 

 kind. Their reproduction takes place by means 



