Chapter XVI 



The Rise of Don Antonio 



WITH few exceptions the coast of Pacific 

 North and South America is protected by 

 a fringe of peculiar seaweed known as 

 kelp, a long, rich, olive-green marine laminarian vine 

 which rises from the bottom to the surface, in thirty or 

 forty feet or more of water, and droops or hangs in 

 festoons, forming a beautiful floating garden with a life 

 peculiarly its own. On the rocky islands of the Pacific 

 Coast from San Clemente to the Farallones this vine 

 is particularly abundant, and on the lee shores it may be 

 examined with ease from the glass-bottom boat. 



At mid-day, at half tide, is the best time to visit these 

 hanging gardens of the sea; then the bottom can be 

 seen plainly, the water a vivid turquoise blue, gleaming 

 brightly through the interstices of golden branches, 

 which, when illumined by the sun, take on hues of 

 old gold and amber. The leaves are twenty or thirty 

 feet in length, about twelve inches in width, richly fluted, 

 and hang in a thousand positions of grace and beauty, 



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