72 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Mar., 



paper. It is one of the forms which liave been described 

 under the names of red snow or Protococcus or Hcemato- 

 coccus nivalis. It is one of the minute forms which have 

 been described under Pahnellea or Euglenu and are but 

 the motile conditions of highly organized alga*, Licliens 

 or other plants." Vast clianges have taken place since 

 1856, the publishing of Dr. Henfrey's Micrographic Dic- 

 tionary. The works of C. Swendener in 1860-68 where- 

 in he shows that Lichens are but the forms of plants 

 which are made up of Alga? and Fungi, so that Lichens, 

 althougli seemingly distinct plants, and placed in a king- 

 dom by themselves, are compound and have no kingdom 

 at all. But this is not all for the Protococcus ov Hcemato- 

 coccus is found to be a fungus itself. And even the 

 spores or seeds if a Hcematococcus are seen to give forth 

 Algge and thus a Lichen. This was long disputed and 

 Swendener's facts doubted, but now they are accepted 

 by all of the modern naturalists who have studied them 

 and the growth of Lichens themselves. From this there 

 comes a process of thinking of what is a species in these 

 plants and are they plants at all. For seeming animals 

 which are active and take in food and assimilate it, grows 

 to be plants. And Hiematococcus is one of them. So 

 that we cannot distinguish by any means we have spe- 

 cies of an animal from another of vegetable. 



Hoematococcus or red snow, of which the specimen from 

 Tidal Inlet is one, may be described as a stiff gelatinous 

 mass, which is white and transparent, with diffused 

 through it, certain spheres. These splieres in their turn 

 are surrounded by a thick almost woody cell-wall, which 

 is more transparent than the gelatinous mass. Within 

 these cells are granular red or green coloring matter. Ho 

 that the whole looks like and was thought formerly to be 

 blood. Blood showers are commonly spoken of by the 

 older inhabitants and even by some of the modern ones. 

 We even now occasionallv hear of bloodv rain, which is 



