CONFER' V^E. 241 



sea, from its great extent. The entire surface in 

 such places is literally covered with these plants ; 

 and ships on their voyages are several days in pass- 

 ing through them. 



Fu'cus te'nax is employed in China as glue 

 and gum-arabic are with us; when washed and 

 steeped in warm water it dissolves, and as it cools, 

 stiffens into a glue, with which large sheets of 

 paper are coated, in order to make them trans- 

 parent ; mid these are used, instead of glass, for 

 lanterns and windows. In China, too, windows 

 are sometimes made of slips of bamboo, which are 

 crossed, and the spaces between are filled up with 

 thin sheets of this glue alone. 



The Fu'cus lichenoi'des is in high estimation in 

 the East Indies, particularly at Ceylon, as a luxury 

 for the table. You will be surprised to hear that 

 the nests of a kind of swallow are eaten as a deli- 

 cacy in China, and throughout the East, and even 

 imported to London. These nests, it is supposed, 

 are made by the birds almost entirely of the Fu'cus 

 lichenb'i'des. 



The little branch of sea-weed that I have 

 sketched for you [PLATE 22.], does not resemble 

 any of the kinds which I have been speaking of. 

 It is a species of Confer 7 va ; and I have drawn it 

 merely to give you an idea of the difference between 

 the Aquatic Al'gse (of which this is a genus) and 

 the Li'chens, which form the two divisions of the 



