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25 chapters
THE SEA SHORE
THE SEA SHORE
THE OUT-DOOR WORLD SERIES. THE OUT-DOOR WORLD; or, the Young Collector’s Handbook. By W. S. Furneaux . With 18 Plates (16 of which are Coloured), and 549 Illustrations in the Text. Crown 8vo, 6s. 6d. net. FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS. By W. S. Furneaux . With 8 Plates in Colour, and numerous other Illustrations by Patten Wilson , and from Photographs. Crown 8vo, 6s. 6d. net. BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. By W. S. Furneaux . With 12 Coloured Plates and 241 Illustrations in the Text. Crown 8vo, 6s.
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PREFACE
PREFACE
To sea-side naturalists it must be a matter of great surprise that of the inhabitants of our coast towns and villages, and of the pleasure-seekers that swarm on various parts of the coast during the holiday season, so few take a real interest in the natural history of the shore. The tide flows and ebbs and the restless waves incessantly roll on the beach without arousing a thought as to the nature and cause of their movements. The beach itself teems with peculiar forms of life that are scarcely
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LIST OF COLOURED PLATES
LIST OF COLOURED PLATES
Drawn by Mr. Robert Lillie and reproduced by Messrs. André & Sleigh, Ltd. , Bushey ....
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CHAPTER I THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEA SHORE
CHAPTER I THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEA SHORE
What are the attractions which so often entice us to the sea shore, which give such charm to a ramble along the cliffs or the beach, and which will so frequently constrain the most active wanderer to rest and admire the scene before him? The chief of these attractions is undoubtedly the incessant motion of the water and the constant change of scene presented to his view. As we ramble along a beaten track at the edge of the cliff, new and varied features of the coast are constantly opening up bef
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Outdoor Work
Outdoor Work
Assuming that the reader is one who desires to become intimately acquainted with the wonderful and varied forms of life to be met with on the sea shore, or, hoping that he may be lured into the interesting and profitable pastimes of the sea-side naturalist, we shall now devote a chapter to the consideration of the appliances required for the collection and examination of marine life, and to general instructions as to the methods by which we may best search out the principal and most interesting
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CHAPTER III SEA ANGLING
CHAPTER III SEA ANGLING
We do not propose dealing with this subject from the point of view of the angler, but rather that of the naturalist. The former is actuated principally, if not entirely, by the mere love of sport; or, it may be, to a great extent by the desire to obtain a supply of fish for food; and he generally estimates the success of his expeditions not by the number of species captured, but by the total weight of his catch, no regard being paid, as a rule, to the inedible specimens. The naturalist, however,
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CHAPTER IV THE MARINE AQUARIUM
CHAPTER IV THE MARINE AQUARIUM
We have already advised our readers to take home their specimens alive for the purpose of studying their growth and habits. Now, although there may be some difficulties in the way of keeping marine animals and plants alive for any considerable time, yet we are inclined to emphasise the importance of this matter, knowing that the pleasure and instruction that may be obtained from even a moderately successful attempt to carry this out will far more than compensate for the amount of trouble entaile
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Starfishes and Sea Urchins
Starfishes and Sea Urchins
Starfishes are commonly preserved by simply allowing them to dry in an airy place, with or without direct exposure to the sun’s rays, and this method is fairly satisfactory when the drying proceeds rapidly; but care should be taken to maintain the natural roughness of the exterior as well as to have the numerous suckers of the under surface as prominent as possible. If the starfish is simply laid out on some surface to dry, the side on which it rests is often more or less flattened by the weight
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Crustaceans
Crustaceans
The preservation of crustaceans by the dry method often requires some care and demands a certain amount of time; but the process is never really difficult, and the satisfaction of having produced a good specimen for a permanent collection well repays one for the trouble taken and time spent. Some of our crustaceans are only partially protected by a firm outer covering, and almost every attempt to preserve these as dry objects results in such a shrivelling of the soft tissues that the natural app
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Marine Shells &c.
Marine Shells &c.
