Chapter CIII: Act 1890: was passed and the reconstruction commenced in (9)

ALFRED, or AELFRED, known as THE GREAT (848-? 900), king of England, was born in 848 at Wantage, and was the fourth son of King AEthelwulf and his first wife (Osburh). He seems to have been a child of singular attractiveness and promise, and stories of his boyhood were remembered. At the age of five (853) he was sent to Rome, where he was confirmed by Leo IV., who is also stated to have ``hallowed him as king.'' Later writers interpreted this as an anticipatory crowning in preparation for his ultimate succession to the throne of Wessex. That, however, could not have been foreseen in 853, as Alfred had three elder brothers living. It is probably to be understood either of investiture with the consular insignia, or possibly with some titular royalty such as that of the under-kingdom of Kent. In 855 Alfred again went to Rome with his father AEthelwulf, returning towards the end of 856. About two years later his father died. During the short reigns of his two eldest brothers, AEthelbald and AEthelberht, nothing is heard of Alfred. But with the accession of the third brother AEthelred (866) the public life of Alfred begins, and he enters on his great work of delivering England from the Danes. It is in this reign that Asser applies to Alfred the unique title of secundarius, which seems to indicate a position analogous to that of the Celtic tanist, a recognized successor, closely associated with the reigning prince. It is probable that this arrangement was definitely sanctioned by the witenagemot, to guard against the danger of a disputed succession should AEthelred fall in battle. In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of AEthelred Mucill, who is called ealdorman of the Gaini, an unidentified district. The same year the two brothers made an unsuccessful attempt to relieve Mercia from the pressure of the Danes. For nearly two years Wessex had a respite. But at the end of 870 the storm burst; and the year which followed has been rightly called ``Alfred's year of battles.'' Nine general engagements were fought with varying fortunes, though the place and date of two of them have not been recorded. A successful skirmish at Englefield, Berks (December 31, 870), was followed by a severe defeat at Reading (January 4, 871), and this, four days later, by the brilliant victory of Ashdown, near Compton Beauchamp in Shrivenham Hundred. On the 22nd of January the English were again defeated at Basing, and on the 22nd of March at Marton, Wilts, the two unidentified battles having perhaps occurred in the interval. In April AEthelred died, and Alfred succeeded to the whole burden of the contest. While he was busied with his brother's exequies, the Danes defeated the English in his absence at an unnamed spot, and once more in his presence at Wilton in May. After this peace was made, and for the next five years the Danes were occupied in other parts of England, Alfred merely keeping a force of observation on the frontier. But in 876 part of the Danes managed to slip past him and occupied Wareham; whence, early in 877, under cover of treacherous negotiations, they made a dash westwards and seized Exeter. Here Alfred blockaded them, and a relieving fleet having been scattered by a storm, the Danes had to submit and withdrew to Mercia. But in January 878 they made a sudden swoop on Chippenham, a royal vill in which Alfred had been keeping his Christmas, ``and most of the people they reduced, except the King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way . . . by wood and swamp, and after Easter he . . . made a fort at Athelney, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe'' (Chron..) The idea that Alfred, during his retreat at Athelney, was a helpless fugitive rests upon the foolish legend of the cakes. In reality he was organizing victory. By the middle of May his preparations were complete and he moved out of Athelney, being joined on the way by the levies of Somerset, Wilts and Hants. The Danes on their side moved out of Chippenham, and the two armies met at Edington in Wiltshire. The result was a decisive victory for Alfred. The Danes submitted. Guthrum, the Danish king, and twenty-nine of his chief men accepted baptism. By the next year (879) not only Wessex, but Mercia, west of Watling Street, was cleared of the invader. This is the arrangement known as the peace of Wedmore (878), though no document embodying its provisions is in existence. And though for the present the north-eastern half of England, including London, remained in the hands of the Danes, in reality the tide had turned, and western Europe was saved from the danger of becoming a heathen Scandinavian power. For the next few years there was peace, the Danes being kept busy on the continent. A landing in Kent in 884 or 885,1 though successfully repelled, encouraged the East Anglian Danes to revolt. The measures taken by Alfred to repress this revolt culminated in the capture of London in 885 or 886, and the treaty known as Alfred and Guthrum's peace, whereby the boundaries of the treaty of Wedmore (with which this is often confused) were materially modified in Alfred's favour. Once more for a time there was a lull; but in the autumn of 892 (893) the final storm burst. The Danes, finding their position on the continent becoming more and more precarious, crossed to England in two divisions, amounting in the aggregate to 330 sail, and entrenched themselves, the larger body at Appledore and the lesser under Haesten at Milton in Kent. The fact that the new invaders brought their wives and children with them shows that this was no mere raid, but a deliberate attempt, in concert with the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes, to conquer England. Alfred, 893 (894), took up a position whence he could observe both forces. While he was negotiating with Haesten the Danes at Appledore broke out and struck north-westwards, but were overtaken by Alfred's eldest son, Edward, and defeated in a general engagement at Farnham, and driven to take refuge in Thorney Island in the Hertfordshire Colne, where they were blockaded and ultimately compelled to submit. They then fell back on Essex, and after suffering another defeat at Benfleet coalesced with Haesten's force at Shoebury. Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed fort on the coast of North Devon. Alfred at once hurried westwards and raised the siege of Exeter; the fate of the other place is not recorded. Meanwhile the force under Haesten set out to march up the Thames valley, possibly with the idea of assisting their friends in the west. But they were met by a large force under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wilts and Somerset, and forced to head off to the north-west, being finally overtaken and blockaded at Buttington, which some identify with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool. An attempt to break through the English lines was defeated with loss; those who escaped retreated to Shoebury. Then after collecting reinforcements they made a sudden dash across England and occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester. The English did not attempt a winter blockade, but contented themselves with destroying all the supplies in the neighbourhood. And early in 894 (895) want of food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex. At the end of this year and early in 895 (896) the Danes drew their ships up the Thames and Lea and fortified themselves twenty miles above London. A direct attack on the Danish lines failed, but later in the year Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river so as to prevent the egress of the Danish ships. The Danes realized that they were out-manoeuvred. They struck off north-westwards and wintered at Bridgenorth. The next year, 896 (897), they abandoned the struggle. Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia; those who had no connexions in England withdrew to the continent. The long campaign was over. The result testifies to the confidence inspired by Alfred's character and generalship, and to the efficacy of the military reforms initiated by him. These were (1) the division of the fyrd or national militia into two parts, relieving each other at fixed intervals, so as to ensure continuity in military operations; (2) the establishment of fortified posts (burgs) and garrisons at certain points; (3) the enforcement of the obligations of thanehood on all owners of five hides of land, thus giving the king a nucleus of highly equipped troops. After the final dispersal of the Danish invaders Alfred turned his attention to the increase of the navy, and ships were built according to the king's own designs, partly to repress the ravages of the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes on the coasts of Wessex, partly to prevent the landing of fresh hordes. This is not, as often asserted, the beginning of the English navy. There had been earlier naval operations under Alfred. One naval engagement was certainly fought under AEthelwulf (851), and earlier ones, possibly in 833 and 840. Nor were the new ships a great success, as we hear of them grounding in action and foundering in a storm. Much, too, was needed in the way of civil re-organization, especially in the districts ravaged by the Danes. In the parts of Mercia acquired by Alfred, the shire system seems now to have been introduced for the first time. This is the one grain of truth in the legend that Alfred was the inventor of shires, hundreds and tithings. The finances also would need careful attention; but the subject is obscure, and we cannot accept Asser's description of Alfred's appropriation of his revenue as more than an ideal sketch. Alfred's care for the administration of justice is testified both by history and legend; and the title ``protector of the poor'' was his by unquestioned right. Of the action of the witenagemot we do not hear very much under Alfred. That he was anxious to respect its rights is conclusively proved, but both the circumstances of the time and the character of the king would tend to throw more power into his hands. The legislation of Alfred probably belongs to the later part of the reign, after the pressure of the Danes had relaxed. The details of it cannot be discussed here. Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers, but little definite information is available. He certainly corresponded with Elias III., the patriarch of Jerusalem, and probably sent a mission to India. Embassies to Rome conveying the English alms to the pope were fairly frequent; while Alfred's interest in foreign countries is shown by the insertions which he made in his translation of Orosius. His relations to the Celtic princes in the southern half of the island are clearer. Comparatively early in his reign the South Welsh princes, owing to the pressure on them of North Wales and Mercia, commended themselves to Alfred. Later in the reign the North Welsh followed their example, and the latter co-operated with the English in the campaign of 893 (894). The Celtic principality in Cornwall, which seems to have survived at least till 926, must long have been practically dependent on Wessex. That Alfred sent alms to Irish as well as to continental monasteries may be accepted on Asser's authority; the visit of the three pilgrim ``Scots'' (i.e. Irish) to Alfred in 891 is undoubtedly authentic; the story that he himself in his childhood was sent to Ireland to be healed by St Modwenna, though mythical, may point to Alfred's interest in that island. The history of the church under Alfred is most obscure. The Danish inroads had told heavily upon it; the monasteries had been special points of attack, and though Alfred founded two or three monasteries and imported foreign monks, there was no general revival of monasticism under him. To the ruin of learning and education wrought by the Danes, and the practical extinction of the knowledge of Latin even among the clergy, the preface to Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care bears eloquent testimony. It was to remedy these evils that he established a court school, after the example of Charles the Great; for this he imported scholars like Grimbald and John the Saxon from the continent and Asser from South Wales; for this, above all, he put himself to school, and made the series of translations for the instruction of his clergy and people, most of which still survive. These belong unquestionably to the later part of his reign, not improbably to the last four years of it, during which the chronicles are almost silent. Apart from the lost Handboc or Encheiridion, which seems to have been merely a commonplace-book kept by the king, the earliest work to be translated was the Dialogues of Gregory, a book enormously popular in the middle ages. In this case the translation was made by Alfred's great friend Werferth, bishop of Worcester, the king merely furnishing a preface. The next work to be undertaken was Gregory's Pastoral Care, especially for the benefit of the clergy. In this Alfred keeps very close to his original; but the introduction which he prefixed to it is one of the most interesting documents of the reign, or indeed of English history. The next two works taken in hand were historical, the Universal History of Orosius and Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People. The priority should probably be assigned to the Orosius, but the point has been much debated. In the Orosius, by omissions and additions, Alfred so remodels his original as to produce an almost new work; in the Bede the author's text is closely adhered to, no additions being made, though most of the documents and some other less interesting matters are omitted. Of late years doubts have been raised as to Alfred's authorship of the Bede translation. But the sceptics cannot be regarded as having proved their point. We come now to what is in many ways the most interesting of Alfred's works, his translation of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, the most popular philosophical manual of the middle ages. Here again Alfred deals very freely with his original and though the late Dr G. Schepss showed that many of the additions to the text are to be traced not to Alfred himself, but to the glosses and commentaries which he used, still there is much in the work which is solely Alfred's and highly characteristic of his genius. It is in the Boethius that the oft-quoted sentence occurs: ``My will was to live worthily as long as I lived, and after my life to leave to them that should come after, my memory in good works.'' The book has come down to us in two MSS. only. In one of these the poems with which the original is interspersed are rendered into prose, in the other into alliterating verse. The authorship of the latter has been much disputed; but probably they also are by Alfred. Of the authenticity of the work as a whole there has never been any doubt. The last of Alfred's works is one to which he gave the title Blostman, i. e. ``Blooms'' or Anthology. The first half is based mainly on the Soliloquies of St Augustine, the remainder is drawn from various sources, and contains much that is Alfred's own and highly characteristic of him. The last words of it may be quoted; they form a fitting epitaph for the noblest of English kings. ``Therefore he seems to me a very foolish man, and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear.'' Besides these works of Alfred's, the Saxon Chronicle almost certainly, and a Saxon Martyrology, of which fragments only exist, probably owe their inspiration to him. A prose version of the first fifty Psalms has been attributed to him; and the attribution, though not proved, is perfectly possible. How Alfred passed to ``the life where all things are made clear'' we do not know. The very year is uncertain. The arguments on the whole are in favour of 900. The day was the 26th of October. Alike for what he did and for what he was, there is none to equal Alfred in the whole line of English sovereigns; and no monarch in history ever deserved more truly the epithet of Great.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The chief original authorities for the reign of Alfred are the so-called Life by Asser (best edition by W. H. Stevenson, Clarendon Press, 1904); and the Saxon Chronicles (text and notes by Earle and Plummer, 2 vols., Clar. Press, 1892-1899; parallel texts and translation, Thorpe, 2 vols., 1861, Rolls Series; translation alone, Joseph Stevenson in Church Historians of England, vol. ii., 1853). The above sketch is based mainly on C. Plummer's Life and Times of Alfred the Great (Clar. Press, 1902). Of earlier biographies that by Pauli is still of great value: Konig AElfred (Berlin, 1851); Eng. trans. by Thorpe (Bohn, 1853). Of recent works mention may be made of Alfred the Great, Chapters on his Life and Times, by various authors, edited by Alfred Bowker (1899); Earle, The Alfred Jewel (Clar. Press, 1901).

