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diff --git a/old/10617.txt b/old/10617.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..147e2a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10617.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2007 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Within the Deep, by R. Cadwallader Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Within the Deep + Cassell's "Eyes And No Eyes" Series, Book VIII. + +Author: R. Cadwallader Smith + +Release Date: January 6, 2004 [EBook #10617] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN THE DEEP *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Loki and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + +WITHIN THE DEEP + +By R. CADWALLADER SMITH + +WITH EIGHT COLOURED PLATES AND MANY BLACK-AND-WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS + +_CASSELL'S "EYES AND NO EYES" SERIES_ _BOOK VIII_ + + + +CONTENTS + + LESSON + I. FISH FOR BREAKFAST + II. THE STORY OF THE FLAT FISH + III. SEALS + IV. SOME STRANGE NURSERIES + V. THE OGRE OF THE DEEP + VI. THE WHALE + VII. TIGERS OF THE SEA + VIII. THE DANGERS OF THE DEEP + IX. THE FISH OF OUR ROCK-POOLS + X. SOME CURIOUS FISHES + XI. THE GARDEN OF THE SEA + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + COLOURED PLATES + + THE HERRING FLEET AT WORK IN THE NORTH SEA + THE SEA-ELEPHANT + CORALS OF MANY KINDS + WHALING! + A CORAL REEF + FISHES (No. 1) + FISHES (No. 2) + A GARDEN IN THE SEA + + + +CASSELL'S + +"EYES AND NO EYES" + +Eighth Book + +WITHIN THE DEEP + + +LESSON I + +FISH FOR BREAKFAST + +Of all the fish in the wide ocean world, the Herring deserves to be +called the king. He gives work to thousands of people, and food to +millions. Many towns exist because of him; if he failed to visit our +seas, these big towns would shrink to tiny villages. + +There are several interesting kinds of Herring, but we will first look +at the one we know so well, which is such good food, either fresh or as +dried "kipper" or "bloater." + +The Herring loves to swim in a _shoal_. From the time he leaves the egg, +during his babyhood, and all through his life, he explores the sea with +thousands of other Herrings crowded round him. His name is from a +foreign word--_heer_ or _herr_, an _army_. His enemies--ourselves among +them--find this habit of his a good one. It makes him such easy prey. + +Here is a dense shoal of fish, moving slowly along near the surface. To +catch some is quite easy. The Dolphin, or Shark, or other large +fish-hunter, merely has to rush into their ranks with wide-open mouth. +Hordes of Dog-fish feast on the edges of the shoal. And Gannets, +Cormorants, Gulls and other sea-birds can take their fill with ease. + +The Herring shoal is a banquet at which the fish-eating sea creatures +feed heartily, and man comes along, to spread his nets in the path of +the shoal. But what matter a few million Herrings when the sea is packed +with billions more! In the North Sea, one shoal was seen which was over +four miles long and two miles wide. In such a mass there would be, at +the very least, twenty thousand million Herring; and this shoal was but +one out of many thousand shoals. One might as well try to count the +grains of sand on the shore as the Herrings in the wide ocean. + +These huge shoals do not stay long in one part of the sea. They make +journeys of many miles, each shoal seeming to keep to itself. Like every +other creature, the Herring goes where his food is. What food does he +find? He swallows the small life of the sea, tiny transparent things +like baby shrimps, prawns, crabs, and so on, which swarm even in the +cold water which the Herring loves. + +They are good juicy food, these little mites, and very plentiful; so no +wonder the Herring becomes plump. He eats greedily of this good food. +For instance, a young Herring, picked up on the beach at Yarmouth, was +found to contain no less than one hundred and forty-three small shrimps. +Not a bad dinner for a fish the length of this page! The ocean teems +with small creatures; even the huge Greenland Whale feeds on them, and +the Herring seems to live on little else. + +Well, the shoals of Herring begin to move from their feeding place in +the deeps, and come nearer the coast. As they get to shallower water +they are crowded together near the surface. Where are they going, and +why? + +Perhaps you can guess--they seek warmer, shallower water, in which to +lay their eggs. Now is the time for the fisherman! If the Herring kept +to the deep they would be quite safe--and we should have no nice plump +Herrings on our breakfast tables! Yes, now is the time to spread out +miles of nets in the path of this living mass of silvery fish. They are +in fine condition, well fed, and ready to lay their eggs. + +They are moving slowly but surely towards the right place where those +eggs should be laid. What guides them? Why do they go _this_ way and not +_that_ in the vast ocean? We do not really know what guides them; so we +say that they obey a wonderful, unfailing guide--"instinct." + +Of course you have seen and tasted the "hard" roe of a Herring; but I do +not suppose you have ever troubled to count all those little round eggs. +Each roe contains some thirty thousand of them! What a huge number of +young ones for one Herring! Still, this is not a large family, as fish +families go. The Cod lays about nine