CONTENTS 



PAGE 



PREFACE . v 



CHAPTER I 



GENERAL 



What is protoplasm ? Aim of the Plant world Glacial clay Fresh 

 lavas Eruption of Krakatao Succession of Floras Tropical 

 jungle as the most complex association Foliage surfaces British 

 woods Co-operation in woodlands Wood anemone Co-opera- 

 tion amongst its cells Struggle for life 17 



CHAPTER II 



SEAWEEDS AND LEAF-GREEN 



Leaf-green or chlorophyll Its method of working Green, brown, 

 and red seaweeds Colours and their importance Changes in 

 colour Hot springs Resistances to ' heat and cold Arctic and 

 Antarctic seaweeds Macrocystis Sargasso Sea Floating marine 

 organisms Trades' dust Diatoms Labrador deposits of diatoms 

 Phosphorescence at sea Alcohol and seaweeds Desmids 

 Parasites ........... 29 



CHAPTER III 



THE FIRST LAND PLANTS 



Land algae Nostoc of gravel Destruction of nitrogenous matter by 

 fires and explosives Nostoc and its special bacterial assistant 

 Nitrogen bacillus Pliny on beans Green manures Tubercles 

 of leguminosce Nitro-culture Nitrogen and nitro-bacterine Pro- 

 fessor Bottomley's experiments and the results Soil, constitution 

 and air contents Rich population in hollows, &c. Bacterial 

 activity Fungi in soil Circulation of air Heavy rain Frost 

 Effect of decimating bacilli Roman bacteria ... . .42 



CHAPTER IV 



BACTERIA 



Germs ubiquitous Colonies of bacteria Toxins and antitoxins 

 Defence of animal bodies Phagocytes Opsonins Pasteur and 

 hydrophobia Vaccination Imprisoned bacteria Phosphorescent 

 forms Lamps of living germs Spontaneous combustion Bacterial 

 colours Rapidity of development 53 



CHAPTER V 



ROCK LICHENS 



The Trentepohlia forest Exposure of lichens Variety of colours Dust 

 Destruction of rocks by lichens Rhizocarpon in chalk Quartz 

 rock corrosion Weathering Slow growth of lichens Tripe de 

 roche and reindeer moss 63 



ix 



