EFFECTS OF ANIMAL LIFE 



25 



In a somewhat similar, but, on the whole, less effective 

 way, protection against frost action is afforded bv the coatincr 

 of animal life whicli abounds on the rocks of the sea-shore. 

 The barnacles are the commonest of these dwellers of the 

 surges which have by various contrivances managed to with- 

 stand the rude blow of the waves and win a profitable place 

 amid this field of dangers ; but the numerous shells termed 

 limpets, and a host of other delicate but exquisitely adjusted 

 creatures, maintain a foothold there. The fact is that the 

 fiercely contending waters of a rocky coast-line afford a sin-^u- 

 larly favorable place for animals to find footl. Every stroke 

 of the waves rends away bits of sea-weed from the rocks, and 

 grinds the fragments into bits which may be seized on by the 

 expectant mouths. The winds drift vast quantities of organic 

 matter from the deeper sea, which receives like treatment 

 from the mill of the surf. The result is that the water next 

 the shore is a rich soup or broth capable of nourishing a vast 

 amount of animal life. On sandy coasts there is no foothold 

 for such creatures ; if they were placed there the first wave 

 would cast them into the mill ; but on the firm-set rocks they 

 can, by various most ingenious devices, manage to make avail 

 of this chance for subsistence. One may judge how well- 

 spread is this table of the shore by taking a glass of water 

 from the turmoil of the surf : we see that it is crowded with 

 the debris of animals and plants, all of which is good nutri- 

 tion for these marine creatures. 



To win security against the waves, and thus to be able 10 

 get safety and feed at this richly furnished board, the shore 

 animals have for ages been most assiduoush' contriving ways 

 of securing themselves to the rock. Thus the barnacles, 

 whose remote ancestors were free-swimmincr creatures some- 



