Page:The aquarium - an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea.djvu/52

Rh are generally about as large as one's hand, smooth and glossy, of a dark crimson hue, but apt to run off into a pale greenish tint towards the tips; their edges have often little leaves growing on them. This plant is the Dulse or Dillis (Rhodymenia palmata), which is eaten by the poor of our northern shores as a luxury. The soldiers of the regiment quartered here, many of whom are Irish, may be frequently seen on the ledges, searching for the leaves of this plant, which they eagerly eat raw, to the entertainment of the children who are sailing their little boats in the pools.

This is a showy plant, very beautiful when its tufts of large deep-red fronds are seen in the sea, where the perpetual wash of the waves keeps their surface clean and glossy, but not very suitable for an Aquarium. Its leaves soon decay; spots of orange-colour begin speedily to appear, which increase fast, and, uniting into large patches, slough off in slimy shreds. The appearance of an orange colour, on crimson or purple weeds, is always a sign of the death of that part, and is the infallible precursor of decay. As soon as it appears, or at least if it begin to increase, the specimen should be ejected without mercy; as the diffusion of the gases from decaying vegetable matter is speedily fatal to most animals.

The "gulder" or secondary tide begins to come in, and we can no longer work at so low a level. We recede to the slopes of the ledges yet uncovered, and find other species in the quiet sheltered pools. A weed is found here growing in dense mossy patches on the perpendicular and overshadowed edges of the rock, which when examined looks like a multitude of tiny