of Polysiphonia parasitica. 167 



stone and stump, let him as a happy algologist turn to the sea, 

 and he will there find a rich and inexhaustible field before him. 

 There, are many Algse to be found in a live state on the rocks 

 and in the pools of the rocks ; but he will find that the little 

 creek or harbom* acts as a decoy to wile within his reach many 

 of the precious floating wanderers of the deep ; and that by every 

 tide it is replenished with fresh variety, amidst which he may 

 luxuriate and pick and choose at \^all. 



I do not mean at present to luxmiate on Algse, nor even to at- 

 tempt to enumerate the various species that, in their season, may 

 be there found, I shall limit my few remarks to one which, 

 though considered rare, is met with during summer in consi- 

 derable abundance amongst the rejectamenta in the little creek : 

 I mean the beautiful little Polysiphonia parasitica. I have fixed 

 on it, because I have observed on it a kind of fructification which 

 I think has hitherto been unnoticed. I am quite aware that I 

 am on dangerous ground ; that a person with few scientific books, 

 and scarcely any leisure to read those he has, in proclaiming dis- 

 coveries, is in very great danger of treading on a touchy toe, or 

 of stealing some person's thunder. Now, if this should be my 

 unfortunate case, I can only respectfully say, " Pardonnez-moi, I 

 really did not intend it." However, I am at all events entitled to 

 say that the fruit of Polysiphonia parasitica is rare, when so di- 

 stinguished a botanist as Mr. Harvey says he has never seen the 

 capsules. A few daj^s ago my youngsters, who have more leisure 

 than I have, brought me specimens from Portincross with three 

 kinds of fructification ! Two kinds they had detected with the 

 naked eye, but the third, and as I think neiv kind, I detected on 

 using a lens. The fine large dark-coloured capsules (PI. IV. fig. 1) 

 were very conspicuous, being large in proportion to the size of the 

 plant. On a distinct plant from that which bore the capsules, 

 the second kind of fructification was very visible, viz. large red- 

 dish bro^vn granules imbedded not only in the ultimate ramuli, 

 giving them a knotted as well as spotted appearance, but also 

 imbedded in single longitudinal rows in several of the branches 

 (fig. 2 a). The kind which I detected on the same plant which 

 had the granular fructification consisted of capsules also, but of 

 quite a difierent form from the large dark brown capsules, and 

 resembling the capsules of Rhodomela subfusca, or of R. lycopo- 

 dioides, or rather something intermediate between these two 

 (fig. 2 b). They seem nearly of the same colour and substance 

 as the branches on which they are placed, whereas the other cap- 

 sules are different from the branches both in colour and texture. 

 It is this sameness of substance and colour with the branches 

 which makes them less easily detected, for they are of sufficient 

 size to be seen on close examination even with the naked eye. I 