We have previously dealt with the preservation of the shell-less molluscs, and the soft bodies of the shelled species when such are required, so we will now see what should be done with the shells. Numerous shells are often to be found on the sea beach—shells that have been washed in by the breakers, and from which the animal contents have disappeared, either by the natural process of decay, aided by the action of the waves, or by the ravages of the voracious or carrion-eating denizens of the se
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Flowers and Sea Weeds
Flowers and Sea Weeds
The apparatus required for the preservation of the wild flowers of our cliffs, and the sea weeds, consists of a quantity of blotting paper or other thick absorbent paper cut to a convenient size, a few thin boards and a few pieces of calico of the same size, some heavy weights, and several sheets of drawing paper. The wild flowers are arranged on the sheets of absorbent paper while still fresh, care being taken to display the principal parts to the best advantage. They are then placed in a singl
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The Museum
The Museum
One of the greatest difficulties besetting the young collector lies in the choice and construction of the cabinet or other store-house for the accommodation of the specimens that accumulate as time advances. Of course, when expense is a matter of no great consideration, a visit to the nearest public or private museum to see the manner in which the specimens are housed, followed by an order to a cabinet-maker, will set the matter right in a short time; but it is probable that the majority of our
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CHAPTER VI EXAMINATION OF MARINE OBJECTS—DISSECTION
CHAPTER VI EXAMINATION OF MARINE OBJECTS—DISSECTION
An enthusiastic observer of nature will learn much concerning the structure of natural objects with the unaided eye, but there are times when he will desire some kind of magnifier to reveal more perfectly the structure of minute parts, or to enable him to observe the small creatures that are invisible to the naked eye. Further, one may learn many interesting and instructive facts relating to animal and plant life by cutting sections for close examination, or by making such simple dissections as
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Marine Rhizopods
Marine Rhizopods
When we stand on a beach of fine sand on a very calm day watching the progress of the ripples over the sand as the tide recedes we frequently observe whitish lines marking the limits reached by the successive ripples as they advance toward the shore. If, now, we scrape up a little of the surface sand, following the exact course of one of these whitish streaks, and examine the material obtained by the aid of a good lens, we shall in all probability discover a number of minute shells among the gra
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CHAPTER VIII BRITISH SPONGES
CHAPTER VIII BRITISH SPONGES
It seems to be the popular opinion that sponges are essentially natives of the warmer seas, and it will probably be a surprise to many young amateur naturalists to learn that there are about three hundred species of this sub-kingdom of the animal world to be found on our own shores. It must not be thought, however, that they are all comparable with the well-known toilet sponges in regard to either size or general form and structure, for some of them are very small objects, no larger than about o
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CHAPTER IX THE CŒLENTERATES—JELLY-FISHES, ANEMONES, AND THEIR ALLIES
CHAPTER IX THE CŒLENTERATES—JELLY-FISHES, ANEMONES, AND THEIR ALLIES
One of the most interesting groups of marine life is that including jelly-fishes and anemones. In it are the pretty little sea firs, so often mistaken for sea-weeds by the youthful admirers of these plants, who almost always include them in their collection of marine algæ ; the transparent, bell-shaped jelly-fishes, which may often be seen in thousands during the summer, carried by the tides, and swimming gently by graceful contractions of their bells; and, most beautiful of all, the lovely anem
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CHAPTER X STARFISHES, SEA URCHINS, ETC.
CHAPTER X STARFISHES, SEA URCHINS, ETC.
