150 NATURAL HISTORY ot NORWAY. 



But as it is not my concern to affign proper appellations t& 

 thefe marine vegetables, fo to diftribute them into their refpeclive 

 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 divifions of them into herbs and trees; the third clafs 

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

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

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

 fpeaks as follows, " Plantse fubmarinae paucas fuerunt antiquiori- 

 bus notae botanicis, quarum numerum valde auxerunt Rajus Phi- 

 kenetius aliique, qui his obfervationes fuas communicarunt. Dif- 

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

 inlpicias, ipfum invenies confufum, nullos veros terminos conftitu- 

 entem inter fucos et algas et mufcos marinos, quae illi promifcue 

 nunc fub hoc, nunc fub illo nomine proponuntur, meliorem. 

 plantarum fubmarinarum in genera certa divifionem debemus 

 Tournefortio, qui tamen in eo reprehendendus, quod fub fucorum 

 et corallinarum nomine, plantas inter fe parum convenientes corn- 

 prehendat 



SEC T. II. 



Several kinds Since my arrival in this country I have made a collection of 

 ea-gras. ve g etaD i 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 r 

 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, iometimes 

 ilender and round, but much longer, I myMf having pulled up 

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

 trees in height, and even this might poffibly 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. 



■f So by way of an analogy, I call thofe fhort Items by which all thofe vegetables 

 are connected to fome Hone 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 ftanding in no need of a root to imbibe their 

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



eft- 



