4084 Notices of New Books. 



for a sufficiently prolonged period to allow of the development of the 

 various conditions of their existence, it seemed to me that much in- 

 sight into the functions and habits of these creatures, into their embry- 

 ology, metamorphoses, and other peculiarities, might be gained, which 

 otherwise would either remain in obscurity, or be revealed only by the 

 wayward ' fortune of the hour.' 



" Nor have these expectations been wholly unrealized. My expe- 

 riments, though not yet entirely successful, and needing much more 

 attention and time to complete them, have yet established the fact, 

 that the balance can be maintained between the plant and the animal 

 for a considerable period at least, without disturbance of the water ; 

 while my vivaria have afforded me the means of many interesting re- 

 searches, the details of which form the subject of these pages. 



" The first thing to be done was to obtain the Algae in a growing 

 state. As they have no proper roots, but are in general very closely 

 attached to the solid rock, from which they cannot be torn without 

 injury by laceration, I have always used a hammer and chisel to cut 

 away a small portion of the rock itself, having ready ajar of sea-water 

 into which I dropped the fragment with its living burden, exposing it 

 as little as possible to the air. The red sea-weeds I have found most 

 successful : the Fuci and Laminariae, besides being unwieldy and un- 

 attractive, discharge so copious a quantity of mucus as to thicken and 

 vitiate the water. The Ulvae and Enteromorphae, on the other hand, 

 are apt to lose their colour, take the appearance of wet silver-paper, 

 or colourless membrane, and presently decay and slough from their 

 attachments. The species that I have found most capable of being 

 preserved in a living state, are Chondrus crispus, the Delesseriae, and 

 Iridea edulis. The last-named is the very best of all, and next to 

 it is Delesseria sanguinea, for maintaining the purity of the water, 

 while the colours and forms of these render them very beautiful objects 

 in a vase of clear water, particularly when the light (as from a window) 

 is transmitted through their expanded fronds. Many of my friends, 

 both scientific and unscientific, who have seen my vases of growing 

 Algae at various times during the present year, both at Torquay and 

 at this place, have expressed strong admiration of the beautiful and 

 novel exhibition. 



" I have not as yet been able to preserve the water to an indefinite 

 period. Sometimes the experiment has quite failed, the plants decay- 

 ing and the animals dying almost immediately ; but more commonly, 

 the whole have been preserved in health for several weeks. The fol- 

 lowing are the particulars of the most successful of my efforts. 



