242 NATURAL HISTORY OF OUR SHORES 



In all suitable localities, such as the rock crevices, etc., 1 

 have constantly referred to, in all clean, sheltered situations, 

 may be seen a great diversity of other compound ascidians, 

 but in which the individuals are not apparent to the un- 

 aided eye, the colonies looking simply like uniform waxy 

 or leathery patches. 



Encrusting stems of weeds and forming nodular en- 

 crustations on stones is a white, stony -textured one, that 

 may be easily mistaken for a lime deposit. This is 

 Amorouciwn albicans. There are buff-coloured ones with 

 waxy surface, some buff with purple marbling, etc., 

 mostly belonging to the genus just named. Very striking 

 among those that live at the foot of rocks, at the lowest 

 spring tide range, is a brilliant vermilion one. This is 

 Leptodinum Lacazii. It forms polished leathery patches, 

 of sometimes a foot across and about a quarter of an inch 

 thick. 



This is, doubtless, what Victor Hugo refers to in his 

 '' Toilers of the Sea," where, in describing the cave in the 

 Roches Douvres, he says : ' The walls were splashed 

 with crimson stains, as if giants had been fighting 

 there." 



Under stones in pools is another red one, Leptodinum 

 fulgidum, but this forms patches of only an inch or two 

 across, and the red is not so vivid. 



One that I have never seen described or referred to is 

 of a bright, ultramarine blue. It is found, with the previous 

 one, under stones. I venture to suggest for it the name 

 Leptodinum coeruleum. It is not common, but I meet 

 with it pretty well every spring tide. 



This genus can only be well studied by means of micro- 

 scopic sections. 



The matrix which envelops the individuals in most of 

 these is thickly supplied with stellate spicules of sym- 

 metrical form, very beautiful under the microscope. The 