For the bioliography of Alfred's works in general see Wulker, Grundriss zur Gesch. der angelsachsischen Litteratur, pp. 386-451 (Leipzig, 1885). Only the more recent and accessible editions are mentioned here. Laws: The Legal Code ofAElfred the Great (M. H. Turk, Halle, 1893). (For the Anglo-Saxon laws as a whole see Liebermann, Gesetze der Angelsachsen, Halle, 1898-1903. Earlier editions, Schmid, 1858; Thorpe, 1840.) Gregory's Dialogues: Hans Hecht, in Grein's Bibliothek der angels. Prosa (1900). Gregory's Pastoral Care: H. Sweet, for Early Eng. Text Society (1871--1872). (Dissertations by Wack and DeWitz, 1889.) Orosius: Thorpe (in his translation of Pauli, U. S. 1853); Bosworth (1859); Sweet, E.E.T.S. (1883). (Dissertation Schelling, Konig AElfred's . . . Orosius, Halle, 1886.) Bede: T. Miller, for E.E.T.S. (1890); Prof. Schipper, in Grein's Bibliothek (U.S. 1899). Boethius: W. J. Sedgfield (Clar. Press, 1899); translation by the same (1900). (Dissertation: G. Schepss, Archiv fur's Studium der neueren Sprachen, xciv. 14-160.) Blostman: First printed by Cockayne in the Shrine (1868-1869); reprinted, Englische Studien, xviii.; new edition by Hararove, Yale Studies in English, xiii. (1902); translation by the same, ib. xxii. (1904). (Dissertation: F. G. Hubbard, Modern Language Notes, ix. 522 ff.) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: see above. Mortyrology: Cockayne, in the Shrine, v.s. Psalter: Thorpe (Clar. Press, 1855). (Dissertations: for Alfred's authorship, Wichmann, Anglia, xi. 19 ff.; against, J. D. Bruce, The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Book of Psalms, Baltimore, 1894.) (C. PL.)

1 Where alternative dates are given the later date is that of the Saxon Chronicle. But the evidence of the Continental Chronicles makes it probable that the Saxon Chronicle is a year in advance of the true chronology in this part.

