The Sea Shore

Two species are to be found on our shores—the Lesser Sand Eel (Ammodytes tobianus), and the Greater Sand Eel (A. lanceolatus), the former attaining a length of six or seven inches, and the latter nearly three times this size. They may be seen off the south coast, swimming in shoals over sandy bottoms, and when disturbed they descend and burrow into the sand with remarkable agility. They approach the shore so closely that they are often washed up by the waves, but immediately disappear into the sand; and large numbers commonly remain behind as the tide recedes, burying themselves to the depth of a few inches, and are dug out by fishermen for bait.

The smaller species is by far the more common, and is taken in large numbers by means of the draw net to be sold as food. It is particularly abundant at Teignmouth, where it is known as the Sand Sprat, and forms an important article of diet.

Quite a number of our important food-fishes belong to the Cod family (Gadiadæ), and although some of these are caught almost entirely in deep water some distance from shore, others give employment to the angler fishing from rocks, piers, and jetties.

In all, the gill-openings are very wide, and the body is covered with small overlapping scales. The caudal fin is quite free, the dorsal is generally divided into three distinct parts which extend over the greater part of the back, and the ventral fin is also frequently divided.

The same genus includes the Whiting (G. merlangus), distinguished by a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin and the absence of barbels; the Whiting Pout (G. luscus), with a similar black spot at the base of the pectorals, also dark, transverse bands, and a barbel; and the Haddock (G. æglefinus), with a black patch on either side above the pectorals, and a dark lateral line. The family also includes the Ling (Molva vulgaris) and the Hake (Merluccius vulgaris), both of which are caught in deep water; and the Rocklings (genus Motella), three species of which frequent our rocky shores.

Pipe-fishes are very sluggish in habit, swimming but little, and living in the shelter of weeds and stones on rocky coasts. In fact, they are not adapted for swimming, and their attempts at this mode of locomotion are awkward in the extreme, for their bodies are rigid and the tail very small. When removed from their hiding-places they move but little, and look as much like pieces of brown or greenish wood as fishes; and their rigid bodies are so completely encased in the bony plates that they alter but little in appearance when dried, and consequently the dried specimens are often seen in museum collections.

All the British species, four in number, are small fishes, inhabiting the shallow water of rocky shores, and are often found hiding under stones near low-water mark. The largest is the great Pipe-fish or Needle-fish (Syngnathus acus), which grows to a length of about fifteen inches; and the smallest is the Worm Pipe-fish (S. lumbriciformis), which is of an olive-green colour, and has a short, upturned snout. The Lesser Pipe-fish (S. typhle), also known as the Deep-nosed Pipe-fish, is very abundant on nearly all rocky coasts, and may be distinguished from the others by having the ridge on the tail continuous with the lateral line and not with the dorsal angle. The other species is the Slender-nosed Pipe-fish or Snake Pipe-fish (Nerophis ophidium), the body of which is extremely slender, and the tail long and narrow. The male is provided with a series of small, cup-like cells, in each of which he carries an egg.

In all the bony fishes previously mentioned the fin rays are soft and flexible, and in this respect they differ from those that are to follow, for the remaining families are all characterised by the presence of one or more sharp rigid spines on the dorsal fin, and often by similar spines on other fins. They constitute the group of Spiny-finned fishes.

Of these we shall first take the prettily coloured Wrasses (family Labridæ), which live in the holes of rocks and under the cover of weeds on rugged coasts. These fishes are very voracious in habit, and the sea angler will find that they are ready to seize almost any bait that may be offered them, and even to attack almost everything that moves within sight; but they are likely to give much trouble since they will rush into the crevices of rocks or among large weeds when hooked, and thus frequently lead to the breaking of the line.

Wrasses feed principally on molluscs and crustaceans, and are provided with extensile telescopic lips that enable them to pull the former from the rocks on which they creep, and the latter from their hiding-places among the rocks. They have also strong teeth in the gullet, by which they can crush the shells of their prey.

There are several British species of Wrasses, one of which is shown in the accompanying illustration. The commoner ones are known to fishermen and juvenile anglers by quite a variety of local names.

