720 
THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
Various forms of Sarcina ventriculi. (Ifig. 219, p. 260.) 
This is the Sarcina, which is interesting in a structural 
point of view' as an example of a multiplication of cells by 
division. The Sarcina,” say Messrs. Harley and Brown, 
has been found in the human subject in the vomit, faeces, 
urine, pus of an abscess, and in the anterior chamber of the 
eye. 
^‘It may give rise to few or no symptoms; it may occur 
but once in the vomited matters, or, on the other hand, it may 
continue for weeks, and ultimately cause death from the 
constant vomiting it sometimes induces. 
The fluid in Avhich sarcina is found is usually ferment¬ 
ing, and sometimes it is of the consistence of pea-soup, and 
has a brown or green appearance.” 
This, then, offers an example of one of the lower tribe of 
plants exercising a powerful influence on the human body. 
Does not the same or other species exert a baleful effect upon 
inferior animals ? The mere hint that this is so should be 
enough to excite inquiry, and we feel persuaded that such an 
investigation will find most valuable fruits. Already we have 
made great advances in our knowledge of the effects of the 
lower plants on the higher animals, and it seems not im¬ 
probable that such investigations may aid us in our more 
general inquiries in relation to the lower creatures. 
For a general epitome of the uses of Algals we refer to the 
following resume upon this subject, and shall hope in a future 
article on Fungals to still further enlist the reader’s attention 
to the Thallogens :— 
“ Porphyra laciniata and vulgaris are stewed, and brought 
to our tables as a luxury, under the name of laver; and even 
the ulva latissima, or green laver, is not slighted in the 
absence of the porphyree. Ulva compressa, a common species 
on our shores, is regarded, according to Grandichaud, as an 
esculent by the Sandwich Islanders. Common nostoc, com¬ 
monly called star jelly, a trembling gelatinous plant that 
