THE SCHOOL OF THE SHORE 5 



Even if we keep to the shore in the nar- 

 rower sense there is great variety of condi- 

 tions. Take first the great masses of rock 

 which often run far out to sea. Their tops and 

 their seaward faces are exposed for the greater 

 part of the day to the full violence of the wind 

 and the heat of the sun ; as the water rises the 

 waves beat against them, and they are only 

 completely submerged for a short time at very 

 high tide. Yet even these have their inhabit- 

 ants. Behind and between these weather- 

 beaten masses there is shade and moisture; 

 sheltered nooks and crannies abound; the 

 smaller rocks at their bases are covered with 

 sea-wrack, and every hollow contains a quiet 

 pool of water left by the receding tide, each 

 pool harbouring a crowded life. 



Beside the rocks are the great stretches of 

 flat, smooth sand where we have built castles 

 and dug moats, and the sands, too, have their 

 own particular population, though it is not 

 always easy to see it. Sometimes instead of 

 sand there is shingle, gravel, or even large 

 pebbles smoothed or rounded by the action of 

 the waves. This kind of shore is the most 

 unfavourable of all to animal life. We shall 

 easily find the reason for ourselves if we bathe 



