A WORLD IN THE WATER loi 



greatest tenacity to the rocks on which the 

 weed grows. It is not unusual for this Lami- 

 naria to be four or five feet in length, and such 

 examples may be seen growing in great abund- 

 ance upon a rocky coast. Another Laniinafia 

 which is also very abundant is the so-called 

 Sweet Tangles [Laminaria saccharina), a sea- 

 weed which has on occasion been eaten on 

 account of its sweet taste. The general cha- 

 racter of the plant is in the form of great 

 tongues, which may be six feet in length ; these 

 have curled edges, and the centre part is often 

 very much puckered. The method of repro- 

 duction in the case of the Laminarias is in 

 many cases imperfectly understood. 



The Sea Whipcord {Chorda filum) is a weed 

 which often grows to the length of twenty or 

 thirty feet in rope-like fashion. At intervals 

 the stem-like growth is hollow, and it is these 

 air chambers which support the plant in the 

 water. The organs of reproduction are col- 

 lected in pear-shaped bodies, which often cover 

 the surface of the long ropes. 



Not all the brown seaweeds are coarse, large 

 plants, the kind known as Cladostephus being 

 quite small, with dark brown branches, which 



