66 THE SHORE 



in the sand or under rocks, and fish have departed for 

 deeper waters. Thunder and lightning, and even 

 changes of barometric pressure, make themselves felt, 

 animals seeming scarce before an approaching cyclone. 

 There is also a regular periodicity between night and 

 day ; many animals visit the shallow waters during 

 the night alone, and some of the sedentary organisms 

 only unfold their heads for feeding purposes in dark- 

 ness. Again, tides should be observed, for it is common 

 to see masses of apparently lifeless rock become covered 

 with flowers formed by anemones, worms, etc., as soon 

 as the first flow of the flood reaches them ; sand-living 

 animals, too, renew their activity and commence to 

 pile up afresh their mounds of sand. These results 

 may be due to the cooler waters of the open ocean, but 

 observations on these matters are urgently needed. A 

 watch, a thermometer, and a notebook should be the 

 naturalist's invariable companions on every stroll, 

 while a good barometer should hang in his ship or tent. 

 When any land is approached, its contours should be 

 carefully noted, particularly its valleys and slopes, since 

 the sea-bottom is bound, for some considerable distance 

 outwards, to be formed of the rock of which the land is 

 composed, perhaps masked by a superficial deposit of 

 sand or mud. Specimens of rock should always be taken 

 and carefully labelled, even before being dropped into 

 the satchel. Its formation must, to a limited degree, 

 be considered — whether it is volcanic, or has been 

 formed by other agencies ; how it has been cut up into 

 its present, perhaps fantastic, shapes ; what results 

 in its contours are due to rain, to wind, to heat, and 

 to cold, and, lastly, to the influence of plants, and, in 

 some few cases, of animals. This will be found to be 

 a delightful study, as it gives a new charm to the 

 scenery, and it is only by its means that the topography 



