mission to abstract a fragment of the precious relic, to be pre- 

 served in the Dublin Herbarium. The singular grape-like fruc- 

 tification at once marks the species, and on the specimen found 

 almost every thread had more or less numerous clusters. So 

 that it fortunately happens, that a small specimen of this rarity 

 is as characteristic as a much larger would be, — no small advan- 

 tage, when a half-crown would cover all the specimens at pre- 

 sent known to botanists. Dr. Greville has repeatedly sought it 

 in vain in the spot on which the solitary tuft was picked up by 

 Sir J. Richardson, previous to his first and memorable Arctic 

 Voyage. 



Fig. 1. Tuft of Sphacelaeja racemosa : — the natural size. 2. Upper portion 

 of a frond : — magnified. 3. Apex of a branch, with branches of spores ; and 

 4, one of the pedicellate spores : — more highly magnified. 



