Tbe California Sbeepsbead 179 



which many would be unable to live, owing to 

 the surf, which would otherwise roll in strong 

 and pitiless. On the South American coast the 

 kelp attains a length of nearly four hundred feet, 

 and without its protection it is easy to see that 

 life on shore would be difficult to sustain. The 

 kelp in rising upward forms halls, parterres, and 

 colonnades through which the sun projects its 

 rays, bringing out their many beauties, as each 

 leaf is a study in itself, abounding in varied forms 

 which constitute the food of certain fishes. 

 White lacelike corallines cover them ; crabs and 

 shells, which mimic them in color, crawl along 

 their stems, and delicate hydroids in many forms 

 and shapes add to their beauties. The water is 

 so deep along this highway of the sheepshead that 

 blue water is seen through its interstices bringing 

 out the leaves and stems in strong relief. In the 

 watery atmosphere float countless living gems 

 the Sapphirina a minute crustacean, which 

 vies with actual gems in its beauty. Some are 

 like diamonds; others are yellow, blue, red, or 

 crimson ; and so rich and plentiful are they that, 

 peering down, one might believe that some lavish 

 Midas had sprinkled the water with jewels. Here 

 float gorgeous jellyfishes, some with tentacles 



