Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1875-10-14
THE FLORA OF THE SEA.
Lecture On Son Weeds by DR.. Ander-
son, Of Santa Cruz.

attainments, recently delivered lecture
At Berkeley. California, the subject being
Seaweeds. The Doctor. it will be rec
objected. published, some ten years since,
an interesting article descriptive of the
flowers I'D plants of Nevada. From a
repor. of the Lecture on Seaweeds we
extract the following:
| THE FLORA OF THE SEA.
The flora of the sea, said DR.. Ander-
son, although comparatively unknown.
| is no less Interesting than the fora 0:
the land. And when We consider that
nearly three-fourths of the earth's sur.
face is covered with the sea, and in
large portion Of that sea there grows a
luXuriant vegetation, our subject assumes
. degree of importance which scarcely
begins as yet to be appreciated. When
l speak Of the fora of tho sea 1 mean,
| of course, the vegetable forms OF life
that are formed there, and not in
special Sense Towering plants. In the
foundation of vital organisms We find
the simple Independent cell. Animal
and vegetable are alike, and it is only
by further development that we ere able
to distinguish the one from the other.
Going back to pro:ozoic times, in TIE
earliest rocks bearing remains of lie We
find seaweeds apparently as the touuda-
ton upon which animal life began to
exist. Such relation as to time might
naturally have been expected. The ami
NAL must directly or indirectly sutsist
on the vegetable.
That the sea was universal at the
period when vegetable life began to e.
ist, Is indicated by the fact that the sea
weed-formed fossil in the oides; se6i-
mehtary rocks are all of the same spe-
cies, in the same formation, all over the
world. The same may be remarked of
animal remains. Seaweeds belong to
some Of The lower order of plants. But
why we should say higher or lower order
Is not very clear, except for convenience
OF designation. Some of these plants
are quite complicated in structure, and
the study of them is more difficult than
of any Of the higher orders.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE sEAwEEp.
Seaweeds, or aig;e as they are called,
have certain characteristics. They are
cellular tiowerless plants, living in moist
places. or entirely under water. and de-
irving their nourishment throughout
their whole substance from the medium
in which they vegetate. In a proper
sense they have 10 roots-the base by
which they are attached, when attached
at all. serves merely as holdfast to pre-
vent the plant being driven about by the
movement of the water. They derive
no nourishnent from the substance to
~, 81. "a.
times on iron or floating timber, or
rocks, shells. and even on each other.
They are found in chemical solutions
such as sulphate Of copper and ID min
eral springs. both hct and cold. They
are found on snow-covered peaks, in the
snow of the polar regions and on the
surface of the polar ice. The Red
Snow" is species of Alga. Air and
moisture are the only essentials to their
development. Sunshine and heat are
not necessary TO many of them.
Seaweeds are produced in the simpler
forms by cast-otf cells; in the compound
forms by a somewhat different cell. called
Spore. The red snow plant, taken as
an example, is round cell containing a
little globe of half fluid substance Of
red color. This little globe bursts at
maturity, sending out granules, each OF
I'D fraIIv dsxs,ons 80 I'll III III. . az
parent cell, and is cast of TO become al |
90, - 80
with microscopic Alep. The Red Sea |
is supposed to have been named from |
this fact. In short. the waters are filled !
WIN 'no oineien' ioini VI Aig't- Snips |