4i8 



Seaweed 



masses of closely knit weed are impenetrable by ships, 

 and that by some curious centripetal force the majority 

 of derelicts in the North Atlantic, unless destroyed, 

 find their way into its solitudes sooner or later. 



I do not believe that it is anywhere packed suffi- 

 ciently closely to prevent a sailing ship getting through 

 it, given sufficient wind. But then that part of the 

 North Atlantic is subject to many calms and light 

 airs, and there is seldom a breeze of sufficient strength 

 blowing over it to enable a sailing ship to force her way 

 through. I have several times sailed through parts 

 of the region where the sea looked more like some 

 vast ripe cornfield than anything else, and no matter 

 what wind we had there were no waves, they simply 

 could not rise because of the weed. Steamers of course 

 give it a very wide berth, since the great masses of 

 weed hampers a propeller dreadfully, and that too 

 when so much more power than usual is needed to 

 force the ship through. 



The Gulfweed is, I think, the most beautiful of 

 all Seaweeds. It is of a light golden hue, with delicate 

 leaves and berries, both of the same colour, and bearing 

 no resemblance in shape to the ribbon-like wrack 

 of the coast. It certainly looks tempting enough to 

 eat, and it may be also that, unknown to us, some 

 of the sea creatures do eat it. But that is certainly 

 not its primary use. In it myriads of the deep-sea 

 fish breed, its close-knit fronds affording shelter to 

 the young fry when hatched such as they could gain 

 nowhere else in the sea. Not only shelter, but food 

 perfectly suited to their immature needs. It simply 

 swarms with life, and a bucket full of weed hauled 

 up almost an3^where would yield a splendid population 

 for a deep-sea aquarium. 



it is the home too of myriads of crabs, which I 



