xiv.] ALGsE. 20$ 



us some account of the same plant as he encountered 

 it off Tierra del Fuego. He says it "grows on every 

 rock, from low-water mark to a great depth, both on 

 the outer coast and within the channels. I believe 

 during the voyages of the 'Adventure' and 'Beagle/ 

 not one rock near the surface was discovered which 

 was not buoyed by this floating weed. The good 

 service it thus affords to vessels navigating near 

 this stormy land is evident; and it certainly has 

 saved many a one from being wrecked. I know 

 few things more surprising than to see this plant 

 growing and flourishing amidst those great breakers 

 pf the western ocean, which no mass of rock, let it 

 be ever so hard, can long resist. The stem is round, 

 slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a diameter of so 

 much as an inch. A few taken together are sufficiently 

 strong to support the weight of the large loose stones, 

 to which, in the inland channels, they grow attached ; 

 and yet some of these stones were so heavy that, 

 when drawn to the surface, they could scarcely be 

 lifted into a boat by one person. . . . The beds of 

 this seaweed, even when not of great breadth, make 

 excellent natural floating breakwaters. It is quite 

 curious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the 

 waves from the open sea, as they travel through the 

 struggling stems, sink in height, and pass into smooth 

 water." And a little further on in his interesting 

 narrative, he says : " I can only compare these great 

 aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere, with the 

 terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions." 



The only other example of the Melanospermece we 

 are able to find room for is the beautiful Peacock's 