This peculiar little fish is only about three inches long, and its broad head is marked with two conspicuous purple spots, with a blue dot in the centre, and surrounded by a yellowish ring.

The allied species include the very small Two-spotted Sucker (L. bimaculatus), which is of a bright red colour, and adheres to stones and shells in deep water; the Sea Snail (Cyclopterus liparis), about four or five inches long, with a soft and slimy semi-transparent body; and Montagu’s sucker (C. Montagui), which is usually under three inches in length, and may be distinguished by its peculiar habit of curling the body laterally when at rest.

Equally interesting are the little Sticklebacks (family Gastrosteidæ), the fresh-water representatives of which are known to almost everyone. Their pugnacious habits, the bright colours assumed during the breeding season, and the wonderful nests which they build for the protection of their eggs and young, have all served to make them popular with those who take interest in the forms and ways of animals. They are, moreover, such hardy creatures that they may be kept alive for a considerable time in any well-managed aquarium.

We have one marine species—the Sea Stickleback or Fifteen-spined Stickleback (Gastrosteus spinachia), which may be caught on rocky and weedy coasts. It derives one of its popular names from the presence of fifteen spines along the middle of the back. Its tail is long and narrow, and its snout elongated, with the under jaw projecting beyond the upper.

The nest of this species is a pear-shaped mass of soft sea weeds and corallines, all bound together by a silky secretion, and suspended to the rock in a sheltered spot. Within this the female deposits her eggs in little clusters, all of which are bound together and to the nest itself by the silk. If the nest is damaged while occupied, it is immediately repaired, the male, it is said, taking upon himself the responsibility of this task.

Sand Smelts (family Atherinidæ) resemble the true smelts previously described, but may be readily distinguished by the anterior dorsal fin, which is small and spinous. We have two species of this family, of which Atherina presbyter is by far the more common. It is a very pretty fish, about five inches long, with a broad silvery stripe along each side. It is very common on the sandy coasts of the south, where it also enters the brackish waters of estuaries. Young anglers catch them in considerable numbers by means of rod and line; but the professional fisherman, taking advantage of the fact that sand smelts swim in shoals, captures them in large, round, shallow nets. The net is baited with bread, crushed mussels, or offal of almost any kind, and is then lowered several feet below the surface by means of a long pole, to the end of which it is suspended. It is raised to the surface at short intervals, and will often enclose dozens of fish in a single haul.

The shallow waters of our southern coasts, including the estuaries and harbours, are also frequented by the Grey Mullet (Mugil capito), of the family Mugilidæ. This fish may be distinguished from other similar species by the four stiff spines of the front dorsal fin, and by the absence of a lateral line. The mouth is small, and without teeth, and the mode of feeding is somewhat peculiar. The food consists of worms, molluscs, and various organic matter contained in the sand or mud of the bottom. It is sucked into the mouth, together with more or less of the mud and sand, and the former is strained through a special straining apparatus situated in the pharynx.

The Grey Mullet may be taken with rod and line, and bites freely when the rag-worm is employed as bait. It is often taken in the fisherman’s drag net; but, being a splendid jumper, it frequently makes its escape as the net is drawn on the beach.

Few of our littoral fishes are so well known as the Little Blennies (family Blenniidæ), which are to be found hiding amongst the weeds in almost every rock pool, and under stones as they await the return of the tide. Their bodies are generally cylindrical, and are either naked or covered with very minute scales. The dorsal fin runs along the whole length of the back, and each pelvic has one spine and two soft rays. When taken out of the water the gill-cavities widen considerably, and the eyeballs will be seen to move independently of each other, like those of the chamæleon.

Most of the blennies are very active and voracious fishes, often giving considerable trouble to the angler when fishing with a rod among the rocks. They will bite at almost anything that moves, and, completely swallowing the angler’s hook, will immediately rush into a crevice from which it is often difficult to remove them.

Most of them have tentacles on the head by which they assist their movements among the rocks and stones; and some actually creep up the rugged surfaces of rocks by means of their ventral fins. They can all live for a long time out of the water, being able to retain a supply of water in their expanded gill-chambers to keep the gills moist.

