4 Notice of Harvey's Marine Alze of North America. 
are either carried away by the wind or form a papery film over the 
exposed surface of the ground. In neither case do they breed noxious 
airs by their decomposition. All their life long they have conferred a 
positive benefit on the atmosphere, and at their death they at least do 
no injury. ‘The amount of benefit derived from each individual is in- 
many extensive surfaces of water dispersed over the world, which are 
thus kept pure and made subservient to a healthy state of ‘the ‘atmos- 
ph t is not only vast, but it is worthy of Him who has appointed 
to even the meanest He an creatures something to ee for the good of 
His creation.”—pp. 3 
For those who, —_— cannot appreciate such views, 
who might reply that the present supply of oxygen in the air is 
quite sufficient to last out their time, or even that of the whole 
human race, and who would ask, “ what is the use of feeding all 
these animals?” our author proceeds to enumerate some of the 
principal uses to which the Algze have been applied by man, show- 
ing that many are directly edible and nourishing, and some prized 
as delicacies, while others furnish the pasturage of turtles, and 
are probably needful for the formation of their much prized green 
at, the use of which, in feeding the aldermanic race of animals, 
‘our objector will probably appreciate. What a pity that the 
botanist must now leave the famous edible birds’ nests out of his 
id 
list of vegetable esculents, it being lately lee that this | 
costly delicacy “consists of an animal substance which is sup- 
posed to be disgorged by the swallows that build them.” .. "Phe 
various other uses to which Algze have been applied by man, 
whether civilized or savage, some of them curious, are mentioned 
at some considerable leng ‘th, 
Another part of the TaleSduction treats, in a clear and inter- 
poke way, of the general structure and morphology of Algz, 
the series of vegetable development from the simplest 
possible vegetable organism, formed of a single cell or vesicle, a 
such as the Protococcus or eietow plant, which in its growth, — 
or reproduction (for these two ftmctions are reduced to one and 
the same thing) merely gives rise to other free cells like itself; 
up to those of considerable complexity of organization and o 
large or even gigantic size ; such as the Devil’s Apron, Oar-weeds 
and Murlins of our own Atlantic shore, and the Macrocystis, — 
curious T'halassiophyllum, and the strange Nere 
Northwest coast. The latter “is a when fully grown, to 
in aah tik ~The cask-like air- 
ike Milton’s hero, lies 
vessel ol bales up this aaa 
a eee 
