170 



R. A. BASTOW. 



fruit is on the surface of the frond, or in proper cavities in its 

 substance, and consists of four-parted spores enclosed in a hyaline 

 membrane, oblong antheridia terminating jointed filaments, and 

 buds or leaflets capable of becoming new plants. 



The key is intended to assist the collector in identifying a genus; 

 it may assist him in finding the species as well, and to use it the 

 plants must of course first be collected, then dried, and afterwards 

 sections must be cut. Let us therefore imagine that we are at 

 the sea side, the waves are rolling in majestically, yet there are 

 a few rocks uncovered by the tide, to these we hasten, and find in 

 a dark corner of a little pool a small tuft as though it had been 

 eaten down by fishes; it is nothing to look at by unassisted vision, 

 but an ordinary pocket lens displays its irregular symmetry and 

 exquisite areolation. It is Amansia marchantioides, one of the 

 Floridea?, we see that by the faint pink tinge, consequently it is 

 not on our key. Almost covering the bottom of the pool are some 

 Algse resembling lettuce plants; a few transparent shrimps dart in 

 and out from the fronds, which are Ulva; they are light grass-green 

 and belong to the Chlorospermese, we therefore place them aside, 

 for they also are not in the key. Laying across one of the tufts 

 of Ulva is a curious string of beads, washed into the pool and 

 left there by the ebbing tide ; these are Melanospermese for they 

 are olive-green, and we find that they are Hormosira Banksia, for 

 they are figured on the key at No. 15 square. We will look 

 closer at this plant immediately. On the beach close by we 

 collect a frond of thin texture, about half an inch wide, dichoto- 

 mously divided, and with a midrib, this is also light olive-green ; 

 we glance at the key and find it is figured on square 17, we also 

 notice that it is covered with minute prominences as shewn on the 

 drawing; it is My riodesma querci folia. Here is a mass of Ecklonia 

 and Sargassum, as much as a man can lift, they are figured on 

 the key at Fig. 29, and Figs. 1.1 to 1.12. Making a mental 

 note of these, we notice a few pellicles of gelatine on the Sargas- 

 sum, about as large as peas. They are figured at the 48th square 

 and are called Leathesia. These we take home and submit to the 



