SEA- WEEDS. 97 



the sea comes up with its high tide, no longer 

 droop heavily, but float and play with every wave. 

 Every one accustomed to the sea-side, or even 

 to the shores of salt rivers, knows that most com- 

 mon of all sea-weeds, the Bladder Fucus (Fucus 

 vesiculosus) , whose dark sprays lie on every line 

 of sand or shingle, or gather in clumps on rock or 

 pier. When fresh from the waters, it is of a dark 

 olive tint, but as it hardens in the sun it becomes 

 black as ink. Its frond has on it, here and there, 

 a number of oval bladders or pods. These are the 

 ,air bladders, which enable the fucus to float on the 

 waters ; and these occasion the crackling noise, 

 when, as we walk upon the shore, we crush the 

 half dried sea-weed by our footstep. As this plant 

 dries, it becomes covered with a whitish salt crust. 

 It has the common names of Bladder- wrack and 

 Sea-ware, and was formerly very generally called 

 Sea-oak. The Scotch call it Kelp-ware, or Black 

 Tang. Its fronds, when near the shore, are gene- 

 rally about a foot long, but when found in deeper 

 water, they are larger and more abundantly pro- 

 vided with the air vessels, by means of which they 

 wave about in the sea ; and large branches, four 

 or even five feet in length, may there be gathered. 

 The frond forms numerous young plants about its 

 roots, and if torn, it will throw out new shoots 

 from the injured part. In Gothland it is a famous 

 food for cattle when boiled and mingled with meal. 

 Cattle are also fed on some other of the fucus 

 tribe, and in some of the Scottish isles the animals 

 go down regularly at low tide to feed on this 

 refuse of the waves, guided by that instinct which 

 teaches them so surely, as that they never mistake 

 the time of its ebbing. This is also much used for 



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