PREFACE. AMONG the ever-alluring and delightful studies of Nature, the pursuit of Marine Botany is worthy of holding a higher place than it has yet attained. It is entitled to rank, not merely as a science appreciated only by the few, but to be rendered subservient to the moral and intellectual culture of the many. True, it is a study from which a great proportion of mankind must be practically excluded, by their remote residence from the shores upon which the treasures of the mighty ocean are to be found; but in these times, when, upon the approach of the summer months, tens of thousands quit the smoky confines of sunless towns and cities, to breathe the bracing air and bask in the unbroken sunshine of the sea-coast, there is ample opportunity for gratifying the love of Nature by turning to those of her attractive works which to many, in ordinary circumstances, are shut out from investigation. In this HANDY BOOK we have devoted a willing service to the thousands who, in coming summers, may go out to the coasts of their native land, to watch the silvery waves dancing upon the rocky.or the pebbled shores, and to gather the gems which these bright waves are ever casting at the feet of the beholder, or leaving exposed to the view, as in their diurnal courses they recede from the higher boundary of their approach. To the careless observer there is nothing attractive in the tangled lines of "sea-weeds" which are seen rolling about under the lashing of the white surf: but let such a person once "stoop to conquer" the fault of indifference, and he will be rewarded by the discovery of gems which, the more he scrutinizes, the more he will admire; and it is the purpose of our book to lead him on from step to step in a pleasing pursuit, until at last he will wonder that he has so long neglected the treasures which lay inviting his inspection. HANDY BOOK OE MARINE BOTANY. CHAPTER I. By botanists, these sea-weeds are termed Alge; a name which is applied to a large group of flowerless plants, and which form the vegetable kingdom of the waters. "The sea, in no climate from the Poles to the Equator, is altogether free from them, though they abound on some shores much more than on others. Species abound likewise in fresh water, whether running or stagnant, and in mineral springs. The strongly impregnated sulphureous streams of Italy, the eternal snows of the Alps and arctic regions, and the boiling springs of Iceland, have each their peculiar species; and even chemical solutions, if long kept, produce Algæ. Very few, comparatively, inhabit stations which are not submerged, or exposed to the constant dripping of water; and, in all situations where they are found, great dampness, at least, is necessary to their production." One great advantage in the study of the marine Algæ is, that they may be laid out upon paper and dried, in which state of preservation they will display, with beautiful effect, their various peculiarities of structure and colour. They may, when thus preserved, be placed into books, and become admirably adapted for the drawing-room or parlour table, and when arranged, with their proper names and the dates and situations where they were found annexed to them, they serve as most pleasing memorials of "moments of sweetness past," upon which the fond memory may delight to dwell. We encourage, therefore, all who may peruse this little work, and who may have opportunity of collecting |