million eggs! + +At last the Herrings reach the breeding grounds that they sought, and +the eggs are laid. The eggs of most sea-fish just drift on the surface +of the ocean, at the mercy of their enemies, and washing here and there +as the current sends them. The Herring's eggs sink to the bottom and, +being rather sticky, adhere wherever they fall. + +There they lie in masses, on the bed of the sea, and then guests of all +kinds hasten to enjoy such a rare feast of eggs, laid ready for them. +One of the first guests is the Haddock. He comes in his thousands, +greedy for his part of the good food; but, knowing this, the fishermen +also hasten to the spot, and the Haddock pays dearly for his love of +Herring eggs. + +Only a few out of each thousand eggs will escape their enemies, and the +baby Herrings, which hatch in about a fortnight, run many dangers; thus, +in the end, the huge family of Mrs. Herring is reduced to a small one. +Even so, there are countless numbers of the tiny fish. They soon grow +shining scales, like those of their parents, and move towards the coast. + +It is a pretty sight, these little silvery Herrings playing in the +shallow water. Millions of them dart about and flash in the sunshine, +during the summer months, round our coasts. Sea-birds and other enemies +hover round, to feast on the tiny fish. Great numbers of these baby +Herrings are caught and sold as "Whitebait." + +The older Herrings, having laid their eggs, leave the shallows, and make +their way into deep water. They are no longer nice to eat, and the +Herring harvest is over until the following season. + +In our talk on flat-fish we shall notice how they are caught, near the +bed of the sea, in the _trawl-net_. Now this net is of no use for the +capture of Herrings. They swim in the open water, near the surface, and +so another kind of trap, the _drift-net_, is used. + +Hundreds of vessels sail from our fishing ports when King Herring is +about. Each vessel carries a number of drift-nets. These nets are to be +let down like a hanging wall, in the path of the shoal, at night. Corks +or bladders are fastened to the upper edge of the nets. Of course they +are all mended and made ready before the vessels reach the fishing +grounds. It is not easy to know where to shoot the nets; all the skill +and knowledge of the fisherman are needed to locate the shoals, and, +without this knowledge, he would come home with an empty vessel. Even as +it is, he sometimes catches no more fish than would fill his hat. + +A sharp look-out is kept. An oily gleam in the sea tells the knowing +fisherman that the shoal is there; or he may see a Gull swoop down and +carry off a Herring. Then the nets are put out in the path of the shoal. +A big fleet of fishing vessels may let down a thousand miles of nets! + +The Herrings, not seeing the fine wall of net, swim into it. Now the +openings in the net--the meshes--are one inch across, just wide enough +for the Herring to poke his head through. Once through, he is caught. +His gill-covers prevent him from drawing back again. Thousands of other +Herrings are held tight, all around him, and the rest of the shoal +scatters for the time being. + +When the nets are hauled in, the fisherman beholds a mighty catch, a +sight to repay him for all his trouble. On being taken from its watery +home each Herring is dead almost at once--"as dead as a Herring." + +Then comes the race to the market. Once in port, the vessels are rapidly +emptied. Hundreds of thousands of shining, silvery bodies are piled on +the quays--a sight worth seeing! An army of packers gets to work; and +the fresh fish are soon on the rail, speeding to the great fish markets, +on the way to your breakfast table. + +The story of the Herring fishery is one of deep interest, and of great +importance. Millions of Herrings are caught every year, forming a cheap +and good food. Yet there are uncountable numbers left; and there is not +the least danger that our nets can ever empty the sea of this wonderful +little fish. + +The Herring has several smaller relatives, all of them being excellent +food for us. The Pilchard is one of them; the Sardine is merely a young +Pilchard. Countless myriads of Pilchards visit the Cornish coast; +strangely enough, they frequent only this corner of our seas. + +Another cousin of the Herring, the Sprat, is also a fine food, and so +cheap that poor people can enjoy it. Baby Herrings and baby Sprats are +caught in great quantity, and sold under the name of "Whitebait." It was +thought, at one time, that the Whitebait was another kind of fish; but +Whitebait are really the Herring and Sprat in their baby state. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Name several enemies of the Herring. 