ALFRED ERNEST ALBERT, duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and duke of Edinburgh (1844-1900), second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria, was born at Windsor Castle on the 6th of August 1844. In 1856 it was decided that the prince, in accordance with his own wishes, should enter the navy, and a separate establishment was accordingly assigned to him, with Lieutenant Sowell, R. E., as governor. He passed a most creditable examination for midshipman in August 1858, and being appointed to the ``Euryalus,'' at once began to work hard at the practical part of his profession. In July 1860, while on this ship, he paid an official visit to the Cape, and made a very favourable impression both on the colonials and on the native chiefs. On the abdication of Otto, king of Greece, in 1862, Prince Alfred was chosen by the whole people to succeed him, but political conventions of long standing rendered it impossible for the British government to accede to their wishes. The prince therefore remained in the navy, and was promoted lieutenant on the 24th of February 1863 and captain on the 23rd of February 1866, being then appointed to the command of the ``Galatea.'' On attaining his majority in 1865 the prince was created duke of Edinburgh and earl of Ulster, with an annuity of L. 15,000 granted by parliament. While still in command of the ``Galatea'' the duke started from Plymouth on the 24th of January 1867 for his voyage round the world. On the 11th of June 1867 he left Gibraltar and reached the Cape on the 24th of July, and landed at Glenelg, South Australia, on the 31st of October. Being the first English prince to visit Australia, the duke was received with the greatest enthusiasm. During his stay of nearly five months he visited Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Tasmania; and it was on his second visit to Sydney that, while attending a public picnic at Clonfert in aid of the Sailors' Home, an Irishman named O'Farrell shot him in the back with a revolver. The wound was fortunately not dangerous, and within a month the duke was able to resume command of his ship and return home. He reached Spithead on the 26th of June 1868, after an absence of seventeen months. The duke's next voyage was to India, where he arrived in December 1869. Both there and at Hong Kong, which he visited on the way, he was the first British prince to set foot in the country. The native rulers of India vied with one another in the magnificence of their entertainments during the duke's stay of three months. On the 23rd of January 1874 the marriage of the duke to the grand-duchess Marie Alexandrovna, only daughter of Alexander II., emperor of Russia, was celebrated at St Petersburg, and the bride and bridegroom made their public entry into London on the 12th of March. The duke still devoted himself to his profession, showing complete mastery of his duties and unusual skill in naval tactics. He was promoted rear-admiral on the 30th of December 1878; vice-admiral, 10th of November 1882; admiral, 18th of October 1887; and received his baton as admiral of the Fleet, 3rd of June 1893. He commanded the Channel fleet, 1883-1884; the Mediterranean fleet, 1886-1889; and was commander-in-chief at Davenport, 1890- 1893. He always paid the greatest attention to his offiicial duties and was most efficient as an admiral.

On the death of his uncle, Ernest II., duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, on the 22nd of August 1893, the vacant duchy fell to the duke of Edinburgh, for the prince of Wales had renounced his right to the succession. At first regarded with some coldness as a ``foreigner,'' he gradually gained popularity, and by the time of his death, on the 30th of July 1900, he had completely won the good opinion of his subjects. The duke was exceedingly fond of music and an excellent violinist, and took a prominent part in establishing the Royal College of music. He was also a keen collector of glass and ceramic ware, and his collection, valued at half a million of marks, was presented by his widow to the ``Veste Coburg,'' near Coburg. When he became duke of Saxe-Coburg he surrendered his English allowance of L. 15,000 a year, but the L. 10,000 granted in addition by parliament on his marriage he retained in order to keep up Clarence House. The duke had one son, who died unmarried on the 6th of February 1899, and four daughters. The third daughter, Princess Alexandra Louisa Olga Victoria, married the hereditary prince Ernest of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who became regent of the duchy of Coburg during the minority of the deceased duke's nephew, the young duke of Albany, to whom the succession fell. (G. F. B.)

ALFRED, a village in the township of Alfred, Allegany county, New York, U.S.A., about 75 m. S.W. of Buffalo. Pop. of the township, including the village (1900), 1615; (1910 U. S. census) 1590. Pop. of the village (1900) 756; (1910 U. S. census) 759. The township is served, at Alfred station, by the Erie railway. The village, which is connected by stage with the station, is situated at the junction of two valleys and commands delightful views of mountain scenery. On the west slope of pine Hill is Alfred University (co-educational), which embraces a College (non-sectarian), an academy (non-sectarian) and a theological seminary (Seventh-Day Baptist). Closely associated with it also, and under the management of the university trustees, is the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics (1900), one of the most efficient schools of the kind in the country. In 1908 the legislature of New York appropriated $80,000 for the establishment of a state school of agriculture in connexion with the university. The institution had its beginning in 1836 in a private school. This developed into an academy, which in 1843 was incorporated as Alfred Academy and Teachers' Seminary; in 1857 the university was chartered under its present name. The principal industry of the village is the manufacture of roofing tiles. The township of Alfred lies within the territory purchased by Robert Morris in 1791. He sold it in the same year to a company resident in London, England. Their agent sold most of it to settlers and, it is said, named the township, when it was organized in 1806, in honour of Alfred the Great. The first settlement within its present limits was made in 1807. For several years most of the settlers were Seventh-Day Baptists, and in 1812 they organized a church here. The village of Alfred was chartered in 1887.

J. S. Minard, Allegany County and its People (Alfred, 1896).

ALFRETON, a market town in the mid-parliamentary division of Derbyshire, England, 14 m N. by E. of Derby, on the Midland railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 17,505. It lies at a considerable elevation above the valley of a small stream tributary to the Derwent. The church of St Martin is Early English and later. The neighbourhood abounds in ironworks, collieries, quarries and potteries, and is thickly populated. To the north-east of Alfreton are South Normanton (pop. 5170), Blackwell (4144) and Tibshelf (3432); to the north Shirland (3929), to the south Ironville and other busy industrial villages. The foundation of Alfreton is traditionally ascribed to King Alfred.

ALFUROS (ALFURES, HORAFORAS), a term of no ethnological value applied by the Malays to all the uncivilized non- Mahommedan peoples in the eastern portion of the Malay Archipelago. Its origin is uncertain, but its meaning is ``wild'' or ``uncivilized.'' The term is not restricted to the aborigines, but is far more frequently used to describe the tribes of Malayan blood.

ALGAE. The Latin word alga seems to have been the equivalent of the English word ``seaweed'' and probably stood for any or all of the species of plants which form the ``wrack'' of a seashore.

