THE OCEAN AS A SOURCE OF 

 FOOD SUPPLY 



No matter in what light we consider the ocean, the 

 magnificence of every detail thereof strikes us with 

 awe and admiration such as the consideration of no 

 other portion of the globe can produce. Nor can any 

 familiarity with the particular subject under review 

 dispel this, however homely it may be. In the present 

 case, that of food supply, the first thing that must 

 inevitably strike us is the vastness of that supply, so 

 vast, indeed, that it defies our calculations and wraps 

 itself in impenetrable mystery. It is a harvest-field 

 needing no tillage, and indeed untillable, an inex- 

 haustible field constantly reproducing its harvest, a 

 harvest of good food for man, wherefrom his most 

 energetic efforts can only take the very smallest 

 gleanings ; for what are his requirements compared 

 with those of the incalculable army of inedible, pre- 

 datory creatures in the sea, which must be, and are, all 

 bountifully fed continually ? He, of course, is handi- 

 capped in the pursuit many hindrances combine to 

 prevent him from taking his lawful toll of the sea's 

 wealth, and when he does get an opportunity com- 

 mensurate with his desires, how suddenly is he over- 

 whelmed with too great plenty, abundance which in 

 many cases he can neither sell nor give away, a store of 



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