The Smooth Blenny or Shanny (Blennius pholis) is one of the commonest species. It reaches a length of four or five inches, and has no tentacles on the head. The Eyed Blenny or Butterfly Blenny (B. ocellatus) may be distinguished by the conspicuous spot on the spinous portion of the dorsal fin. The Large Blenny (B. gattorugine) inhabits deeper water, chiefly off the south-west coast, and reaches a length of a foot or more. The Crested Blenny (B. cristatus) is named from the small crest on the head which can be raised and depressed; and the Viviparous Blenny (Zoarces viviparus), as its name implies, brings forth its young alive. The last species often exceeds a foot in length, and is found principally on the north and east coasts. The newly-born young are so transparent that the circulation of the blood within the body may be seen under the microscope quite as easily as in the web of the frog’s foot and in the tail of the tadpole.

One very common species of the Blenniidæ differs considerably in general form from the others, its body being elongated and eel-like, but much compressed laterally. We refer to the Butterfish or Butter Gunnel (Blennius gunellus), which is often mistaken for a small eel by young sea-side naturalists. It is exceedingly common under stones at low tide, and may be recognised at once by the light rectangular spots along the flattened sides of the body. It is quite as slippery and as difficult to hold as the eel itself.

It will be interesting to note that the ugly Sea Cat or Wolf-fish (Anarrhichas lupus), which is sometimes sold for food in our large towns, is also a member of the blenny family. It is a powerful, rapacious fish—a veritable wolf of the sea, always ready to attack anything. It feeds on molluscs and crustaceans, the shells of which are easily reduced between the powerful crushing teeth that line the jaws behind the formidable canines.

A brightly coloured fish known as the Dragonet (Callionymus lyra) is sometimes classed with the Gobies, though its pelvic fins are not united. It is not a well-known species, and is seldom obtained except with the dredge, as it inhabits deep water.

The remarkable Angler Fish (Lophius piscatorius), known also as the Fishing Frog and the Sea Devil (family Lophiidæ) is sometimes taken off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall; and although it cannot be truly described as a littoral species, its structure and habits are so peculiar that it deserves a passing notice. It is an ugly fish, with an enormous head, a short naked body, and a comparatively slender tail. The mouth is very capacious, sometimes measuring over a foot from angle to angle, and is directed upwards. The scaleless body is furnished with numerous slender filaments that resemble certain filamentous sea weeds, and these together with the dull colouring of the body generally enable the fish to rest unobserved on the bottom. The front portion of the dorsal fin is on the head and fore part of the body, and consists of a series of six tentacles, three long ones on the top of the head and three shorter just behind them; and the foremost of these, which is the longest, terminates in a little expansion which is kept in constant movement by the fish. The mouth is armed with rasplike teeth which can be raised or depressed at will, and when raised they are always directed backward; the eyes are directed upward, and the gill-openings are very small.

This strange creature habitually rests on the bottom of the sea, disguised by its filamentous appendages and adaptive colouring, dangling the expanded extremity of its first dorsal filament just over its upturned cavernous mouth. It does not swim much, indeed it is at the best but a bad swimmer; and when it moves it simply shuffles its heavy body along the bottom, gliding between the stones and rocks, where it may remain unobserved, its movements being produced by the action of the tail, and of the paired fins, which are better adapted for walking than for swimming. Unwary fishes, attracted by the dangling of the angler’s bait, approach the watchful monster, and while speculating on the nature of the bait, are suddenly engulfed in the capacious mouth, from which there is no escape on account of the backward direction of the teeth.

The family Trachinidæ contains the fishes known popularly as the Stargazers and the Weavers. These are small, carnivorous species, with rather elongated bodies, terminating in tail fins that are not forked. The first dorsal fin is distinct and spinous, and the spines, as well as others that are developed on the gill-covers, are grooved for the passage of a poisonous fluid that is secreted at their bases.

Our littoral species include two well-known fishes (the Greater and Lesser Weavers) that are dreaded by fishermen on account of the very painful wounds they are capable of inflicting, and the smaller of the two is also a considerable annoyance to bathers on certain sandy coasts.