Classification.

When the word ``Algae'' came to be employed in botanical classification as the name of a class, an arbitrary limitation had to be set to its signification, and this was not always in keeping with its original meaning. The absence of differentiation into root, stem and leaf which prevails among seaweeds, seems, for example, to have led Linnaeus to employ the term in the Genera Plantarum for a sub-class of Cryptogamia, the members of which presented this character in a greater or less degree. Of the fifteen genera included by Linnaeus among algae, not more than six--viz. Chara, Fucus, Diva and Conferva, and in part Tremella and Byssus--would to-day, in any sense in which the term is employed, be regarded as algae. The excluded genera are distributed among the liverworts, lichens and fungi; but notwithstanding the great advance in knowledge since the time of Linnaeus, the difficulty of deciding what limits to assign to the group to be designated Algae still remains. It arises from the fact that algae, as generally understood, do not constitute a homogeneous group, suggesting a descent from a common stock. Among them there exist, as will be seen hereafter, many well-marked but isolated natural groups, and their inclusion in the larger group is generally felt to be a matter of convenience rather than the expression of a belief in their close inter-relationship. Efforts are therefore continually being made by successive writers to exclude certain outlying sub-groups, and to reserve the term Algae for a central group reconstituted on a more natural basis within narrower limits.

It is perhaps desirable, in an article like this, to treat of algae in the widest possible sense in which the term may be used, an indication being at the same time given of the narrower senses in which it has been proposed to employ it. Interpreted in this way, the place of algae in the vegetable kingdom may be shown by means of a

_
_ _ | Myxomycetes
| | Thallophyta | Fungi
| Cryptogamia | |_ Algae
The Vegetable | | Bryophyta
Kingdom | |_ Pteridophyta
| _
| | Gymnosperms
| Phanerogamia |_ Angiosperms
|_

Algae in this wide sense may be briefly described as the aggregate of those simpler forms of plant life usually devoid, like the rest of the Thallophyta, of differentiation into root, stem and leaf; but, unlike other Thallophyta, possessed of a colouring matter; by means of which they are enabled, in the presence of sunlight, to make use of the carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere as a source of carbon. It is true that certain Bryophyta (Marchantiaceae, Anthoceroteae) possess a thalloid structure similar to that of Thallophyta, and are at the same time possessed of the colouring matter of the Green Algae. Their life-cycle, however, the structure of the reproductive organs and their whole organization proclaim them to be Bryophyta (q.v..) On the other hand, certain undoubted animals (Stentor, Hydra, Bonellia) are provided with a green colouring matter by means of which they make use of atmospheric carbonic acid. A more important consideration is the occasional absence of this colour in species, or groups of species, with, in other respects, algal affinities. Such aberrant forms are to be regarded in the same light as Cuscuta and Orobanchaceae, for example, among Phanerogams. As these non-green plants do not cease to be classed with other Phanerogams, so must the forms in question be retained among algae. In all cases the loss of the colouring matter is associated with an incapacity to take up carbon from so simple a compound as carbonic acid

It might be mentioned here that the whole group of the Fungi (q.v.),with its many thousands of species, is now generally regarded as having been derived from algae, and the system of classification of fungi devised by Brefeld is based upon this belief. The similarity of the morphological characters of one group of fungi to those of certain algae has earned for it the name Phycomycetes or alga-fungi.

Further discussion of the general characters of algae will be deferred in order to take a brief survey of the subdivisions of the group. For this purpose there will be adopted the classification of algae into four sub-groups, founded on the nature of the colouring matters present in the plant:-- I. CYANOPHYCEAE, or Blue-green Algae. II. CHLOROPHYCEAE, or Green Algae. III. PHAEOPHYCEAE, or Brown Algae. IV. RHODOPHYCEAE, or Red Algae. The merits and demerits of this system will appear during the description of the characters of the members of the several subdivisions.

I. CYANOPHYCEAE.--This group derives its name from the circumstance that the cells contain in addition to the green colouring matter, chlorophyll, a blue-green colouring matter to which the term phycocyanin has been applied.

Sub-divisions.

To the eye, however, members of this group present a greater variety of colour than those of any other--yellow, brown, olive, red, purple, violet and variations of all these being known. They undoubtedly represent the lowest grade of algal life, and their distribution rivals that of the Green Algae. They occur in the sea, in fresh water, on moist earth, on damp rocks and on the bark of trees. Certain species are regularly found in the intercellular spaces of higher plants; such are species of Nostoc in the thallus of Anthoceros, the leaves of Azolla and the roots of Cycads. Many of them enter into the structure of the lichen-thallus, as the so-called gonidia. It is remarkable that species belonging to the Oscillatoriaceae are known to flourish in hot springs, the temperature of which rises as high as 85 deg. C.

