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THE
SEA-BEACH AT EBB-TIDE
THE
SEA-BEACH AT EBB-TIDE
A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF
THE SEAWEEDS AND THE
LOWER ANIMAL LIFE FOUND
BETWEEN TIDE-MARKS
BY
AUGUSTA FOOTE ARNOLD
WITH MORE THAN
600 ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
1901
And hath been tutor'd in the rudiments
Of many desperate studies.
SHAKSPERE.
Copyright, 1901, by
THE CENTURY CO.
/Published May, 1901/
THE DE VINNE PRESS.
PREFACE
This volume is designed to be an aid to the amateur collector and
student of the organisms, both animal and vegetable, which are found
upon North American beaches. In it are described many invertebrates
and some of the more notable varieties of seaweeds, and each
individual is given its proper place in the latest classification.
The technicality of classification or scientific grouping may at
first seem repellent, but it in reality makes the study of these
objects more simple; and a systematic arrangement has been adopted in
the belief that it is the easiest as well as the only satisfactory
way of becoming familiar with the organisms described. Without it
a very confused picture of separate individuals would be presented
to the mind, and a book like the present one would become a mere
collection of isolated scraps of information. Morphology, or the
study of structure, has been touched upon just enough to show the
objects from the biologist's point of view and to enable the observer
to go a little beyond the bare learning of names.
Scientific names have been used from necessity, for the plants
and animals of the beach are so infrequently observed, except by
scientific people, that but few of them have common names; and, as
a matter of fact, the reader will find that a scientific name is
as easily remembered as a common one. Technical phraseology has,
however, been avoided as much as possible, even at the expense of
conciseness and precision; where it has been used, care has been
taken to explain the terms so that their meaning will be plain to
every one. A general glossary has been omitted, but the technical
terms used have been indexed. The illustrations will bear the use of
a hand-glass, and this will often bring out details which cannot well
be seen by the unaided eye.
The systematic table of the marine algæ, as given in Part I, and
followed in the text, will be of use to collectors who wish to make
herbaria. In order to name and group specimens such a guide is
necessary. Should specific names lead to embarrassment, many of them
can be neglected, for the names of genera are often a sufficient
distinction.
Since so many species of invertebrates are found on the beach that
a complete enumeration of them is impracticable, only the most
conspicuous ones have been selected for description in Part II;
but the attempt has been made to designate the various classes and
orders with sufficient clearness to enable the collector to identify
the objects commonly found on the shore, and to follow the subject
further, if he so desires, in technical books.
It is hoped that this book will suggest a new interest and pleasure
to many, that it will encourage the pastime of collecting and
classifying, and that it will serve as a practical guide to a
better acquaintance with this branch of natural history, without
necessitating serious study. Marine organisms are interesting
acquaintances when once introduced, and the real purpose of the
author is to present, to the latent naturalist, friends whom he will
enjoy.
Grateful acknowledgment is here made to the following persons who
have kindly assisted and advised the author and have also extended
valued courtesies to her in the preparation of this book: Smith Ely
Jelliffe, M.D., Ph.D.; Herbert M. Richards, A.B., Ph.D., Professor
of Botany in Barnard College; Marshall A. Howe, A.B., Ph.D.; the
Rev. George A. Holst; the Long Island Historical Society of Brooklyn
for the use of its fine herbarium, containing the collections of
Mr. John Hooper, Mr. A. R. Young, and others, from which most of
the illustrations of algæ in this book were photographed; Miss
Toedtleberg, Librarian of the Long Island Historical Society; Miss
Ingalls, in charge of the Museum of the Long Island Historical
Society; Dr. Theodore Gill; James A. Benedict, Ph.D., Assistant
Curator of Marine Invertebrates in the Smithsonian Institution; Miss
Mary J. Rathbun, second Assistant Curator of Marine Invertebrates in
the Smithsonian Institution; Miss Harriet Richardson; and especially
to Mr. John B. Henderson, Jr.
* * * * *
Thanks, also, are due to Messrs. Macmillan & Co. for permission to
use cuts from the "Cambridge Natural History," Parker and Haswell's
"Zoölogy", and Murray's "Introduction to the Study of Seaweeds";
to Swan Sonnenschein & Co. for the use of cuts from Sedgwick's
"Student's Text-book of Zoölogy"; to Wilhelm Engelmann for a cut from
"Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien" of Engler and Prantl; to Little,
Brown & Co. for permission to reproduce illustrations from Agassiz's
"Contributions to the Natural History of the United States"; to Henry
Holt & Co. for a cut from McMurrich's "Invertebrate Morphology";
to Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for cuts from the "Riverside Natural
History" and Agassiz's "Seaside Studies in Natural History"; to the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the use of illustrations from
Verrill's "Report upon the Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound
and the Adjacent Waters," Gould's "Invertebrata of Massachusetts"
(ed. Binney), and certain fisheries reports; and to the United
States government for illustrations taken from Bulletin 37 of the
Smithsonian Institution and from reports of the United States Fish
Commission.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PAGE
I Signs on the Beach 1
II Collecting 6
III Classification 19
IV Animal Life in its Lowest Forms 21
V Distribution of Animal Life in the Sea 23
VI Some Botanical Facts about Algæ 25
VII Naming of Plants 28
VIII Distribution of Algæ 30
IX Some Peculiar and Interesting Varieties of Algæ 32
X Uses of Algæ 37
XI Collecting at Bar Harbor 40
PART I
MARINE ALGÆ
I BLUE-GREEN SEAWEEDS 47
(CYANOPHYCEÆ)
GRASS-GREEN SEAWEEDS 47
(CHLOROPHYCEÆ)
II OLIVE-GREEN AND BROWN SEAWEEDS 61
(PHÆOPHYCEÆ)
III RED SEAWEEDS 75
(RHODOPHYCEÆ OR FLORIDEÆ)