merly known under the name of Ulva lu-
brica, with which, in its texture and the
disposition of its seeds, it appears exactly
to coincide. It extends from three inches
to as many feet in length, unbranched, and,
as its name implies, cylindrical, forming
an uniform tube, of a pale green color,
and thin delicate semi-gelatinous substance,
studded all over with darker green seeds,
that are almost universally placed in fours,
standing in small squares. As I have been
fortunate enough to save specimens of this
plant, and a drawing that I made upon the
spot, I shall, probably, at some future time,
take an opportunity of making a figure and
more full description of it public. The
water of the pools, that have been formed
in the morasses, by cutting away the turf
for fuel, generally abounds with our common
species of Conferva?, such as C. nitida and
bipunctata ; and a few of our marine ones
are found in the basins among the rocks, and
upon the sea-shores. But other more interesting
species are met with on spots of
earth and rock that are heated to a great
degree, either by the steam of the boiling
springs or by the waters themselves: most of
these seem to belong to the Vaucherian genus,
Oscillatoria. Of Fungi, the island
can boast but few, except some Agarici,
scattered in such small quantities, that they
are not used for food, and Lycoperdon Bo-
vista, which is found every where.
The entomological productions of Iceland
are extremely scanty. A very small collection
of insects, indeed,, rewarded my
researches on this department of natural history,
and of these there were none that were
in the least remarkable for their beauty.
Some of the Lepidopterous species were new
to me, among which I think I had five or
six nondescript Phalence. No Papilio or
Sphinx has ever been met with in the country.
Of Coleopterous insects, there is scarcely
a greater variety; and I saw only a single
Scarabceus, and a very few Curculiones and
Carabi, most of which, however, to make
me amends, were such as I was unacquainted
with. I, by mere accident, have still preserved
a specimen of an undescribed species
of Coccinella, which I found killed by the
steam of one of the hot-sprihgs at the Geysers:
it was the only one of the genus that
occurred to me.