Chapter IX 

 FEATHERS AND FEELERS 



This account of shore life would be incomplete if 

 no consideration were given to that distinct and most 

 interesting association of animals which occurs in con- 

 nection with the jetsam deposited by the tidewaters. 

 Therefore, I purpose to take the reader to one of those 

 spots in my neighborhood in which my frequent pres- 

 ence has made me almost as familiar a part of the 

 locality as the dune plants and beach grass that thrive 

 in the sandy soil. The region whereof I speak is a 

 narrow spit, some three fourths of a mile long by only 

 a fraction of that in breadth, which almost completely 

 bars the entrance to the marshy cove. This peninsular 

 area is constantly changing in outline and topography, 

 but in spite of the rapidly shifting ground, a prolific 

 and numerous vegetation maintains its determined 

 stand. Certain dune plants are trying hard to domi- 

 nate; still, the strand is in no sense a typical dune. It 

 is low-lying, and, with the exception of a sort of back- 

 bone, or central ridge, the tides nearly submerge it. 



In addition to the great variejty of shore life which 

 crowds its tide pools and populates the sands, the iso- 

 lated nature of the place, due partly to the wilderness 

 of reeds flourishing in the slimy soil that connects it 



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