Still passing up the scale of animal life, we now come to the Echinodermata —the other sub-kingdom which we have already referred to as forming, with the Cœlenterates, the old division of Radiata. The term Echinoderm signifies ‘hedgehog skin,’ and is applied to the group on account of the fact that the majority of its species possess a skin that is either distinctly spiny, or exhibits numerous more or less defined prominences. This skin is also supported and hardened by the deposit of little pla
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CHAPTER XI MARINE WORMS
CHAPTER XI MARINE WORMS
Some groups of animals are so well defined that the individual species contained in them can be assigned their proper place without any difficulty, the main characteristics by which the group is distinguished running with more or less precision throughout the series; but, unfortunately this is not the case with the ‘worms,’ which constitute the sub-kingdom Vermes . Here we have a most heterogeneous assemblage of animals, collectively exhibiting exceedingly wide variations in both form and struct
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CLASSIFICATION OF THE MOLLUSCA
CLASSIFICATION OF THE MOLLUSCA
Class LAMELLIBRANCHIATA —Plate-gilled. Headless, usually enclosed in bivalve shell. Section SIPHONIDA —Mantle lobes more or less united to form tubular siphons. Families— Pholadidæ , Gastrochænidæ , Anatinidæ , Myacidæ , Solenidæ , Tellinidæ , Mactridæ , Veneridæ , Cyprinidæ , Lucinidæ , Cardiadæ , &c. Section ASIPHONIDA —Mantle lobes free or nearly so. No true siphons. Families— Arcadæ , Mytilidæ , Aviculidæ , Ostreidæ , &c. Class CEPHALOPHORA —Head-bearing. Usually enclosed in
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SUB-KINGDOM ARTHROPODA
SUB-KINGDOM ARTHROPODA
CLASSIFICATION Class CRUSTACEA . Sub-class ENTOMOSTRACA . Order Astracoda —Free. Body enclosed in a bivalve shell. Order Copepoda —Free. Five pairs of feet adapted for swimming. Order Cirripedia —Sessile. Enclosed in a shell of many valves. Order Branchiopoda —Free. Gills attached to feet. Sub-class MALACOSTRACA . Division EDRIOPHTHALMATA , or Sessile-eyed Crustaceans. Order Isopoda —Body flattened. Seven pairs of legs—equal. Order Amphipoda —Body flattened laterally. Legs adapted for both walki
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CHAPTER XIV MARINE VERTEBRATES
CHAPTER XIV MARINE VERTEBRATES
The vertebrates form the highest sub-kingdom of animal life—the sub-kingdom to which we ourselves belong, the chief distinguishing characteristic of the group being the presence of an internal skeleton, the principal part of which consists of a rod or column of cartilaginous or bony material running along the dorsal side of the body, known as the vertebral column . Fig. 225.—Transverse section through the Bony Framework of a Typical Vertebrate Animal 1. Spinous process of the vertebra. 2. Neural
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THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS
THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS
Fig. 270. — Alaria esculenta In the genus Chorda the frond is a simple, cylindrical tube, divided internally by numerous transverse membranes, and the spores are distributed over the surface. The commonest species is C. filum (see Plate VIII.), the frond of which is very slimy, and often from ten to twenty feet in length. In its young state it is covered with gelatinous hairs, but these are worn off as the plant develops. A smaller species ( C. lomentaria ) is sometimes found on our shores. Its
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CLASSIFICATION OF SEA WEEDS
CLASSIFICATION OF SEA WEEDS
A. Chlorospermeæ —Green-spored weeds. Fronds usually grass-green, and filamentous or membranous. 1. Confervaceæ —Frond thread-like, composed of cylindrical cells placed end to end. Spores very minute, formed within the cells. 2. Ulvaceæ —Frond grass-green or purple, flat or tubular. Spores minute, ciliated, formed in the cells of the frond. 3. Siphonaceæ —Frond a single, thread-like, branching cell, or a spongy mass of many such cells. B. Rhodospermeæ —Red-spored weeds. Spores in globular concep
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CHAPTER XVI THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SEA-SIDE
CHAPTER XVI THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE SEA-SIDE
A considerable number of our flowering plants exhibit a decided partiality for the neighbourhood of the sea, and many are to be found only on the sea cliffs or in salt marshes not far from the shore. The principal of these will be now briefly described, dealing first with the monocotyledons, and then with the more highly organised dicotyledons. The chief distinguishing features of these two groups have already been referred to, but it will be advisable here to give them in somewhat fuller detail
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SYNOPSIS OF THE NATURAL ORDERS WHICH CONTAIN OUR PRINCIPAL SEA-SIDE FLOWERING PLANTS
SYNOPSIS OF THE NATURAL ORDERS WHICH CONTAIN OUR PRINCIPAL SEA-SIDE FLOWERING PLANTS
I. MONOCOTYLEDONS A. GLUMIFERÆ Flowers without a Perianth, enclosed in Glumes 1. Gramineæ —Grassy plants with hollow stems enclosed in split sheaths. Flowers generally bisexual with (usually) three stamens. 2. Cyperaceæ —Grassy plants with solid stems and entire sheaths. Flowers arranged in spikelets, unisexual or bisexual, with from one to three stamens. B. PETALOIDÆ Perianth Petaloid 3. Juncaceæ —Rushes, with narrow leaves and small brown flowers. Perianth 6-partite, with scarious segments. St
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