4 SEA A AW LAND 



In selecting a portion of the slion; for his first lessons In 

 freolooy the observer will do well to take some care in his 

 choice ; the field should, if possible, afford cliffs of bed-rocks 

 of varied hardness, masses of dyke stones, and stretches of 

 sandy antl pebbh' beaches ; in these conditions he will be able 

 to note the important differences in the action of the sea aris- 

 ing from its diverse circumstances of cc:)ntact with the shore. 

 It is best that the waters should be rich in the life of marine 

 plants and animals, and the land forested to the margin ; for 

 the relation of the earth's work to living creatures is likewise 

 important to his inquiry. Fortunately the shores of this sort 

 are abundantly provided for the student's use. The eastern 

 coast of the United States, from the mouth of the Hudson 

 River to Labrador, the western border of the continent, from 

 San PVancisco to Bering's Straits, the northern coast of 

 Britain, from Scarborough on the coast around by the chalk 

 downs on the south, as well as the northern shores of the 

 European continent, afford ideal fields for this class of stud- 

 ies. It is only when the student has become well versed in 

 the great array of actions which he may observe within a few 

 miles journey in any of these fields, that he will have occasion 

 to undertake special journeys to see peculiar aspects of the 

 coast-line, such as are afforded by the coral reefs of blorida, 

 or the singular effects produced where active volcanoes build 

 their cones along the shore or up from the depths of the 

 ocean. Interesting as these special features are, they are 

 only incidental elements in marine work, concerning rather 

 the professional geologist than the amateur. 



Arriving on a shore such as we have advised the observer 

 to select, he is likely to be at first confounded by the multi- 

 tude of the facts which this line of interacting- land and water 



