Animal life on the Commander Islands. 



The principal riches of the Commander Islands are 

 contained in the Behring Sea, which surrounds them and 

 is closed up by them in the S. W. The depth of hund- 

 red fathoms extends in the N. Western direction to the, 

 Kamtchatka peninsula, but cannot as yet be precisely 

 stated. But all the ioo fathoms depth of the mainland 

 protrude far into the Behring sea. The riches of sea — 

 vegetation are known, and awake in all naturalists great 

 astonishment and admiration, but only Japan can make 

 use of the Asiatic part of the riches, in the Pacific, where 

 they extract out of sea-weeds a valuable glue and prepare 

 ashes, which are used in chemical factories. On the 

 Commander Islands the shore is covered far about ten 

 versts with washed up sea-weeds, which decay on the 

 beach and give the shore a characteristic smell. Such 

 weeds decayed and lixiviated, alcalizided from the sea-salt 

 serve as manure to the small kitchen-gardens, where only 

 potatoes and turnips grow. The sea-weed Melobesia, 

 is piled up in some places in layers of 6 — 7 feet high. 

 The most favourable places are flat rocks near the shore 

 and in hollows, cavities in the rocks, here it developes 

 abundantly and lives along with the sea urchin (Echi- 

 nus neglectus) and is also the favourite food of the sea- 

 otter and of many species of Hexagrammus. The 

 sea-weed growths of the littoral zone serve as a 

 dwelling places and a refuge to fishes of the Lipa- 

 ridae, Cottidae, Chiridae and other species and are even 