The thallus may be unicellular or multicellular. When unicellular, it may consist of isolated cells, but more commonly the cells are held together in a common jelly (Chroococcaceae) derived from the outer layers of the cell-wall. The multicellular species consist of filaments, branched or unbranched, which arise by the repeated divisions of the cells in parallel planes, no formation of mucilage occurring in the dividing walls. Such filaments may not give rise to mucilage on the lateral surface either, in which case they are said to be free; when mucilage does occur on the lateral wall, it appears as the sheath surrounding either the single filament, or a sheaf of filaments of common origin. The mucilage may also form an embedding substance similar to that of Chroococcaceae, in which the filaments lie parallel or radiate from a common centre (Rivulariaceae). The cells of the filament may be all alike, and growth may occur equally in all parts (Oscillatoriaceae); or certain cells (heterocysts) may become marked off by their larger size and the transparency of their contents; in which case growth may still be distributed equally throughout (Nostoc), or the filament may be attached where the heterocyst arises, and grow out at the opposite extremity into a fine hair (Rivulariaceae). An African form (Camptothrix), devoid of heterocysts and hair-like at both extremities, has recently been described. Branching has been described as ``false'' and ``true.'' The former arises when a filament in a sheath, either in consequence of growth in length beyond the capacity of the sheath to accommodate it,

FIG, 1.--Cyanophyceae, variously magnified.

A. Gloeocapsa sp.,colony in mucilage.

B. Phormidium sp., single filament with hormogonium.

C. Microcoleus sp., several filaments in common sheath.

D. Nostoc sp., young colony-filament with heterocysts.

E. Scytonema sp., false branching.

F. Rivularia sp.

G. Stigonema sp., with hormogonium and true branching.

H. Spirulina sp.

(From Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfamilien, by permission of Wilhelm Engelmann.)

or because of the decay of a cell, becomes interrupted by breaking, and the free ends slip past one another. ``True'' branching arises only by the longitudinal division of a cell of a filament and the lateral outgrowth of one of the cells resulting from the division (Sirosiohonaceae).

The nature of the contents of the cells of Cyanophyceae has given rise to considerable controversy. The cells are for the most part exceedingly minute, and are not easy to free from their colouring matters, so that investigation has been attended with great difficulty. Occupying as these algae do perhaps the lowest grade of plant life, it is a matter of interest to ascertain whether a nucleus or chromatophore is differentiated in their cells, or whether the functions and properties of these bodies are diffused through the whole protoplast. It is certain that the centre of the cell, which is usually non-vacuolated, is occupied by protoplasm of different properties from the peripheral region; and A. Fischer has further established the fact that the peripheral mass, which is a hollow sphere in spherical cells, and either a hollow cylinder or barrel-shaped body in filamentous forms, must be regarded as the single chromatophore of the Cyanophyceous cell. But what precisely is the nature of the central mass is still uncertain. Some investigators, such as R. Hegler, F. G. Kohl and E. W. Olive, claim that this body is a true nucleus comparable with that of the higher plants. It is said to undergo division by a mitosis essentially of the same character, with the formation of a spindle and the differentiation of chromosomes. It is further stated by Olive that the chromosomes undergo longitudinal fission, and that for the same species the same number of chromosomes appear at each division. H. Wager speaks with greater reserve, acknowledging, however, the central body to be a nucleus of a rudimentary type, but devoid of nuclear membrane and nucleolus. He thinks it may possibly originate in the vacuolization of the central region, and the accumulation of chromatin granules therein. He finds no spindle fibres or true chromosomes, and considers the division direct, not indirect. With reference to the existence of a chromatophore, he with others finds the colouring matter localized in granules in the peripheral region, but does not consider these individually or in the aggregate as chromatophores. Among other contents of the cell, fatty substances and tannin are known. A curious adaptation seems to occur in certain floating forms, in the presence of a gas-vacuole, which may be made to vary its volume with varying pressure. There is evidence that the dividing wall of filamentous forms is deeply pitted, as is found to be the case in red algae. Reproduction is chiefly effected by the vegetative method. Asexual reproductive cells are not infrequent, but sexual reproduction even in its initial stages is unknown. Nor is motility by means of cilia known in the group. In the unicellular forms, cell-division involves multiplication of the plant. In all the multicellular plants of this group which have been adequately investigated, vegetative multiplication by means of what are known as hormogonia has been found to occur. These are short segments of filaments consisting of a few cells which disengage themselves from the ambient jelly, if it be present, in virtue of a peculiar creeping movement which they possess at this stage. After a time they come to rest and give rise to new colonies. True reproduction of the asexual kind occurs, however, in the formation of sporangia, particularly in the Chamaesiohonaceae. Here the contents of certain cells break up endogenously into a great number of spores, which are distributed as a fine dust. Resting spores are also known. In these cases, certain cells of a colony of unicellular plants or of the filaments of multicellular plants enlarge greatly and thicken their wall. When unfavourable external conditions supervene and the ordinary cells become atrophied, these cells persist and reproduce the plant with the return of more favourable conditions. The Oscillatoriaceae are capable of a peculiar oscillatory movement, which has earned for them their name, and which enables them to move through considerable distances. It is not clear how the movement is effected, though it has frequently been the subject of careful investigation.

With the Cyanophyceae must be included, as their nearest allies, the Bacteriaceae (see BACTERIOLOGY.) Notwithstanding the absence of chlorophyll, and the consequent parasitic or saprophytic habit, Bacteriaceae agree in so many morphological features with Cyanophyceae that the affinity can hardly be doubted.

A census of the Cyanophyceae with their two main groups is given below:--

1. Coccogoneae--2 families, 29 genera, 253 species. 2. Hormogoneae--6 families, 59 genera, 701 species. (Engler and Prantl's Pflanzenfamilien, 1900)

II. CHLOROPHYCEAE.--This group includes those algae in which the green colouring matter, chlorophyll, is not accompanied by a second colouring matter, as it is in other groups. It consists of three subdivisions--Conjugatae, Euchlorophyceae and Characeae. Of these the first and last are relatively small and sharply defined families, distinguished from the second family, which forms the bulk of the group, by characters so diverse that their inclusion with them in one larger group can only be justified on the ground of convenience. Chlorophyceae include both marine and freshwater plants.

