Objects for the Microscope. 181 



gushing tide was in mine ears, the vast expanse of a sunlit 

 sea before mine eyes my feet were slipping and bounding 

 from rock to rock, down to the edge of a retreating wave, 

 a long way from the shadow of the Serk cliffs. Suddenly, 

 as in a dream, a deep rock-pool lay before me, on the outer 

 side of which a forest of Laminaria and Cliorda-filum was 

 streaming out into the sea ; all round the interior margin 

 were thick clusters of olive sea-weeds, and the dense foliage 

 of Lichinia, Cystoseira, and Furcellaria. Here and there 

 beautiful tufts of the jointed Catanella, the delicate Cera- 

 mium, Laurentia, Plocamium, and in one dark corner some 

 fronds of the crimson Rhodipnenia^ whilst in the deepest 

 shadow grew the purple Chondrus crispus turning green and 

 olive in the sunny side of the pool. The water was clear 

 and untroubled, when with little splash a Cabot* darted 

 across from crevice to cranny beneath a boulder in the 

 pool ; a Prawn, gracefully poised, and waving its long 

 feelers, was lurking under the weeds, and a green, greedy 

 Crab, was watching a purple, passive Mussel gaping in the 

 warmth and quietude : myriads of living creatures, tiny 

 Molluscs and Cytheridse, were rejoicing in that little world 

 one single tide-pool. 



Not to dream on, but to explore deeper still into the 

 mysteries and beauties of the sea-flowers as they should 

 be called not weeds. 



" Call us not weeds we are flowers of the sea ; 

 For lovely, and bright, and gay-tinted are we, 

 And quite independent of culture or showers ; 

 Then call us not weeds we are ocean's fair flowers." 



La ndesborougli . 



We must consider steadily their microscopic parts, and 

 learn their place in creation. 



MARINE ALG^, 



or Sea-weeds, are in the ranks of the lower Cryptogamia : 

 yet the range is very wide, from the fructification of the 

 simple Ulva to the highly organized antheridia and anthe- 

 rozoides of the Fucus platycarpus. 



* The Guernsey name for the Blennius, or Blenny. 



