112 SEA-WEEDS. 



chain, sometimes running into one another. This 

 sea-weed is firm, leathery, and flexible in texture. 

 Every one has seen those grey crusted, shaggy 

 lichens which hang about our old trees, and will 

 readily agree that two of our sea- weeds sufficiently 

 resemble them to deserve their name of Lichina. 

 The dwarf Lichina (Lichina pygmced) is the more 

 frequent kind, and it grows on sea-side rocks, near 



NATURAL SIZE. 



MAGNIFIED. 



to the high-water mark, but within reach of the 

 waves. When the tide is out it is often left dry 

 for hours, and it is then a black, hard crust ; but 

 the returning waves restore it to its native olive 

 tint, and render it soft and flexible. It is common 

 on many rocky shores in autumn, and in the West 

 of England it is abundant. The lesser Lichina 

 (Lichina confinis) forms close tufts on rocks never 

 inundated by the waves, but on which the spray is 

 scattered at high-tide. Its dark patches, though 

 small, crowd and darken the rocks so as to be 

 visible at some distance. 



Most of our olive-green sea-weeds grow on rocks 

 often left uncovered by the tide, and the majority of 

 them disappear in the deeper water, when the base 

 is never left exposed to the sun and air. When 