The Mackerel (Scomber vernalis) belongs to the family Scomberidæ, and is so well known that no description need be given for the purposes of identification. We have already referred to it as a beautiful illustration of protective colouring, its upper surface resembling the ripples of a deep green sea and the lower the brightness of the sky. Mackerel swim in shoals in the open sea, pursuing and devouring the fry of herrings and other fish; and in order that they may be enabled to cover enormous distances their muscles are richly supplied with blood. This not only gives a pinkish colour to the flesh, but results in a greater amount of oxidation and the maintenance thereby of a body temperature several degrees higher than that of the surrounding water. We would also call attention to the five or six small fins behind the dorsal and anal fins as characteristic of the Scomberidæ.

Our next family (the Cyttidæ) contains the John Dory (Zeus-faber), concerning which some superstitions are still prevalent in parts. It is brightly coloured, but not graceful in form, and is often caught in large numbers off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. Some fishermen call it the Cock, on account of the crest on the back; while others know it as St. Peter’s Fish, and will point out the impression of the Apostle’s finger on each side—a black spot surrounded by a light ring.

The Horse Mackerel (Caranx trachurus) is found principally in the same parts, where it devours the fry of other fishes. It is not a very close relative of the common mackerel, but belongs to a distinct family (Carangidæ), of which it is the only British representative. It is a carnivorous fish, easily distinguished from Scomber by its conical teeth, as well as by the bony plates of the lateral line, the posterior of which are keeled or spined.

While the last-mentioned families contain only fishes of truly pelagic habits, the next (Sparidæ), formed by the Sea Breams, generally keep near the coast, and often enter fresh waters. In these the body is much compressed laterally, and is covered with large scales; the first half of the dorsal fin is also spinous. The Common Sea Bream (Sparus auratus), characterised by its red colour with brilliant golden reflections, and by a dark spot on the shoulder, may often be angled from rocks and piers. The young, in which the dark spots have not yet appeared, are known as Chads, and are often regarded as a distinct species. The Black Bream (Cantharus lineatus) is an omnivorous feeder, and will take both animal and vegetable baits.

The Red Mullets (family Mullidæ) may be distinguished from the grey mullets previously described by the two long erectile barbules on the lower jaw. The scales are large and thin, with serrated edges, and the front portion of the dorsal fin has weak spines. The common British species (Mullus barbatus) frequents our south and east coasts, being specially abundant round Devon and Cornwall, where they often occur in vast shoals, and the young are often to be caught in estuaries and harbours.

Our last example is the Common Bass or Sea Perch (Morone abrax), of the family Serranidæ. It is also known locally as the White Salmon and the Salmon Dace. This fish may be taken with rod and line on rocky coasts and at the mouths of rivers. The sand-eel, or an artificial imitation of it, is commonly used as bait, but the Cornish fishermen more frequently employ a piece of herring or pilchard for the purpose. The first dorsal fin of this fish has very strong spines which may inflict severe wounds when the live creature is carelessly handled.

Omitting all mention of sea birds, for the reason previously given, we now pass to the highest division of vertebrates—the Mammals—of which we shall describe but one species—the Common Porpoise, this being the only marine mammal that can be regarded as a frequent visitor to the British coasts in general.

It may be well at the outset to understand exactly why the porpoise is classed with the mammals and not with the fishes—to see how its structure and functions correspond with those of our own bodies rather than with those of the animals dealt with in the preceding portion of the present chapter.

First, then, while the young of fishes are almost invariably produced from eggs and are not nourished by the parents, the young of the porpoise are produced alive, and are nourished with milk secreted by the mammary glands of the mother. This is an all-important feature, and is the one implied in the term mammal. The porpoise also differs from nearly all fishes in that it breathes by lungs instead of gills, obtaining its air direct from the atmosphere, and not from the water. Hence we find it coming to the surface at frequent intervals to discharge its vitiated air and to inhale a fresh supply. The body-cavity of a mammal is divided into two parts by a muscular diaphragm, the foremost division, called the thorax, containing the heart and lungs, and the other (the abdomen) the remainder of the internal organs, while the diaphragm itself plays an important part in the respiratory movement by which air is drawn into the lungs. The body of the porpoise is so divided, but no such division ever occurs in any of the fishes. Lastly, the heart of the porpoise, in common with the rest of the mammals, is divided into four cavities, and the blood is warm, while the heart of a fish has generally only two divisions, and the blood propelled by it is of about the same temperature as that of the surrounding medium. Several other important differences between the porpoise and the fish might be given, but the above will be quite sufficient to show why they are placed in different classes.