Euchlorophyceae in their turn have been until recently regarded as made up of the three series of families--Protococcales, Confervales and Siphonales. As the result of recent investigations by two Swedish algologists, Bohlin and Luther, it has been proposed to make a re-classification of a far-reaching nature. Algae are withdrawn from each of the three series enumerated above and consolidated into an entirely new group. In these algae, the colouring matter is said to be yellowish-green, not strictly green, and contained in numerous small discoid chromatophores which are devoid of pyrenoids. The products of assimilation are stored up in the form of a fatty substance and not starch. A certain inequality in the character of the two cilia of the zoospores of some of the members of the group has earned for it the title Heterokontae, from the Greek kontos, a punting-pole. In consonance with this name, its authors propose to re-name the Conjugatae; Akontae and Oedogoniaceae with a chaplet of cilia become Stephanokontae, and the algae remaining over in the three series from which the Heterokontae and Stephanokontae are withdrawn become Isokontae. Conjugatae, Protococcales and Characeae are exclusively freshwater; Confervales and Siphonales are both freshwater and marine, but the latter group attains its greatest development in the sea. Some Chlorophyceae are terrestrial in habit, usually growing on a damp substratum, however. Trentepohlia grows on rocks and can survive considerable desiccation. Phycopeltis grows on the surface of leaves, Phyllobium and Phyllosiphon in their tissues. Gomontia is a shell-boring alga, FIG. 2.--Chlorophyceae, variously magnified.

A. Chlamydomonas sp., unicellular; chr., chromatophore; p., pyrenoid; n., nucleus; p.v., pulsating vacuoles; e.s., eyespot.

B1. Volvox sp., with a, antheridia, and o, oogonia.

B2. Volvox sp., surface view of a single cell showing connexions.

C. Pandorina sp., a 16-celled colony.

D. Hydrodictyon, a single mesh surrounded by 6 cells.

E. Microspora sp., showing H-pieces in the wall.

F. Entoderma sp., endophytic in Ectocarpus.

G. Coleochaete sp., growing as a plate.

H. Oedogonium sp., intercalated growth by insertion of new piece (a) leaving caps.

K. Struvea sp., showing branches forming a net-work.

L. Caulerpa sp., showing portion of axis with leaf-like and root- like appendages.

M1. Chara sp., axis with leaf-like appendages and a branch.

M2. Chara sp., apical region.

N. Botrydium, a simple siphonaceous alga with root-like attachment.

O. Acetabularia Mediterranea, mushroom-like calcareous siphonaceous alga.

(A, C, E, F, G, H, K, M1, M2, from from Engler and Prantl, Pflanzenfamilien, by permission of Wilhelm Engelmann; B1, N, from Vines, Student's Text Book of Botany, by permission of Swan Sonnenschein and Co.; B2, D, O from Oltmanns, Morphologie u. Biologie der Algen, by permission of Gustav Fischer.)

Dermatophyton grows on the carapace of the tortoise and Trichophilus in the hairs of the sloth. Certain Protococcales and Confervales exist as the gonidia of the lichenthallus.

The thallus is of more varied structure in this group than in any other. In the simplest case it may consist of a single cell, which may remain free during the whole of the greater part of its existence, or be loosely aggregated together within a common mucilage, or be held together by the adhesion of the cell-walls at the surface of contact. These aggregations or colonies, as they are termed, may assume the form of a plate, a ring, a solid sphere, a hollow sphere, a perforate sphere, a closed net, or a simple or branched filament. It is not easy in all cases to draw a distinction between a colony of planes and a multicellular individual. in a Volvox sphere, for example, there is a marked protoplasmic continuity between all the cells of the colony. The Ulvaceae, the thallus of which consists of laminae, one or more cells thick, or hollow tubes, probably represent a still more advanced stage in the passaae of a colony into a multicellelar plant. Here there is some amount of localization of growth and distinction of parts. It is only in such cases as Volvox and Ulvaceae that there is any pretension to the formation of a true parenchyma within the limits of the Chlorophyceae. In the whole series of the Confervales, the thallus consists of filaments branched or unbranched, attached at one extremity, and growing almost wholly at the free end. The branches end in fine hairs in Chaetophoraceae. In Coleochaetaceae the branches are often welded into a plate, simulating a parenchyma. In all Conjugatae and most Protococcales, and in the bulk of the Confervales, the thallus consists of a cell or cells, the Protoplast of which contains a single nucleus. In Hydrodictyaceae, Cladophoraceae, Sphaeropleaceae and Gomontiaceae this is no longer the case. Instead of a single relatively large nucleus, each cell is found to contain many small nuclei, and is spoken of as a coenocyte. This character becomes still more pronounced in the large group of the Siphonales. Valoniaceae and Dasycladaceae are partially septate, but elsewhere no cellulose partitions occur, and the thallus is more or less the continuous tube from which the group is named. Yet the siphonaceous algae may assume great variety of form and reach a high degree of differentiation. Protosiphon and Botrydium, on the one hand, are minute vesicles attached to muddy surfaces by rhizoids; Caulerpa, on the other, presents a remarkable instance of the way in which much the same external morphology as that of cormophytes has been reached by a totally different internal structure. Many Siphonales are encrusted with lime like Corallina among Red Algae. Penicillus is brush-like, Hallimeda and Cymopolia are jointed, Acetabularia has much the same external form as an expanded Coprinus, Neomeris simulates the fertile shoot of Equisetum with its densely packed whorled branches, and in Microdictyon, Anadyomene, Struvea and Boodlea the branches, spreading in one plane, become bound together in a more or less close network. Characeae are separated from other Chloroohlceae by a long interval, and present the highest degree of differentiation of parts known among Green Algae. Attached to the bottom of pools by means of rhizoids, the thallus of Characeae grows upwards by means of an apical cell, giving off whorled appendages at regular intervals. The appendages have a limited growth; but in connexion with each whorl there arise, singly or in pairs, branches which have the same unlimited growth as the main axis. There is thus a close approach to the external morphology of the higher plants. The streaming of the protoplasm, known elsewhere among Chlorophyceae, is a conspicuous feature of the cells of Characeae.

