R. Cadwallader Smith

“ Here is the best place of all for sharp eyes to find the animals and plants we seek. Where the hard rock has been worn down into hollows, the falling tide leaves a pool of still, clear water. These rock-pools are the home of many a creature. So let us look for them, until the rising tide sweeps over the rocks once more, and drives us away. ”

“ One might as well try to count the grains of sand on the shore as the Herrings in the wide ocean.
These huge shoals do not stay long in one part of the sea. They make journeys of many miles, each shoal seeming to keep to itself. Like every other creature, the Herring goes where his food is. What food does he find? He swallows the small life of the sea, tiny transparent things like baby shrimps, prawns, crabs, and so on, which swarm even in the cold water which the Herring loves. ”

“ You can well imagine that a Whale as big as a barge needs huge dinners. We should not be far wrong if we guessed that he would need about a ton of food every day. Where is he to get all that food? It is said that he feeds mostly on the Cuttle-fish, that giant cousin of the Octopus, who haunts the dim caverns of the deep. The Sperm is of enormous strength, and is as fierce as he is strong. Otherwise he would not dare to face the awful, clinging arms of the Cuttle, that ogre of the deep sea. ”

“ Needless to say, the Lobster always finds a secure retreat before casting off his protecting coat of armour. A hole under a rock suits him well at that time. Strange to say, he seems to dislike his old clothes, and often crunches them to pieces or eats them up, or even pushes them under the sand or stones! Then he marches out like a proud warrior, knowing his strength, and the power of his great claws.
Lobsters are fond of fighting, and must be very disagreeable neighbours. ”

“ Being slow and clumsy, the Angler-fish cannot chase his prey, so gets his dinner by fraud. Nature has given him a fishing line and a bait! He has long spines on his head, so beautifully joined to the bones of the head that they can wave to and fro very easily. At the tip of the front spine there is a loose, shining strip of skin--that is the bait. Now, all anglers know how a fish is lured by a shining bait. The Angler-fish seems to know this too. He buries himself in the wet mud and sand at the bottom of the sea. ”

“ We explored such a beach as that in our last lesson. There are long, long stretches of sand and thin grass in other places, or else mile after mile of muddy, dreary, salt marshes.
Birds are to be found on every kind of coast. Some, like the Seagull, wander far and wide. Others keep to the cliffs, and many find all they need in the wide mud-flats. Such an army is there of these shore birds, that we cannot even glance at them all in this lesson. So we will take a few of them only--the Black-headed Gull, the Cormorant, the Ringed Plover, the Oyster-catcher and the Redshank. ”

“ Now we come to the real use of sea plants. They are food for all the hosts of small animals of the sea. These eat it as it grows; or else, like the mussel and oyster, swallow the tiny scraps of it which float everywhere like so much dust.
The shell-fish, and other animals which feed on sea plants, are themselves eaten by other sea creatures, and these in their turn are eaten by crabs, lobsters and fish, which are eaten by us. It reminds you of a chain. The first link in the chain is the sea plant, the last links are the fish and ourselves. ”

“ The dry, shifting sand, and the salt spray, are enough to kill them, you would think. They have no shelter from the strong sea wind, nor from the fierce glare of the summer sun. The puzzle is, how do they live among so many enemies? For you know that the flowers of the field would at once die if you planted them in salt and sand. They would starve to death.
Even the strongest seaside plants shun that part of the beach washed by the waves. ”

“ Lurking in the dark depths of the sea, these Giant Cuttles wait for large fish, Crabs, or even their own relations, to come near. Like hideous, gigantic Spiders, they are the terror of the ocean caverns. They are so large that they have few enemies to fear. Indeed, it is surprising that any animal dares to attack such a monster, but that other giant, the Sperm Whale, dives deep to the home of the Cuttles, purposely to attack and eat them. ”

“ These flattened Sharks must be a terror to their neighbours. We shall see, in our next lesson, what strange weapons are used in the battles of the fish. The Rays or Skates have their share of spines, stings, and poisons. One glance at their shape tells you that speed is not their strong point. If they wish to eat fast-swimming fish--and they often do--they must use cunning.
The Skate, being sandy-coloured and flat, is nearly invisible as it lies on the bed of the sea. There it lurks, waiting for the first unwary fish. A sudden spring, and its wide body smothers its unlucky victim. ”

“ It lives in sand, and can bury itself so quickly that you would have to use your spade with all your might in order to keep pace with this little shell-fish. Where Cockles have buried themselves you will see spurts of water and sand, showing where they are busy down below in the wet sand.
Besides being so skilful at digging, the Cockle is a first-rate jumper. If left on the beach, it jumps over the sand, towards the sea, in the funniest way. It is strange to see a quiet-looking shell suddenly take to hopping and jumping like an acrobat. ”

“ Many of them are not easily seen in the glinting water, as you know. Others are lazy; they lie on the bed of the sea, and wear a disguise which hides them from prowling foes. The Plaice and other flat-fish, as we noticed in Lesson 2, are coloured and marked like the sand and pebbles of their home; and they can even change colour to suit their background. They are wonderfully hidden, owing to this useful dodge. It is as if Mother Nature had given them the marvellous "cloak of invisibility," of which we read in fairy-tales.
Shrimps and young Crabs wear a coat of sand-colour or weed-colour. ”

