132 BOTANICAL GAZETTE . [February 



Vol. I^ of the English translation of LaPerouse's Voyage round the 

 world (London/i799)j Maurelle's observation that in lat. 47° 40' N. 

 "they observed that the sea was colored as in soundings, and they 

 saw numbers of fish, reeds twenty feet long, and a species of seaweed 

 with a head resembling an orange." In spite of the suggestion that 



seems 



probable that it was iV. Luetkeana, Later in the same volume, 



La Perouse speaks of the same plant as follows: "As we advanced 



to the north and approached America, we obserA'ed seaweeds of a 



species entirely new to us. A bail of the size of an orange terminated 



a stalk forty or fifty feet long, resembling an onion run to seed, but 



much superior m size." This was m the latitude of Mt. St. Elias on 



the .\laskan coast, where floating N, Luetkeana is common. 



Following the suggestion derived from Ruprecht's account just 



alluded to, I have been able to find, by the help of Librarian F. J. 



Taggart, a copy of the rare first edition (1780?) of Maurelle's 



Journal 0} a voyage in ly/^ to explore the coast of America^ northward 



of Calif ornia (reprinted in 1781 m Parrington's Miscellanies), in 



the Bancroft Library of the University of California. ^Matjrelle's 



observations on the floating seaweeds, as there set forth, are as follows 

 (p. 12): 



June 1, 1775. On the same day we observed some seaweeds, the top of which 

 much resembled an orange (una naranja), from the upper part of which hung 

 large and broad leaves. At the extremity of this plant is a very long ttibe, which 

 fixes it to the rocks on the coast until It is loosened by the sea, when it often floats 

 to the distance of 100 leagues. We named this plant the "orange head." The 

 next day we saw another plant with long and narrow leaves like a ribband, which 

 b called ZaaUe del Mar; we also saw many sea-wolves, duck, and fish. 



ThB observation was made when they were apparently well north 

 of Point Conception and the "orange heads" were probably Nereo- 

 cystis Luetkeana. Again he says (p. 25); "We obsen-ed that the sea 



was COlOir.d as in ^nnnrlinrrc- mamr ^ol. T^-^<^f. <,,-, ^^^4- I^Mnr oTnrI fVif 



orange heads' likewise appeared." Thiswa 

 n the neidiborhood of thf^ Strah^ ni Tnan r^^. 



He goes on to 



ourse 



ings from the color of the sea; at the same time appeared * orange 



heads,' many fla^," etc. At this time they were apparently in lat. 

 55° or s^" N. 