Mammals are divided into several classes, and one of these (Cetacea) includes the fish-like Whales, Porpoises, and Dolphins, all of which are peculiarly adapted to a purely aquatic life. Like most of the fishes, their upper surfaces are of a dark colour, and the lower very light. Their fore limbs are constructed on the same plan as those of the higher mammals, the bones of the arm being attached to a large shoulder-blade, and the hand formed of four or five well-developed fingers which are enclosed in skin, so that they constitute a paddle or flipper well adapted for propulsion through water. There is no collar-bone, however, and the fingers have no nails or claws. There are no hind limbs visible externally, but a rudimentary pelvic girdle forms a part of the internal skeleton. A dorsal fin exists, but this is merely an extension of the skin of the back, and is not supported by either bones or rays. The skin itself has no scales, like that of most fishes, but is smooth and naked; and below it lies a large amount of fat, which, being a very bad conductor of heat, serves to prevent the escape of heat from the body.

The tails of cetaceans are also mere folds of the skin, supported in the centre by the extremity of the vertebral column; but unlike the tail fins of fishes, they are expanded horizontally instead of in the vertical plane. This latter is an important adaptive feature of the cetaceans, since the vertical movement of a tail so disposed is exactly what is required to assist the animals as they alternately rise to the surface for air and again descend into the sea in search of their food.

Among the other external characters of the cetacean we may note the nostrils, which are always situated on the highest point of the head, and are thus the first part exposed when the creature rises to renew its supply of air; also the ears, which are two small apertures behind the eye, without any form of external appendages.

The skeleton of the cetacean is formed of light spongy bones, saturated with oily matter; and although the animal has no true neck, visible as such externally, it is interesting to note that, in common with all other mammals, even with the long-necked giraffe, it possesses its seven cervical or neck vertebræ.

Porpoises and Dolphins together form the family Delphinidæ, characterised by having the blow-hole in the form of a crescent with its convexity turned towards the front, and of these the Porpoises constitute the genus Phocæna.

The Common Porpoise (P. communis) is the species that is so often seen close to our shores and in the harbours and estuaries, swimming in shoals with a graceful undulatory movement. Porpoises move forward entirely by the vertical action of their powerful horizontal tails, and extend their flippers only to change their course or to arrest their progress. At short intervals they rise to the surface, exposing their slate-coloured backs and dorsal fins for a moment, and then immediately dive downwards in such a manner as to appear to turn a series of somersaults. Occasionally they will leap quite out of the water, exhibiting their white under surfaces, which shine with a sudden flash when illuminated by the rays of a bright sun. The blow-hole is the first part exposed, and if one is sufficiently near the shoal a fountain of spray may be seen to shoot into the air, and the outrush of the expired air may be heard as each one makes its appearance.

The true nature of the spouting of a cetacean seems to be very generally misunderstood, the fountain of spray produced at each exhalation giving the idea that the animal is expelling a quantity of water from its nostrils. This, of course, is not the case; for the cetacean, being an air-breather, has no need to take in a supply of water, as the gill-breathing fishes have. Air only is expelled through the nostrils; but as the expiration sometimes commences before these apertures are brought quite to the surface, a certain amount of water is shot upwards with the expired air; and even if the expiration commences after the nostrils are exposed, the small quantity of water they contain is blown into a jet of spray; and in a cool atmosphere, the density of this is increased by the condensation of vapour contained in the warm and saturated air from the lungs of the animal. It will be noticed, too, that the creature does not check its course in the least for the purpose of respiration, the foul air being expelled and a fresh supply taken in exchange during the short time that the blow-hole remains above the surface of the water.

