MARINE ALG OF BEAUFORT, N. C. 373 
In the preparation of the present report three objects have been kept in view: 
(1) Only occasional collections have previously been made on the coast of our southern 
States. While the algal flora of New England and Long Island has been studied with 
some thoroughness and the Florida coast has received considerable attention, the area 
between these regions has been almost untouched in recent years. Although the present 
work makes no pretense of being a taxonomic contribution, the effort has been made 
to present as complete an account as possible of the algal flora of the region, with 
remarks on species affording interesting comparisons with the same species found in 
other regions. (2) Little is known of the conditions of algal growth and of the factors 
limiting their distribution in space and in time. Notes have been made on the con- 
ditions observed at Beaufort, and some interesting effects of these conditions have 
been recorded. It would be desirable to have a detailed and thorough study of the con- 
ditions made here. (3) No work suitable for American collectors who are not trained 
students of algee has appeared in recent years, and no such work has ever been written for 
the algze of our southern coast. Although this lack has been partly filled by Collins’s ex- 
cellent treatment of the Chlorophycez (1909, 1912, 1918) and key (1918a) and Miss Til- 
den’s work on the Myxophycez of North America (1910), the need still exists for a special 
account of the alge of this region. With this object in mind, the present report has 
been written as simply as possible. Technical terms have been avoided whenever the 
meaning could be expressed otherwise without too great circumlocution and without 
sacrifice of accuracy. Nearly every species has been illustrated by a photograph or 
drawing, since an illustration will often give, to one not a special student of the alge 
and even to the trained algologist, a better idea of the species than pages of description: 
Two keys have been prepared, one (an artificial key to genera) based as far as possible 
on superficial, easily observed characters, the other (a natural key to divisions, orders, 
etc.) showing the diagnostic characters which warrant the placing of the different forms 
in their respective groups. 
All photographs and, except where otherwise stated, all drawings are original, 
nearly all the photographs being made from living plants and all the drawings being 
made with a camera lucida. In the descriptions of the various groups and in the 
natural key free use has been made of current works, especially those of Engler and 
Prantl (1897-1911), De Toni (1889-1907), and Collins (1909, 1912). The descriptions 
of the species, however, are based in part on specimens observed by the author, includ- 
ing those found at Beaufort and those in American herbaria which were accessible to 
him. In using the artificial key to genera and the keys to species, it should be borne 
in mind that these have been prepared for the particular genera and species mentioned 
in this work, and if used for alge of other regions may lead the student astray. Even 
in this region these keys may cause confusion if genera and species other than those 
mentioned should be found. A collector should, therefore, always carefully compare 
his specimens with the descriptions before venturing to assign them names. The gross 
measurements of the size of species should not be taken too strictly, the figures given 
being the limits of specimens observed by the author or for which a record has been seen. 
It will be noticed that the descriptions of many of the species are incomplete in 
that no mention is made of male plants or organs. This is due to our imperfect 
knowledge of these plants, since, partly because of their inconspicuousness and partly 
because of their greater scarcity, male plants and organs have been studied much less 
