190 TERRORS OF SUBAQUEOUS LIFE 



as well as what is before, above, and around them, else 

 few of the weaker species could survive. As it is, what 

 a vast destruction of life goes on daily, myriads of the 

 feebler existences being sacrificed to support the more 

 robust, and they, in turn, exposed to assault by mightier 

 foes in the shape of seals, porpoises, and sharks of many 

 kinds. Of the million tiny eggs shed by a fair-sized cod, 

 what an infinitesimal percentage ever reach maturity; 

 but the true tyrants of the deep the sharks and rays 

 produce but few and large ova, each protected from assault 

 by a strong, horny envelope. 



Next day being Sunday, fish were secure from human 

 molestation ; but scaly and feathered hunters were as busy 

 as ever. Strolling up the pretty valley of the Cleddau, 

 I came upon a shallow pool embosomed in a natural 

 wood of oak. A solitary herring-gull floated on the water, 

 which mirrored the sky and trees. There could not be 

 a more lovely, tranquil scene. But here, too, the work 

 of death was in progress. As I looked, the gull rose a 

 few feet in the air, plunged headlong into the shallow, 

 but rose again empty-mouthed. She repeated the man- 

 oeuvre several times with the same result; till at last 

 she brought up an eel about a foot long, and flew ashore. 

 Through my glasses I watched every movement in the 

 cruel struggle which followed. The eel fought bravely. 

 Time after time the bird nipped it in her strong bill and 

 dashed it against the stones, and every time the eel 

 managed to wrench itself free. For ten minutes, at least, 

 the fight went on, till at last the strength of the victim 

 began to flag. Seizing her opportunity, the gull gripped 

 it by the middle and, though the eel still wriggled 

 vigorously, she managed to swallow it whole. Then she 



