4A THE OCEAN. 
with a loud report. The seed-vessels are large; 
oval, and yellow, resembling those of the last, placed 
on foot-stalks. 
One of the most common species of our coasts is 
the long, string-like Sea-lace, or, as the Orkney 
people call it, Sea-catgut (Chorda-filum). It 
usually grows in water some fathoms deep, attached 
to stones at the bottom, yet reaching to the sur- 
face: indeed, it sometimes attains the length of 
forty feet; and this is believed to be the growth 
of a single summer, as it is an annual plant. Its 
structure is highly curious; at first sight it appears 
a simple cylindrical tube, of an olive colour, about 
as thick as whipcord, but occasionally thicker: on 
examination, however, this hollow stem is found to 
be composed of a flat thin ribbon, abouth one-sixth 
of an inch in width, spirally twisted into a tube, 
the edges exactly meeting each other, and adhering 
with sufficient firmness to allow of the whole stem 
being skinned without separating: in this state it 
is twisted and dried, when it possesses a strength 
and toughness that adapt it for fishing-lines. In 
Norway it is collected as food for the cattle. The 
upper portion usually floats on the surface, or rather 
immediately beneath it, often in such abundance as 
to form large meadows, as it were, which obstruct 
the progress of boats. The fructification of this 
species long defied the investigations of botanists; 
but it is now ascertained to consist of little pear- 
shaped capsules, imbedded in the surface, and much 
crowded, which the gradual melting away of the 
skin allows to escape. One of the most interesting 