The Common Porpoise measures five or six feet in length, and subsists on pilchards, herrings, mackerel, and other fish, the shoals or ‘schools’ of which it pursues so closely that it is often taken in the fishermen’s nets. Its flesh was formerly eaten in our own country, but it is now seldom hunted except for its oil and its hide. About three or four gallons of the former may be obtained from each animal; and the latter is highly valued on account of its durability, though it should be known that much of the so-called porpoise-hide manufactured is really the product of the White Whale.

CHAPTER XV
SEA WEEDS

The first of these includes all the very low forms of vegetable life, the simplest of which (Protophyta) are minute plants, each consisting of a single microscopic cell that multiplies by a process of budding, no sexual organs of any kind being produced. Some of these minute unicellular organisms contain chlorophyll—the green colouring matter of plants, by the action of which, under the influence of light, the plant is enabled to decompose the carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere, using the carbon for the purpose of building up its own substance, and setting free the oxygen into the air again. Others contain no chlorophyll; and these, having no power of feeding on carbonic acid gas, are more or less dependent on organic matter for their supplies of carbon.

Only very slightly removed from these minute plants are the Algæ of fresh and salt water, varying in size from microscopic dimensions to enormous plants, the lengths of which may reach many yards and the weight several stone. They contain chlorophyll, and can therefore avail themselves of inorganic food material; and although some multiply only by repeated subdivision of their cells, others develop sexual organs by the union of which fertilised spores are formed. The nature of these Algæ will be more fully described presently; and we will go no further now than to justify the location of such large and conspicuous plants (as many are) so low in the scale of vegetable life by stating that they are entirely cellular in structure, never producing true vessels such as we see in higher plants; and that though some of them develop parts which more or less resemble the leaves and roots of higher forms, the former are far more simple in structure and function than true leaves and the latter are never engaged in the absorption of food from the soil to which they are fixed.

Another important group of the Thallophytes is formed by the Fungi, which include the familiar mushrooms, toadstools, and the sap-balls so commonly seen on decaying trees; also the smaller forms known as moulds, mildew, and smut. These, also, are entirely cellular in structure; and, since they develop no chlorophyll, are compelled to live as parasites on living beings or to derive their food from decaying organic matter. Thus they are the creatures of corruption, their presence always denoting the breaking down of living matter or of matter that has previously lived.

Now leaving the Thallophytes, and passing over the small group of aquatic plants known as the Charales, we come to the Muscineæ, which contains the Liverworts (Hepaticæ) and the Mosses (Musci).

The plants of both these groups require much moisture, and are found principally in damp, shady situations. Like the preceding groups they are cellular in structure, never producing true vascular bundles such as the higher plants possess; and their life histories are rendered interesting by the ‘alternation of generations’ which they exhibit. The first generation is a sexual one produced from the spores, and consists either of a mass of delicate threads from which a plant with a leafy axis is developed by a process of budding, or of a little green frond (the thallus). These bear the male and female elements, called respectively the antheridia and the archegonia; and when the central cells of the latter are fertilised by the former, they give rise to a case, with or without a stalk, containing a number of spores. When the case is ripe, it opens horizontally by means of a lid, thus liberating the spores.

Following these in the ascending scale are the Vascular Cryptogams, in which some of the cells become modified into true vessels. Here, too, the plants exhibit a distinct alternation of generations, the spore first giving rise to a small, leafless body, the prothallium, which bears the sexual organs; and then the female elements, after fertilisation, produce the spore-bearing plant.

This group contains quite a variety of beautiful and interesting plants, including the Ferns (Filicales), Horsetails (Equisetales), Club-mosses (Lycopodiales), Water Ferns (Rhizocarpeæ), and Selaginellales.

Ferns usually produce their little green prothallia above ground, and the perfect plant generally has a creeping rhizome or underground stem. Some, however, have strong, erect, woody stems, such as we see in the tree ferns of tropical and sub-tropical countries. The horsetails and the club-mosses are also produced from prothallia that are formed above ground. The perfect plants of the former have branching underground stems which give off numerous roots, and send up annually green, jointed, aërial stems that bear whorls of fine leaves, each whorl forming a toothed, ring-like sheath. The fertile shoots terminate in cones, on the modified leaves of which the sporangia are produced. The stems of the club-mosses are clothed with small overlapping leaves, in the axes of which the sporangia are produced; and the spores, which are formed in abundance, constitute the lycopodium powder with which druggists often coat their pills.

