ON SEA- WEEDS. 155 



almost all the olive-green species. Yet, in practically 

 studying sea- weeds, this presents little difficulty, for 

 very generally we find the olive-green plants tough 

 and leathery; the red usually frail and delicate; 

 while the grass-green are always of simplest structure, 

 and of a tint little liable to change. In this almost 

 constancy of colour, the Algce differ greatly from the 

 plants of our upper earth, among which colour is 

 almost useless as a characteristic, giving us scarcely 

 any idea of the nature or properties of the plant, and 

 varying under circumstances of soil or culture. Thus 

 we see the wild hyacinth trembling in the spring- 

 wood, and we call it a blue bell; but we step into 

 the next copsewood, and there we find our favourite 

 woodland flower arrayed in purest white. The 

 'brown or purple heath' sometimes greets us un- 

 expectedly with snowy bells, and white blossoms 

 sometimes surprise us on the root where we expect 

 to find the pink flowers of the Kobert-leaved cranes- 

 bill."* 



The olive species of sea-weeds are called Melano- 

 sperms, or Black-seeded, and many, the most pro- 

 minent of them, are coarse by comparison with the 

 red or green spored Algae. 



On approaching the piers or rocks situated on any 

 part of our sea-coast, we cannot fail to observe 

 them tapestried with the dishevelled locks of the 

 common Bladder- wrack, Fucus vesiculosus. This is 

 the commonest of our sea-weeds, and one that child- 

 * Miss A. Pratt. 



