4 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
instance, where a fringing coral-reef extends 
far out to sea. The naturalist’s shore-haunt 
is the whole of the seaweed-growing area, and 
we call it shore, although the water may be 
deep enough to float a navy. 
The shore-haunt is not very large compared 
with other haunts. It occupies about nine mil- 
lion square miles, but that is only between six 
and seven per cent. of the sea-covered surface 
of the globe. It is a very Jong area, going in 
and out, by bay and creek, by firth and fiord, 
for about 150,000 miles. And it is a region of 
great diversity, differing from place to place 
according to the geological character of the 
shore, according to the mineral materials that 
the streams bring down from the land, and 
according to the jetsam that is thrown up 
from the sea. In some places the whole of the 
shore between tide-marks is covered with a 
thick mass of dead seaweed, which rots away 
and smells badly when the tide is out. There 
are crowds of tiny creatures—e.g. allies of 
sand-hoppers—working away among this de- 
caying seaweed; but the ordinary life of the 
shore-pools has been smothered, and explora- 
tion in this kind of shore-haunt is rather an 
acquired taste. There are shores and shores. 