2. Describe the eggs of the +Herring, and where they are laid. 3. What is a "drift-net," and how is +it used? 4. What is a Sardine? What is a "Whitebait?" + + + +LESSON II + +THE STORY OF THE FLAT FISH + +You see fish of many shapes and sizes in the fishmonger's shop; they can +be divided into two kinds--round fish and flat fish. Cod, Herring, +Mackerel and Salmon are round fish. The flat fish are Plaice, Turbot, +Brill, Halibut, Sole, Dab and Flounder. + +Most people know the taste, as well as the look, of a Plaice; but few +know much about its life in the ocean. Indeed, there are secrets in the +life of this fish, and many other fish too, which still puzzle us. + +Put a Salmon and a Plaice side by side, and it is plain that they live +in very different ways. One is made to dart like an arrow, the other to +lie flat. One is the shape of a torpedo, the other is flat like a raft. +The shape and colour of the Plaice tell their own story of a life on the +sandy, pebbly bed of the sea. And look at the eyes! Both are on the +upper side of the head! What could be better for a fish that lies flat +on the ocean floor? + +The Plaice is the best known of these flat fish, so we will try to find +how its life is spent in the deep sea. + +Have you ever watched those little sailing-vessels which go a-shrimping? +They carry a large net--a shrimp-trawl, it is called--which is drawn +over the sandy home of the Shrimp. When the trawl is hauled up it may +contain not only Shrimps, but the other dwellers in sandy places. Among +these, sad to say, is often a mass of baby Plaice and other flat fish. +Tiny little fellows they are, some hardly as large as a postage stamp. +They are thrown aside, being of no use to the fisherman. + +Now these babies are quite flat, darkish on the upper side, white on the +other side, like the Plaice you see in the shop. They are not such new +babies after all. Though such wee mites, it is more than six weeks since +they left the egg; and, in that time, they have passed through wonderful +changes, as you will see. + +Plaice lay a great many eggs, which float about in the sea. Most are +gobbled up by those sea-creatures--and they are many--who love fish-eggs +for dinner. From each remaining egg a baby Plaice escapes. At first it +floats upside down at the surface of the sea, and eats nothing at all. +Then it rights itself, and begins to swallow the tiny creatures which +swarm in sea-water. + +Strange to tell, this baby Plaice is not a bit like its mother. It is +not a flat fish now, but a "round" fish. It has one eye on each side of +its head, and you would expect it to grow up like any other round fish. + +For about a month this small, transparent youngster hardly alters. Then +it grows deeper in the body, and begins to swim near the bottom of the +sea. At last it lies on one side, and its life as a "round" fish is +over. + +A fish lying thus on its side would have one eye buried in the sand, and +quite useless, would it not? But our young Plaice is changing its +appearance very quickly. Its head is growing rather "lopsided." The eye +next the sand is, little by little, brought round to the upper side, +until it looks up instead of down. Its mouth gets a queer one-sided +look, owing to the twisting of the bones in the head. + +Many people think that the dark upper part of a flat fish is the back, +and the white under part is the stomach. We have seen, however, that +this is not so, for _flat fish lie on one side_. + +For the rest of its life the Plaice will remain flat, with two eyes +looking up, and a twisted head. But its colour alters. The side on which +it lies is white; the upper side becomes brown and speckled, dotted over +with red marks. This is a good disguise. Its enemies cannot distinguish +the Plaice from the pebbles and sand around it. They might swim over it, +and yet not see the thin, flat, brownish body pressed down on the bed of +the sea. + +Also, these flat fish have a wonderful way of changing colour. Put them +on light sand, and they become lightish. Put them on dark sand and +pebbles, and they soon match it by becoming brown and mottled. This is a +most useful dodge where so many enemies abound, all swifter in the water +than the slow-swimming flat fish. + +If you look for flat fish in an aquarium, you will not easily see them. +Now and again one will swim up, with a wavy motion of its body. On +settling again, it shuffles and flaps about, works itself into the sand, +hiding its edges well under, and then, hey presto! it is gone! If the +flat fish are so hard to find in a tank, you may be sure it would be +impossible to find them on the sea bed. They are poor swimmers, but +perfect hiders. + +As far as we can tell, they feed on other living creatures. The ocean +floor is a huge dining table for them, where they find very mixed +dinners. They eat small fish, sand-worms, shell-fish, Shrimps and young +Crabs. The Plaice has strong, blunt teeth in its throat, and is well +able to grind up the shells of Cockles and other molluscs, swallowing +the juicy contents. + +Now we have seen that the Plaice is first a floating egg, and then a +tiny transparent "round" fish. It sinks to the sea bed, lies on one +side, and becomes a flat fish like its parents. + +These little baby flat fish, not much larger than your thumb-nail, crowd +in the shallow, sandy parts of the sea near the coast. There they often +end their lives in the shrimp-trawl, as we have already noticed. + +After leaving this "infants' school" the Plaice, and other small flat +fish, go to deeper water. There they feed and grow fat. Our fishermen +know where to find them. Indeed, these special fishing grounds are so +well known that flat fish are scarcer than they used to be. Some kinds +are much too dear ever to be seen on the poor man's table. + +There is a special net for catching flat fish, called a _trawl_. This is +a large net, dragged over the bed of the sea by ropes, or steel wire, +attached to the sailing vessel or steam trawler. The net is kept open +under water by means of beams or boards. + +When the flat fish are disturbed, they rise a foot or two from the sea +floor, and are then swept into the gaping mouth of the deadly trawl. +Once in, there is no escape. There they remain, pressed together, until +the net is hauled up and emptied. