34 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



living man had seen the transformation he 

 would have said that the living creature was 

 not changing at all. 



Whatever the history of seaweeds may have 

 been, they are splendid and beautiful plants 

 to-day not half enough appreciated. But with- 

 out saying more about this we may notice an 

 important fact in regard to their colours. The 

 green seaweeds are nearest high-tide mark ; 

 lower down the brownish ones are in the 

 majority ; most of the red ones are in still 

 deeper water. All the three sets have got the 

 precious green pigment or chlorophyll, which 

 enables the plant to utilise the energy of the 

 sunlight ; but in the brown and red seaweeds 

 the green is disguised by other pigments. 

 Some say that these other pigments help the 

 plant to make the most of the decreasing light, 

 and that red is better than brown. So the red 

 seaweeds are most abundant in the deepest 

 waters where the light is least. 



FOOD-GETTING ON THE SHORE 



What food supplies are available for animals 

 on the seashore ? 



(i) There are, first of all, the living seaweeds 