Water ferns either float on the surface of water or creep along the bottom, and produce their fruit either at the bases of the leaves or between the fibres of submerged leaves. The Selaginellas are characterised by a procumbent stem that branches in one plane only, producing small, sessile leaves, with a single central vein. A number of roots grow downward from the under side of the stem, and the fruit is developed in the axils of the leaves that form the terminal cones of the fertile branches.

The above are all the principal divisions of the flowerless plants, and we have now to note the general characteristics of the Phanerogams. The chief of these is, of course, the possession of flowers as reproductive organs; and although it is not convenient to give a full description of the flower at the present time, it will be necessary to say a little concerning it in order that we may be able to grasp the broad principles of classification.

A flower, in its most complex form, consists of parts arranged in four whorls arranged concentrically. The first and second whorls, commencing from the outside, usually consist of leaf-like bodies, united or distinct, and are called respectively the calyx and the corolla. The third whorl consists of stamens, which are the male reproductive organs of the plant, and each stamen consists essentially of a case—the anther—in which are formed a number of little pollen cells. When the anther is ripe it opens, thus liberating the pollen, so that it may be dispersed by insects, by the wind, or by other mechanical means. The remaining whorl constitutes the pistil, which is generally made up of parts (carpels) arranged round a common centre, and each surmounted by a stigma adapted for the reception of the pollen cells. This portion of the flower contains the ovules, enclosed in a case called the ovary, and is, therefore, the female organ of the plant. When the ovules have been fertilised by the pollen, they develop into seeds, each one of which contains an embryo plant; and the ovary itself, ripening at the same time, develops into the fruit.

Such is the general description of a flower in its most complex form, but it must be remembered that one or more of the whorls named above may often be absent. Thus, calyx or corolla, or both, may not exist; and the male and female organs may be developed on separate flowers of the same plant, or even, as is frequently the case, on different plants of the same species. In the latter instance the flowers are spoken of as unisexual, those bearing the stamens being the staminate or male flowers, and those bearing the pistil the pistillate or female flowers.

The Phanerogams are divided into two main groups, the Gymnosperms and the Angiosperms. In the former the ovules are naked, no ovary or seed-case being developed. The pollen, carried by the wind, falls directly on the ovule, and then develops a tube which penetrates to the nucleus of the ovule, thus fertilising it. In the Angiosperms the ovules are always enclosed in an ovary, and the pollen grains, alighting on the stigma, are held by a gummy secretion. The tubes they produce then penetrate through the underlying tissues, and thus come into contact with the ovules.

The Gymnosperms include a group of small palm-like trees and shrubs (the Cycadeæ), of which the so-called Sago Palm is a representative; and the Coniferæ or cone-bearing shrubs and trees, which may be spoken of collectively as the Pines. In the latter the leaves are either stiff, linear, and needle-like, or short and scale-like, or are divided into narrow lobes; and the plants are noted for their resinous secretions. The flowers are always unisexual, and are generally arranged in cylindrical or short catkins, where they are protected by closely packed scales; but the female flowers may be solitary. There is no calyx or corolla, but the naked ovules and seeds are sometimes more or less enclosed in the scales (bracts) or in a fleshy disc.

The Angiosperms form the highest division of the flowering plants; and are subdivided into two extensive groups—the Monocotyledons and the Dicotyledons. The chief distinguishing feature of these is that implied in the above names, the embryo of the former containing but one rudimentary leaf (cotyledon), while that of the latter contains two. The Monocotyledons are also characterised by having the bundles of vessels (vascular bundles) of the stems dispersed; the veins of the leaves are also usually parallel, and the parts of the flower are arranged in whorls of three or six. In the Dicotyledons the vascular bundles of the stem are united into a ring which surrounds a central pith; the veins of the leaves form a network, and the parts of the flower are arranged in whorls of four or five.

We are now enabled to understand the relative positions of the principal groups of plants in the scale of vegetable life, and to locate approximately the forms with which we have to deal; and to aid the reader in this portion of his work we present a brief summary of the classification of plants in the form of a table for reference:—

THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS