June 16. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
j which communicate with immersed spherical conceptacles, 
! containing parietal spores and tufted antherida. Name 
! from a bladder and a chain, because the air-vessels are 
i generally arranged in strings or series. 
Tne British species of this genus are— 
Cystoseiea ericoides (Heath-like).—Common on rocks, 
between tide-marks. The fronds are from one to two feet 
long, and remarkably bushy'; of a tine olive or yellowish- 
green when removed from the water, but appearing, while 
growing beneath the surface, to be clothed with the richest 
iridescent tints. 
Cystoseiea granulata (Knob-bearing).—Rocky pools; 
not uncommon; the stem is seven or eight inches high; 
the branches slender and very much divided, each having 
at its base a hard bulbous knob, which forms one of the 
most striking characters of the species. 
Cystoseiea barbata (Bearded).—A native of the Medi¬ 
terranean coast; said to have been gathered on the Devon¬ 
shire coast, by Hudson. 
Cystoseiea fceniculacea (Fennel-like).—On rocks, in 
tide-pools. 
Cystoseiea fibrosa (Fibrous).— On rocks near low- 
water mark, and in tide-pools. Frequent on the shores of 
j England and Ireland—not found in Scotland. The air- 
■ vessels are larger than in any other British species; colour 
olive-green. 
Of the remaining species of the Fucctcece, I purpose giving 
I descriptions in my next paper, taken, as these are, from 
Harvey’s delightful and interesting work, entitled “ A 
Manual of the British Marine Algrc.” His splendid work 
on Sea-weeds, u Phycolo<jia Britatiica,” is too expensive for 
, general students, but those who have access to public 
. libraries may have a great treat in examining its beautiful 
illustrations, in addition to the valuable descriptions. Next 
month, this celebrated Algologist sets sail for Australia, 
where he purposes remaining until 1855, not returning 
home until that time. He is going in pursuit of many 
objects of Natural History, but his attention will be directed 
to the Marine AUj<e, which are so curious and varied in 
those seas. Sets of these Ahjw, varying in number from a 
hundred species and upwards, may be had by subscribers 
on his return. S. B. 
THE STRUCTURE, ACTION, AND DISEASES 
OF THE EGG ORGANS. 
So little is popularly known respecting the egg-producing 
organs in the fowl, that I trust the following account of 
them will not be found either uninteresting or useless. 
207 
The general ignorance of their anatomy leads to the absurd 
statements which are to be found in almost all works treat¬ 
ing on poultry, and the want of some rational knowledge of 
their diseases conduces to great mortality among laying 
hens. 
The egg-producing organs in a fowl are, 1st, the Ovarium, 
or, as we may term it in English, the Ovary; and, 2ndly, 
j the Oviduct, or, as it may be better called, the egg-passage. 
The ovary, which is almost always situated on the left side, 
is attached to the fore part of the left kidney. When the 
hen is not laying, it is small, and, comparatively, incon¬ 
spicuous, and on examination will be found to contain an 
immense number of minute, roundish bladders, which are 
the rudiments of future eggs; when the hen is about to 
commence laying, some of these germs enlarge, not, how¬ 
ever, all at the same time, but in regular succession, so that 
on examining a fertile ovary it will be found to contain 
germs of all sizes, from a pin’s head to that of a full-grown 
yolk. The germs, as they enlarge, are connected with the 
ovary by exceedingly slender stalks, so that the whole organ 
assumes the appearance of a bunch of currants, the fruits 
of which are of various sizes. All that is found in the ovary 
is the yolk of the egg, on which may be observed a slightly 
opaque spot, to be developed, during the process of hatch¬ 
ing, into the future bird. 
As the yolks increase in size, that portion of the ovary 
which contains them, and which forms a skin or coating to 
each one, becomes covered with the branches of numerous 
blood vessels, and this appearance often leads to the erro¬ 
neous opinion that the ovary is in a state of inflammation, 
or even mortification. Judging by my own experience, the 
ovary is not very liable to disease, for in the very large 
number of dead fowls that I have examined, I have never 
seen one iu an unhealthy state. 
The oviduct, or egg-passage, is a long tube, which varies 
very much in size at different periods. When the hen is 
not laying it is much smaller than during the time when 
the eggs are being formed ; at this latter period it is, when 
stretched out to its full length, about two feet long. 
The egg-passage commences by a wide, open, funnel 
shaped aperture, as shown in the above drawing. At this 
end the passage is excessively thin and delicate; it gradu 
ally thickens, however, and forms a tube, which has very 
much the appearance of one of the bowels. If this tube 
(which, for the sake of clearness, has been shown in the , 
engraving in a somewhat extended state) is cut open from 
end to end, it may be observed that the part nearest the , 
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