SOME ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SHORE LIFE 291 



continuous flats, and most of these at one time bore enormous 

 beds of clams. It seems incredible that digging alone could 

 have destroyed them, and yet without question this is almost 

 the sole cause of the nearly complete destruction that has 

 occurred on almost all of these immense beds. There is 

 no such thing as an inexhaustible supply of organisms 

 useful to man." Kellogg finally refers to the depredations 

 and reckless misuse of these natural resources by man. 

 In winter, My a armaria is marketed alive inland, and at a 

 temperature near the freezing point will keep alive for weeks. 

 Near the shore it is eaten in summer, baked, steamed and 

 in " chowders," and immense numbers are cooked, canned, 

 and shipped away. Recently, also, " clam-juice," the 

 mucus drained from the bodies of " shucked " clams, has 

 been canned or bottled and widely used as a broth, especially 

 for invalids. 



PLANTS OF ECONOMIC VALUE LIVING WITHIN THE TIDAL ZONE 



Zostera. — Mankind finds various uses also for a number 

 of the plants that grow within the tidal area. These plants 

 arc all algae with the exception of one form, which deserves 

 notice. This is the sea-grass or Zostera, which grows in 

 immense quantities between tide-marks in sheltered bays 

 or inlets where the water is shallow and the bottom 

 muddy {e.g. the Beaulieu estuary which opens into the 

 Solent), and harbours an interesting fauna (see Herdman, 

 1 91 9). The two commonest species are Z. marina and 

 Z. nana ; the place of which is taken on Mediterranean 

 coasts by Posidonia. They are utilised mainly for their 

 fibre, which may serve as litter, for stuffing mattresses and 

 furniture, as a packing material, and for the manufacture of 

 paper (Gloess, 19 19). The fibre is disassociated from the 

 organic matter by appropriate methods, bleached and dried. 

 According to Gloess, Zostera fibre is distinguished by its 

 elasticity, uninflammability, keeping qualities and absence 

 of smell, features which render it particularly valuable for 

 the purposes above named. Both Gloess {Joe. cit.) and 



