THE SCHOOL OF THE SHORE 31 



bunches are often torn off by the waves and 

 thrown up on the beach. If a capsule is care- 

 fully examined, an opening will be seen on the 

 inturned flatter side the opening by which 

 the surviving larvae emerged. The same grim 

 story is true of the neat vase-shaped capsules, 

 first pinkish and then straw-coloured, which the 

 small Dog Whelk (Purpura lapillus) fastens to 

 the rocks, very often to the under side of a 

 shelf. Many are called into life, but few are 

 chosen to survive. 



SHORE SEAWEEDS 



It is a great sight when the seaweeds are 

 uncovered on a rich foreshore at the lowest 

 tide of the year. If we put on old clothes and 

 boots and wade out among them, very, very 

 cautiously, because of the slipperiness and the 

 danger of concealed deep holes, we get our 

 reward, especially if we take scientific imagina- 

 tion as our staff. We find ourselves in the 

 midst of a rich and varied vegetation, part of 

 which is older than the hills. . We are in the 

 midst of the plants of the early ages of the 

 earth's history. 



A distinguished Oxford botanist, Dr. A. H. 



