108 THE RELATION OF PLANTS TO TIDE-LEVELS 
The shore slopes rather gently downward to the 9.5 or 8.5-foot level, and then 
by a cliff-like drop of a foot falls to the often gravelly and gently sloping upper 
littoral beach. In some cases near the streams the beach above and below the 
8-foot level forms a nearly continuous slope (plate x111). The whole of this 
beach between the Spartina glabra and the dense growth of inland species is 
often only 2 or 3 yards in width and 1.5 feet in vertical range. The con- 
sequence is that it forms but a slight variety of habitats for denizens of either 
the upper littoral or the supra-littoral belt. 
The only plants of the storm beach along this shore which show any marked 
effect of the marine conditions are those growing just at the foot of the miniature 
escarpment, or on top of it, but near its edge. In other words, the real storm 
beach here has a vertical range of but 1 or 1.5 feet. 
Just back of this edge the rich soil is usually well-watered, and bears a dense 
covering of stream-bank or marsh species of inland types. Most of the shore is 
well shaded by shrubs and trees of several species to be mentioned later, and this 
shade also favors the inland rather than the marine species, since most of the 
latter are not very tolerant of shade. It is probably chiefly because of this shade 
that characteristic storm-beach plants are few in both species and individuals 
on this shore. The three species recorded are Solidago sempervirens, a few 
hundred plants; Xanthiwm echinatum, a few scattered plants on well-drained 
sandy soil (740 to 800 north) ; Iva oraria, a single plant at 2,525 north. 
Solidago sempervirens is scattered pretty generally though not evenly along 
the beach. There are often a dozen clumps in a few yards, and then for many 
yards there may be none at all or but one or two small clumps. There are 12 to 
15 plants between 640 and 700 north; 15 to 20 plants grouped near 720 north; 
25 between 740 and 800 north; 20 near 1,000 north, and about 30 clumps at 
the south end and 20 at the north end of the Research Laboratory wharf. North 
of this, up to 1,600 north, the Solidago is more scattered. Between 1,600 and 
1,700 north there are 30 plants. In the next 400 feet northward there are three 
or four groups of 5 to 20 plants each. On the wharf at 2,200 north, there are 
100 plants growing at the 10-foot level. The majority of the plants on this 
shore are found between the 8 and 8.7 foot levels, although this Solidago may 
get down to the 7.5-foot level and more rarely to 7 feet. It grows beside the 
fresh-water rivulets, but not in them, and is confined to sunny areas. It 
seems evident, from the observations made here and on the Spit, that Solidago 
sempervirens does not ascend to higher levels along the west shore because 
of the competitors encountered. The latter are more abundant and more 
varied here than along the Spit, because of the better conditions for their 
growth. The species with which Solidago is most often mingled near its upper 
limit here is Convolvulus sepwwm, though at other points it may be associated 
with Rumez obtusifolius (1,230 north), and more rarely with Atriplex, Scirpus 
americanus, or Spartina patens. Its lower limit of distribution may also be 
regarded as fixed by competition, as it can grow at lower levels, for flowering 
plants of it were found in 1912 below 6.5 feet (400 north by 1,060 east). It is 
probably enabled to reach these lower levels because the moderate amount of 
fresh water in the soil at many points, though not too much for the Solidago, is 
more than can be endured by the competing halophytes from below. 
Of the 30 other seed plants found in this belt on the west shore, all are inland 
forms except 4—Atriplex patula, Limonium carolinianum, Scirpus americanus, 
