HOW TO STOCK THE AQUARIUM.-THE PLANTS. 
99 
creep along the rock or stem of the supporting plant, fixing themselves here 
and there, and forming the rudiments of future fronds. 
The Red Rock-Leaved Delessaria is one of a beautiful genus, of 
which there are about a dozen varieties. They are plants of very fragile 
texture, rarely found entire, unless growing in rocky pools, or drawn up in 
nets from deep water. The leaves of the Delessaria sanguinea are of a rich 
red color, and satiny texture, and from three to twelve inches in length; the 
short-branched stem is fixed by a small red disk. 
When this plant is perfect, it is scarcely equalled in brilliancy of hue by 
any vegetable production, the membraneous part of the frond being of a 
vivid and glossy rose pink, the midrib and veins of deeu carmine. Fre¬ 
quently small zoophytes are found attached to it. 
The Esculent Irid^ea consists of a subcartilaginous cuneiform frond, 
attenuated below into a short stipe. Being an inhabitant of deep water, it 
is most commonly found near the low-water mark. The fronds are from 
four to eight inches long, deep blood-red or purple, changing to greenish or 
yellowish white upon exposure. It is sometimes eaten by fishermen, and 
other people on the coast, after being fried or roasted, and it is said to taste 
like roasted oysters. The term iridcea has reference to the iridescent hues 
of the growing frond in some of the species. 
BLUNT RUSOOUS-LIKE DELESSARIA. 
FEAT1IERED I’TI EOT A 
The Feathered Ptilota is of a red color, characterized, with some 
three or four varieties, by the feathered form of the frond. It is frequent 
on rocky coasts, grows from three inches to a span in length, and is attached 
by a small disk. The younger branches are pale crimson or pink; the older, 
deep purplish red, passing into brown. This is a beautiful object, viewed 
under a microscope or magnifying-glass of high power; the surface appears 
dotted with coral-like scales, and the fruit is contained in small involucres 
at the extremities of the segments. 
