MARINE ALGiB. 



(Sea Weeds.) 



Geographically considered, Essex county waters extend from, and 

 include, Salisbury beach on the north to Saugus river on the south, 

 but in more general terms the region from Boston northward to 

 Portsmouth may be considered as representing our marine flora as a 

 more natural division ; or, the north shore of Massachusetts Bay and 

 the north shore of Cape Ann, or Ipswich Bay, and the sand beaches 

 northward. The flora of this region is an interesting one. Cape Cod 

 projecting its long arm into the sea seems to form a natural barrier 

 to the progress of southern species northward, for here the warm 

 current of the Gulf stream bears off to the eastward, while between 

 it and the shore north of Cape Cod, the almost expended influences 

 of the cold Labrador current are slightly felt. A very marked separa- 

 tion is therefore made between the Arctic and southern marine flora 

 and fauna making our waters quite Arctic in their character. Yet in 

 warm places along the shore a few daring southern species have taken 

 up their abode, while some northern ones are to be found south of 

 Cape Cod, besides the species termed cosmopolitan which flourish 

 both north and south. Hence, we flnd the Essex county waters to be 

 the northern limit of many species and the southern limit of others, 

 therefore, it becomes very desirable to give as far as possible the 

 precise localities of specimens collected. This list has been prepared 

 from the private lists of Mrs. M. H. Bray of Gloucester, Rev. A. B. 

 Hervey of Taunton, who has passed his summer vacations of late at 

 Marblehead Neck, Mr. Erank S. Collins" of Maiden, whose careful col- 

 lecting has extended from Nahant to Cape Ann, the herbarium of the 

 Peabody Academy of Scieuce, and the papers by Prof. W. G. Farlow 

 of Harvard College, in Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts 

 and Sciences, Vol. X, 1875, and in the Eeport of the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission for 1876. Prof. Farlow, although his time is fully occupied 

 with more important matters, has most kindly reviewed the writer's 

 manuscript relating to the Marine Algse, ofi'ering valuable suggestions 

 and adding several notes which will be found below. It is thought 

 that this list is quite complete, lacking only those species which have 

 not as yet been published, or are not yet fully determined, of very 

 recent collection. 



' Mr. Collins has kindly revised the list to the present date, November, 1880. 



(157) 



