230 LIVING SEA-WEEDS. 



My experiments, though not yet entirely successful, 

 and needing much more attention and time to com- 

 plete them, have yet established the fact, that the 

 balance can be maintained between the plant and the 

 animal for a considerable period at least, without dis- 

 turbance of the water ; while my vivaria have afforded 

 me the means of many interesting researches, the 

 details of which form the subject of these pages. 



The first thing to be done was to obtain the Algse 

 in a growing state. As they have no proper roots, 

 but are in general very closely attached to the solid 

 rock, from which they cannot be torn without injury 

 by laceration, I have always used a hammer and chisel 

 to cut away a small portion of the rock itself, having 

 ready a jar of sea- water into which I dropped the 

 fragment with its living burden, exposing it as little 

 as possible to the air. The red sea-weeds I have 

 found most successful : the Fnci and Laminarice, 

 besides being unwieldy and unattractive, discharge 

 so copious a quantity of mucus as to thicken and 

 vitiate the water. The Ulvm and Enter omorjjhce on 

 the other hand are apt to lose their colour, take the 

 appearance of wet silver-paper, or colourless mem- 

 brane, and presently decay and slough from their 

 attachments. The species that I have found most 

 capable of being preserved in a living state are Chon- 

 drus crispus, the Delesserice, and Iridea edulis. The 

 last-named is the very best of all, and next to it is 

 Delesseria sanguinea, for maintaining the purity of 

 the water, while the colours and forms of these render 

 them very beautiful objects in a vase of clear water, 

 particularly when the light (as from a window) is 