The Chlorophyceae excel all other groups of algae in the magnitude and variety of form of the chlorophyll-bodies. In Ulva and Mesocarpus the chromatophore is a single plate, which in the latter genus places its edge towards the incident light; in Spirogyra they are spiral bands embedded in the primordial utricle; in Zygnema they are a pair of stellate masses, the rays of which branch peripherally; in Oedogonium they are longitudinally-disposed anastomosing bands; in Desmids plates with irregular margins; in Cladophora polyhedral plates: in Vaucheria minute elliptical bodies occurring in immense numbers. Embedded in the chromatophore, much in the same way as the nucleus is embedded in the cytoplasm, are the pyrenoids. Unknown in Cyanophyceae and Phoeophyeeae, known only in Bangiaceae and Nemalion among Rhodophyceae, they are of frequent occurrence among Chlorophyceae, excepting Characeae. Sometimes several pyrenoids occur in each chloroplast, as in Mesocarpus and Spirogyra; sometimes only an occasional chloroplast contains pyrenoid at all, as in Cadophora. The pyrenoid seems to be of proteid nature and gelatinous consistency, and to arise as a new formation or by division of pre-existing pyrenoids. When carbon-assimilation is active, starch-granules crowd upon the surface of the pyrenoid and completely obscure it from view.

Special provision for vegetative multiplication is not common among Chlorophyceae. Valonia and Caulerpa among Siphonales detach portions of their thallus, which are capable of independent growth. In Caulerpa no other means of multiplication is as yet known. In Characeae no fewer than four methods of vegetative reproduction have been described, and the facility with which buds and branches are in these cases detached has been adduced as an evidence of affinity with Bryophyta, which, as a class, are distinguished by their ready resort to vegetative reproduction.

With regard to true reproduction, which is characterized by the formation of special cells, the group Euchlorophyceae is characterized by the production of zoospores (Gr. zoon, animal, spora, seed); that is to say, cells capable of motility through the agency of cilia. Such ciliary motion is known in the adult condition of the cells of Volvocaceae, but where this is not the case the reproductive cells are endowed with motility for a brief period. The zoospore is usually a pyriform mass of naked protoplasm, the beaked end of which where the cilia arise is devoid of colouring matter. A reddish-brown body, known as the eyespot, is usually situated near the limits of the hyaline portion, and in the protoolasm contractile vacuoles similar to those of lower animals have been occasionally detected. The movement of the zoospore is effected by the lashing of the cilia and is in the direction of the beak, while the zoospore slowly rotates on Botrydium and Hydrodictyon only one is present; in certain species of Cladophora four; in Dasycladus a chaplet, and in Oedogonium a ring of many cilia. The so-called zoospore of Vaucheria is a coenocyte covered over with paired cilia corresponding in position to nuclei lying below. In all other cases, zoospores are uninucleate bodies. Zoospores arise in cells of ordinary size and form termed zoosporangia. In unicellular forms (Sphaerella) the thallus becomes transformed into a zoosporangium at the reproductive stage. In the zoosporangia of Oedogonium, Tetraspora and Coleochaete the contents become transformed into a single zoospore. In most cases repeated division seems to take place, and the final number is represented by some power of two. In coenocytic forms the zoospores would seem to arise simultaneously, probably because many nuclei are already present. The escape of zoospores is effected by the degeneration of the sporangial wall (Chaetophora), or by a pore (Cladophora), a slit (Pediastrum ), or a circular fracture (Oedogonium). Zoospores are of two kinds: (1) Those which come to rest and germinate to form a new plant; these are asexual and are zoospores proper. (2) Those which are unable to germinate of themselves, but fuse with another cell, the product giving rise to a new individual; these are sexual and are zoogametes (Gr. zoon, animal, and gametes, gamete, husband, wife). When two similar zoogametes fuse, the process is conjugation, and the product a zygospore (Gr. zugon, yoke). Usually, however, only one of the fusing cells is a zoogamete, the other gamete being a much larger resting cell. In such a case the zoogamete is male, is called an antherozoid or spermatozoid, and arises in an antheridium; the larger gamete is an oosphere and arises in an oogonium. The fusion is now known as fertilization, and the product is an oospore. Reproduction by conjugation is also known as isogamy, by fertilization as oogamy. When zoospores come to rest, a new cell is formed and germination ensues at once. When zygospores and oospores are produced a new cell-wall is also formed, but a long period of rest ensues. All investigation goes to show that an essential part of sexual union is the fusion of the two nuclei concerned. It is interesting to know, on the authority of Oltmanns, that when the oosphere is forming in the oogonium of Vaucheria, there is a retrocession of all the included nuclei but one. that the antherozoid of Vaucheria contains a single nucleus had been inferred before.