“ Now these rocks are the bare bed of the shore, stripped of all covering. There is no mud, sand, or shingle, so here you see plainly the work done by the restless water. On every side you notice rocks worn to all shapes and sizes. Some jut out as sharp ledges. Others are flat tables, covered with a table-cloth of sea-plants. These clothe the rocks, or hang over the ledges like wet, shining green curtains. Nearly every rock has its crust of barnacles and clumps of mussels. If we are not careful we slip on the wet weeds, and get a ducking in the pools which lie everywhere among the rocks. ”

“ When covered with sea-water the ugly blobs of jelly open out like beautiful flowers. In some places along our coast the floor of the sea is like a flower garden, gay with thousands of coloured Anemones.
Those little "petals" are really tentacles, used for catching and holding food. We will use a shorter word and call them feelers. They are set in circles round the top of the Anemone, and there are many of them. The Daisy Anemone, for instance, has over seven hundred feelers. Each feeler can be moved from side to side, and can also be tucked away, out of sight and out of danger ”

“ If you look for flat fish in an aquarium, you will not easily see them. Now and again one will swim up, with a wavy motion of its body. On settling again, it shuffles and flaps about, works itself into the sand, hiding its edges well under, and then, hey presto! ”

“ PLANTS OF THE SHORE.
To pick a bunch of gay flowers you would look in the fields and hedge-rows, and not by the sea. Flowers, as you know, love moist soil, and not dry sand; and, like us, they prefer one food to another. Sand they do not like, and salt is a poison to them. Both of these are enemies to plant life.
Also, flowers choose sheltered spots. They do not like rough winds, and the glare of the sun shrivels them up. Yet there are plants with pretty flowers to be found by the sea, and many others with small, dull flowers. These seaside plants have to fight for their lives. ”

“ It kills its prey by tearing them open with side blows from its sharp, two-edged saw. Its big mouth is fitted with a great many rows of needle-like teeth.
The Sword-fish wears a different weapon--a lance instead of a saw. He is not a Shark, but a cousin of the beautiful Mackerel. This warrior of the deep is more dreaded than the Saw-fish, and braver than any Shark. His speed in the water is marvellous; it makes him safe from attack. He carries in front of him a terrible weapon, and all sea-creatures hasten from his path as fast as they can. ”

“ If we had feet like those of the Starfish, a journey up the wall of a house, over the roof, and down again, would be nothing to us. Nature gives all creatures the kind of foot which suits the life they lead. And it is hard to imagine feet more useful to the Starfish than those wonderful sucker-feet! ”

“ But he is not easily overcome. He fights hard for life; and many a whaling boat has been dashed to pieces with one blow from the powerful tail of a hunted Sperm.
This great tail is set cross-wise, not upright like the tail of a fish. It is of immense power, and divided into two big "flukes," as they are called. With strong up-and-down strokes the tail propels the monster along at a great pace. It also shoots him down to his feeding place in the depths of the sea, and up again to fill his lungs with sweet fresh air. The fins, or paddles, are used only as balancers, and to protect the young. ”

“ You can imagine the Periwinkle's mantle as a tube enclosing the animal's body. The mantle of the Mussel or the Oyster is in two pieces; and each half forms its own shell.
The Snail, and other one-shelled molluscs, poke their heads out of the shell when feeding or moving. Oysters and their two-shelled cousins cannot do this, for the simple reason that they have no heads!
In some places you see that the rocks at low tide are covered with Mussels. In dense black masses they cling to the rocks; and, though heavy waves bang them like so many hammers, they stick tight. ”

“ Half the length of the Thresher is tail. Not long ago there was landed at one of our fishing ports a Thresher Shark of half a ton, its tail being over ten feet in length. Even the great Whale has reason to fear the fierce lashings of that long, whip-like weapon!
Our commonest Sharks are those small ones known as Dog-fish, which you can often see at any fish market. They are good to eat, though not used much as food. Though small in size, they are large in appetite and fierce in nature. Like savage dogs, they hunt in packs, waging war against the Whiting, Herring and other fish. ”

“ Who would expect to find millions of poisoned darts in a Jelly-fish? Who would guess that these weapons are coiled up, ready to spring out at their prey? Men have made many weapons for killing, from the bow-and-arrow to the torpedo, but none of them is more wonderful than the weapon of the Jelly-fish. ”

“ These little baby flat fish, not much larger than your thumb-nail, crowd in the shallow, sandy parts of the sea near the coast. There they often end their lives in the shrimp-trawl, as we have already noticed.
After leaving this "infants' school" the Plaice, and other small flat fish, go to deeper water. There they feed and grow fat. Our fishermen know where to find them. Indeed, these special fishing grounds are so well known that flat fish are scarcer than they used to be. Some kinds are much too dear ever to be seen on the poor man's table. ”

“ The story of the Herring fishery is one of deep interest, and of great importance. Millions of Herrings are caught every year, forming a cheap and good food. Yet there are uncountable numbers left; and there is not the least danger that our nets can ever empty the sea of this wonderful little fish. ”