6
-
PELAGIC PLANT—LIFE.
as
an
ancient marine deposit on land; while others have
secured many
in the stomachs of ascidians.
'
Thoug‘h it is not so long since
the intimate connection
between this ubiquitous plant-life as food for the higher marine
_
‘forms has been prominently demonstrated, yet it had not
altogether been overlooked.
The herbivor0us cetaceans, as the
manatees and dugongs were called, are well—known instances.
'
From time immemorial dulce, Irish moss, many other algæ,
;
and edible swallows’ nests (an algoid substance}, have been
,
.
esteemed by man; and certain land-animals, as pigs, cattle and
ponies, eat with avidity tangles or other olive sea—weeds.
Even
_
the microscopic plants of the ocean (viz. diatoms) in their
,
innutritious condition as a deposit on land {mountain-ow)
were formerly mixed with the pounded inner bark of the Scotch
_
r to satisfy the simple'appetites of the Norse peasantry.
.
'
The presence of the minuter forms of plant—life must have ‘
been familiar to shermen and voyagers from early times,
.
either as a coating on their nets, as causing discoloration of
the sea, or stranded as a scum on the beach.
The occurrence
‘
of diatoms and other minute forms has also been noted by
scientic obsérvers such as Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Joseph
Hooker, Dr Gwyn Jeffreys and the various explorers of modern
,
.
times, e.g. those on board the ‘ Ohallenger,’ as well as the staff
_
,
of the German Plankton Expedition.
The great abundance of
diatoms in the Arctic and still more in the Antarctic seas is
well known, while in the depths of the Black Sea all else is
Stated to be absent but bacteria.
—
‘
Detailed examination of the pelagic life of St Andrews
Bay and the offshore waters of the east coast for many years
._
showed the vast abundance and variety of minute plants at all
seasons, from January to Decemberl. Their occurrence in the
stomachs of many invertebrates and even in some shes further
indicated the important part played by them. The presence
of
such as RizizosoZen-ia not only coloured the sea, but coated nets
with an odoriferous layer. The intimate connection between
the two great kingdoms was clearly pointed out as follows :—‘ It
is a remarkable fact that it is primarily to plants in inshore
’
1
71% 47m, Report, S. F. E., 1889, pp. ass—310,4 Plates_
-
PELAGIC PLANT—LIFE.
as
an
ancient marine deposit on land; while others have
secured many
in the stomachs of ascidians.
'
Thoug‘h it is not so long since
the intimate connection
between this ubiquitous plant-life as food for the higher marine
_
‘forms has been prominently demonstrated, yet it had not
altogether been overlooked.
The herbivor0us cetaceans, as the
manatees and dugongs were called, are well—known instances.
'
From time immemorial dulce, Irish moss, many other algæ,
;
and edible swallows’ nests (an algoid substance}, have been
,
.
esteemed by man; and certain land-animals, as pigs, cattle and
ponies, eat with avidity tangles or other olive sea—weeds.
Even
_
the microscopic plants of the ocean (viz. diatoms) in their
,
innutritious condition as a deposit on land {mountain-ow)
were formerly mixed with the pounded inner bark of the Scotch
_
r to satisfy the simple'appetites of the Norse peasantry.
.
'
The presence of the minuter forms of plant—life must have ‘
been familiar to shermen and voyagers from early times,
.
either as a coating on their nets, as causing discoloration of
the sea, or stranded as a scum on the beach.
The occurrence
‘
of diatoms and other minute forms has also been noted by
scientic obsérvers such as Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Joseph
Hooker, Dr Gwyn Jeffreys and the various explorers of modern
,
.
times, e.g. those on board the ‘ Ohallenger,’ as well as the staff
_
,
of the German Plankton Expedition.
The great abundance of
diatoms in the Arctic and still more in the Antarctic seas is
well known, while in the depths of the Black Sea all else is
Stated to be absent but bacteria.
—
‘
Detailed examination of the pelagic life of St Andrews
Bay and the offshore waters of the east coast for many years
._
showed the vast abundance and variety of minute plants at all
seasons, from January to Decemberl. Their occurrence in the
stomachs of many invertebrates and even in some shes further
indicated the important part played by them. The presence
of
such as RizizosoZen-ia not only coloured the sea, but coated nets
with an odoriferous layer. The intimate connection between
the two great kingdoms was clearly pointed out as follows :—‘ It
is a remarkable fact that it is primarily to plants in inshore
’
1
71% 47m, Report, S. F. E., 1889, pp. ass—310,4 Plates_