48 HALF AN HOUR WITH SEAWEEDS. 



plant capable of great variation in the shape and 

 size of its fronds. All the true green seaweeds are 

 notorious for their power of secreting oxygen, and 

 this peculiarity must be of great value to the marine 

 animals, which find at once a protection and in- 

 vigoration amid their dense fronds. This oxygen- 

 forming power is especially noticeable in the common 

 green laver (Ulva latissimd), hence its value in the 

 marine aquarium. Very abundant almost every- 

 where the young collector will find Cladophora 

 rupestris and G. arcta ; the former a coarse, horse- 

 hair sort of seaweed, and the latter a trifle prettier. 

 But by far the most graceful and elegant of the 

 Melanosperms is the pretty little Bryopsis plumosa, 

 not a common plant, and one which, once seen, will 

 be always remembered afterwards. Its specific 

 name of " feathery " is a capital description of its 

 general appearance. 



" How to mount seaweeds," so as to make them 

 present something of their original beauty as seen 

 when their delicate fronds were waving in the water, 

 is a very important and sometimes difficult problem 

 to the young collector. The best method is first to 

 separate the specimens, and then to lay each on the 

 edge of a plate in which there is water. They should 

 not be placed in the water, however, but just on the 

 side, so that they may imbibe sufficient moisture 

 during the next operation without being actually 

 immersed. Then take a piece of stiff drawing-paper 

 and push it under the water slowly and carefully, so 



