i 5 o NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 



But as it is not my concern to aflign proper appellations to 

 thefe marine vegetables, fo to difhibute them into their refpective 

 claffes and genera, with that accuracy I could wifh, is, I confefs 

 above my capacity. I mail only, agreeably to their figures, make 

 two general diviiions of them into herbs and trees ; the third clals 

 being the corals or ftoney vegetables, which by fome are con- 

 founded with the fea-trees * Mr. J. C. Buxbaum, in Commen- 

 tar. Acad. Petropol. among other obfervations on marine plants, 

 fpeaks as follows, " Plants fubmarina? paucse fuerunt antiquiori- 

 bus notas botanicis, quarum numerum valde auxerunt Rajus Plu- 

 kenetius aliique, qui his obfervationes fuas communicarunt. Dif- 

 tinxit in aliquot has clafies modo laudatus Rajus, fed fi accuratius 

 infpicias, ipfum invenies confufum, nullos veros terminos conftitu- 

 entem inter fucos et algas et mufcos marinos, qua? illi promifcue 

 nunc fub hoc, nunc fub illo nomine proponuntur, meliorem 

 plantarum fubmarinarum in genera certa divinonem debemus 

 Tournefortio, qui tamen in eo reprehendendus, quod fub fucorum 

 et corallinarum nomine, plantas inter fe parum convenientes com- 

 prehendat. 



SEC T. II. 



several kinds Since my arrival in this country I have made a colle&ion of 

 of fea-graft. ve g eta bl es growing in the fea of Norway, and by it I perceive, . 

 that what is commonly called tong, fea- weed, or in Norway, tarre- 

 alga; which is partly found growing on its root f, partly detached 

 by the wind, and by the agitation of the waves is drove afhore, 

 or among the appertures and corners of the rocks, is fometimes 

 green, fometimes of a dark brown, fometimes narrow and flat, 

 like a blade of grafs, and two or three ells in length, fometimes 

 {lender and round, but much longer, I myfelf having pulled up 

 a piece of no lefs than ten ells, confequently, they exceed many 

 trees in height, and even this might poiTibly be one of the fhort- 



* In fome parts at the bottom of the red-fea, the coral-trees gradually increafe to 

 fuch a degree, that the veffels and boats are put to no fmall difficulty to clear their 

 way through them. : ' 



+ So by way of an analogy, I call thofe ftiort ftems by which all thole vegetables 

 are connected to fome ftone or other, which generally is drawn out along with the 

 vegetable; for properly the fea- vegetables have no roots, being on all fides furrounded 

 with their alimentary matter, and thus Handing in no need of a root to imbibe their 

 nutriment, fo that the entire plant may be faid to be a root. 



eft; 



