ON TH SEA-SHORE. 245 



never rots, but goes on from day to day, becoming 

 more and more perfect as the waves wrestle with 

 it. To the naturalist the picture is one which 

 brings the struggle most vividly before his eyes. 

 For days and weeks, perhaps, this confused layer 

 of roots has been covering itself with mud and silt, 

 until hardly a fibre can be seen. Then comes the 

 spring tide with a strong wind, which washes away 

 almost everything, leaving it open to sun and wind. 

 Any other tree would be at least scotched, if not 

 killed, by such a catastrophe, but not the courida. 

 He stands up as bold as before, confidently trusting 

 that the great mat will always lie upon the mud 

 whether it be covered or bare. The high tide will 

 soon recede, and the work of gathering silt be 

 renewed. It will be seen from the illustration how 

 beautifully fitted is this living mat to collect and 

 hold whatever floats in the water, but as if this 

 were not enough, we have those curious peg-like 

 aerial roots, which are a host in themselves. Where 

 the roots have been bent and twisted they are 

 naturally somewhat confused, but near still water 

 they rise like a miniature forest of bare stems. 

 This is beautifully illustrated in the view taken 

 beside the draining canal of a plantation. Here 

 there is little opportunity for collecting silt, and 

 therefore the pegs are almost bare, but inside the 



