June, 1834. 



ZOOLOGY. 



303 



I do not believe they have a species in common ; certainly 

 the general character of the insects is widely different. 



If we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter 

 as abundantly stocked with living creatures as the former is 

 poorly so. In all parts of the world a rocky and partially 

 protected shore perhaps supports, in a given space, a greater 

 number of individual animals than any other kind of station. 

 Here, under every stone, numerous crawling creatures 

 swarmed, and especially Crustacea of the family of Cymo- 

 thoades. The number of Spheeroma was truly wonderful : as 

 these animals, when coiled up, have some resemblance to 

 Trilobites, they were an interesting sight to a geologist. On 

 the tidal rocks patelliform shells of large size were very 

 abundant. Even at the depth of forty or fifty fathoms, the 

 bottom of the sea was far from sterile, as was shown by the 

 abundance of small strong corallines. 



There is one marine production, which from its importance 

 is worthy of a particular history. It is the kelp or Fucus 

 giganteus of Solander. This plant grows on every rock from 

 low-water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast and 

 within the channels. I believe, during the voyages of the 

 Adventure and Beagle, not one rock near the surface was 

 discovered, which was not buoyed by this floating weed. 

 The good service it thus affords to vessels navigating near 

 this stormy land is evident ; and it certainly has saved many a 

 one from being wrecked. I know few things more surprising 

 than to see this plant growing and flourishing amidst those 

 great breakers of the western ocean, which no mass of rock, 

 let it be ever so hard, can long resist. The stem is round, 

 slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a diameter of so much 

 as an inch. A few taken together are sufficiently strong to 

 support the weight of the large loose stones to which in the 

 inland channels they grow attached ; and some of these stones 

 are so heavy, that when drawn to the surface they can scarcely 

 be lifted into a boat by one person. 



Captain Cook, in his second voyage, says, that at Ker- 

 guelen Land "some of this weed is of a most enormous 



