482 THE CHEMISTRY OF CREATION. 



been given by Dr. Hooker of a peculiar class of 

 vegetable organisms, discovered between the 

 parallels of 60 and 80 south, which proves that 

 at the icy regions of the poles, vegetable life 

 is still to be found. This singular vegetation 

 occurred in such countless myriads as to stain 

 the sea everywhere of an ochreous brown colour, 

 in some cases causing the surface of the ocean, 

 from the locality of the ships as far as the eye 

 could reach, to assume a pale brown colour. 

 Though peculiarly abundant in the Icy Sea, 

 these plants are probably uniformly dispersed 

 over the whole ocean, but being invisible from 

 their minuteness, they can only be recognised 

 when washed together in masses, and contrasted 

 with some opaque substance. While the species 

 of these plants were found to increase in num- 

 ber with the latitude, up to the highest point 

 attained by man, they were also found by 

 Ehrenberg in both Americas, in the south of 

 Europe, and north of Africa, in a fossil state, 

 and even in volcanic ashes. Their remains have 

 been found floating in the atmosphere, over- 

 hanging the tropical Atlantic ; for Mr. Darwin, 

 during the voyage of the Beagle, collected an 

 impalpable dust which fell on Captain Fitzroy's 

 ship, when to the west of Cape de Verd Islands, 

 and it proved on examination to consist of 

 remains of these plants, including species com- 

 mon in the antarctic regions. 



