686 



will probably prove, that there is no little resemblance be- 

 tween the algal vegetation of Nordland and that of the Faeroes. 

 Kleen has expressed the same view (51, p. 6 — 7, Note); but on the 

 other liand, Kleen' s descriptions are too brief and too few to 

 allow any final conclusion to be drawn from them. Moreover his 

 statement (page 9) that »on steep, overhanging cliffs, in immediate 

 vicinity of the sea, no sort of luxuriant vegetation is found above 

 the lowest water mark, where mostly nothing but small tufts of 

 Ceramiiim acanthonotiim £ind Callithamnion arbuscida occur «^, is quite 

 incompatible watli the luxuriant littoral vegetation of the Faeroes. 



My investigations on the algal vegetation of the Faeroes were 

 publislied in Danisli in tlie spring of 1904, and the present issue 

 in English is based essentially on the Danish edition. My work 

 has been sharply attacked by Porsild and Simmons, to W'hose 

 criticisms I have already replied in the »Botaniska Notiser«. 

 Referring to these notices for particulars, I may briefly mention 

 here, that the main criticisms of these authors are directed against 

 my vieW', that it is quite possible, that the Faeroese algal flora 

 may be transported over the sea to these islands. Thus, Porsild 

 maintains that it is a »ph3^sical impossibility « for algae, for example, 

 to be carried from Ireland or the west coast of Scotland across 

 the Gulf Stream to the Faeroes. In his opinion algae from the w^est 

 coast of Norway, from the Shetlands, Orkneys and Scotland, must 

 be carried far into the Arctic Ocean before tliey could reach the 

 Faeroes; a journey taking at least 3 years, probably more! Porsild 

 further maintains, that but few of the Faeroese algae can float; also, 

 that 26,7 % of all the Faeroese species of algae is what he calls 

 » strictly sublittoral«, meaning thereby those algae which are never 

 found, in his opinion, so high up as low water mark, and which 

 therefore can never have the chance to fix themselves on floating 

 timber or the like and thus be carried about in the sea. Finally, 

 12,4 Vo according to Porsild are calcareous algae, either living in 

 calcareous shells, or incrusting stones, etc. » These algae can certainly 

 not float, and by far the majority of them are sublittoral forms, 

 which can also not fix themselves to stones or shells borne by algae 

 wdiich can float«. As to the biological conditions for the algae during 

 their drift to the Faeroes, Porsild maintains in opposition to my 



^ »Pa branta, 3'tterst mot hafvet beliigna klippor saknas all rikare vegetation 

 ofvenfor lagsta vatteniiiarket; och man triiffar derstiides vanligen blott sma tufvor 

 af Ceramiiim acunthonotiim och Callithamnion arbusciila( . 



