3o6 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore 



not continue mutually to subsist on one another In- 

 definitely. One source of food supply is in the rain of 

 dead organisms constantly descending to the bottom; 

 and in the material thus settling upon the floor, the 

 creatures burrowing in, or crawling over, the ooze no 

 doubt find suflficient for their needs, and they, in turn, 

 may serve as food for others. But there is not enough 

 derived from the source just mentioned to benefit the 

 whole of those myriads that swim the intermediate 

 depths; so they must obtain it elsewhere. As a matter 

 of fact, food is relatively scarce at the bottom of the 

 deep sea, and for that reason only small forms can live 

 there. Huge fishes and other gigantic creatures such 

 as are associated with the surface are unknown in the 

 depths, because there is virtually nothing there for them 

 to eat. It was only recently that the great feeding 

 ground, so to speak, c'^ the swimming forms in the deep 

 sea was discovered. It is near the surface. Strange 

 as it may seem, these creatures, though delicately built 

 to withstand pressure, are able easily to come to the 

 top, and they do so at night. When the sun goes down, 

 a great upward migration takes place; and during the 

 darkness of the night, within a hundred yards of the 

 surface, this hungry host can be found fighting and 

 feasting amidst the plenitude that populates the top. 

 With the breaking of the day, they return; for they are 

 afraid to face the sun; in the battle with the abyss, they 

 lost those weapons that would secure their safety in the 

 light. 



