52 WONDERS OF THE DEEP 



can but select a few of the most interesting and the 

 most peculiar, in order to give our readers some idea, 

 if only a meagre one, of the beauty and diversity 

 of ocean life. 



An examination of the foundation of the dock 

 walls, which were constructed some twenty years ago, 

 was made. Much of the foundation was found to be 

 little the worse for its long immersion. But other 

 portions were discovered to have been eaten away 

 to an alarming extent, and it is believed that the 

 destruction of the piles is the work of an extremely 

 small creature called the cobra worm. 



The saw fish lives in tropical and semi-tropical 

 waters. The snout, which is exceedingly hard, pro- 

 jects out for several feet. It is flat on both sides, 

 and has along the two edges a number of strong 

 teeth that are sharp in front and flat behind. It 

 provides the fish with a formidable means of defence, 

 for with this weapon it can tear pieces of flesh off 

 its victim, or, if it chooses, rip its prey open. One 

 specimen has been obtained having a saw six feet 

 long and one foot broad at the base. Armed with 

 such a dangerous weapon, the saw fish even dares 

 to measure its strength with a whale, and fisher- 

 men who visit the seas where these two ocean 

 potentates encounter each other assert that the 

 meeting is always followed by a combat of the 

 most singular kind, in which the activity of the 

 saw fish is a match for the ponderous strength of 

 the whale. Occasionally the saw fish dashes itself 

 with such force against the side of a ship that its 



