20 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



breadth a marvellous instance of great ends 

 from small means. It forms one among many 

 instances of that omnipotent Power, which can, 

 out of (apparently) the most insignificant things, 

 produce vast results ; and reminds us that in 

 - providence and grace, as well as in nature, vast 

 results often proceed from seemingly trivial 

 causes. What an idea, too, does so amazing an 

 amount of being convey of eternity ! The mind 

 is utterly overwhelmed in attempting to con - 

 ceive of the number of plants buried in even a 

 small portion of such a mass, and yet, vast as 

 such myriads are, they are nothing to the ages 

 of eternity ! We have thus mentioned some of 

 the most remarkable marine plants, but few 

 persons can have walked on any of our shores, 

 and not had their attention attracted by the ex- 

 treme beauty of many of our native sea- weeds, 

 of every shade and hue, from the delicate green 

 of many of the conferva^ to the brilliant red and 

 purple of others. 



Fresh-water plants are such as grow in fresh- 

 water only. These are of vastly more varied forms 

 than the marine species. The large order ofalgce, 

 which we just remarked abounds in the sea, has 

 its representatives also in fresh- water ; these 

 principally belong to the conferva, a section of 

 the algce with which, by name, perhaps, but few 

 are acquainted, though the plants themselves 

 are familiar to most. Who is there that has 

 not observed, in a stagnant ditch or pond, masses 

 of green matter, frequently in the form of very 

 fine hair, or covering the surface of the water 



