THE MARINE BOTANIST. 237 



Of love for natural beauty true, 

 They'll shoot enlivened at the view 

 Of hair or feather-mantled stem, 

 The waving stalk, the fringed gem, 

 Enveloping its chaliced fruit. 

 So fair, so perfect, so minute, 

 That bursting forth, the seeds may seem 

 A floating cloud of vapoury steam. 

 These by the microscopic glass 

 Surveyed, you'll see how far surpass 

 The works of nature, in design 

 And texture delicately fine. 

 And perfectness of every part. 

 Each effort of mimetic art." 



The largest and most luxuriant specimens of the 

 Callithamnii are found in the neighbourhood of 

 Plymouth^ growing- often in muddy situations, 

 which appear particularly favourable to the growth 

 of some delicate species^ such as C. Borreri^ C. 

 roseum, and C. gracillimum. In the following 

 pages, the reader will find a complete summary of 

 all the British Callithamnii and their habitats, 

 accompanied by the characters which chiefly dis- 

 tinguish each species from the one most nearly 

 resembling it. Trentepohlia pulchella, a freshwater 

 alga inhabiting mountain streams, belongs to this 