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Give the names of five kinds of flat fish. 2. How does the Plaice +escape its enemies in the sea? 3. What is the food of the Plaice? 4. How +are flat fish usually caught for the market? + + + +LESSON III + +SEALS + +There are many different kinds of Seal; the family is a large one, but +all have one thing in common--the fish-like body, with toes joined +together by a web. Anyone who has seen the diving power of a Seal, and +its wonderful way in the water, will agree that the "flippers" of the +Seal are as useful as the fins of the fish. + +In fact, the flipper beats the fin, for the Seal earns his dinner by +chasing and catching fish. He slips through the water with perfect ease, +and seizes the darting fish in their own home. The Seal is nearly always +hungry, but so wonderfully quick that his hunting is made easy for him. + +It is quite another matter on land, where his best pace is a waddle and +a shuffle; but his life is in the wide sea, where he can feed and sleep +as easily as other mammals can on land. + +Seals are easily tamed, and soon become fond of their owners. Some +fishermen once caught a baby Seal, which they gave to a boy, knowing his +love of animals. The strange baby soon made itself at home, and loved to +lie in the warmth of the kitchen fire. It knew the voice of its young +master, and would follow him like a dog. + +The older it grew, the more milk and fish it needed each day. At last, +this food was not to be easily obtained, and so the boy had to get rid +of his pet. He rowed out to sea, taking the Seal, and let it free in the +ocean to fend for itself; but the Seal would not leave him; it swam +swiftly round the boat, calling pitifully. Needless to say, it was taken +back again, and well cared for. + +[Illustration: THE SEA-ELEPHANT] + +Seals have even been trained to catch fish for their owners. Being +docile by nature, and having larger brains than most animals, they can +be taught. Perhaps you have seen Sea-lions performing surprising tricks, +showing clearly how intelligent these fish-like creatures really are. +The Sea-lions at the London "Zoo" are not specially trained. But they +are clever enough to teach themselves, especially when rewarded by a few +extra fish. They know well the voice of their keeper, and clap with +their flippers to let him know that feeding--time is near; and in many +other amusing ways they prove their intelligence. + +[Illustration: SEA-LION] + +You have noticed, perhaps, that these Sea-lions can shuffle along on +their hind flippers, which are turned forward under the body. The real +Seals, however, cannot do this. Their hind limbs, so wonderful in the +water, are merely dragged behind the body on land. "Sealskin" should be +called "Sea-lion-skin," to be exact; for it is the Sea-lions, not the +true Seals, which men kill and rob of their lovely warm coats. + +The giant of the Seal family is the Sea-elephant; a big lumbering +fellow, with a most peculiar nose. Of course this gives him his name, +though it is not much like the trunk of the real elephant. It is just +the baggy skin of his nose, a foot long, which hangs down past his +mouth. + +When the Sea-elephant is angry or excited, this loose nose of his +becomes filled with air, and bulges out. Our coloured picture shows you +Mr. Sea-elephant, full grown; his wife and children have ordinary seal +noses. Perhaps we should say wives, not wife, for he has many. + +[Illustration: A COMMON SEAL] + +The Sea-elephants go to wild, lonely islands, and there make their +nurseries. Year after year tens of thousands of the big Seals gather, +to fight and to rear their young. The clumsy great father Sea-elephants +fight terrible battles; and at this time always seem to be in a very bad +temper, tearing each other with their tusk-like teeth. Their roaring can +be heard far out at sea; but the lady Seals take no part in these +combats. + +We have no room in this lesson to look at all the other kinds of Seals, +Sea-lions, Sea-bears and Walrus. As we have already noticed, the +sealskin sold in shops is really the skin of a Sea-lion. Sometimes these +are called _Eared Seals_, for they possess little ears, while the real +Seals have only small holes in the side of the head for ears. Again, +there are some Eared Seals whose fur is of no use to us, for it lacks +the deep under-fur of the fur Seals. + +Nature gave this coat to the Seal to protect him from the cold, but it +has caused his destruction! For these animals were killed by the hundred +thousand. Worse than this, they were killed in the most cruel manner. +Laws have now been made to help protect the poor fur Seal from its +merciless hunters. It lives in cold seas where its deep rich coat is a +splendid protection. No finer fur is there for keeping out cold and wet; +and the skilful furrier can make it into soft garments of great value. + +The habits of these Seals are strange indeed. For nine or ten months of +the year they wander freely over the open seas. They dive for their +food, and sleep calmly amidst the restless heaving of the ocean. This is +the happy life of the Seal, though enemies--Sharks, Killer Whales or +Grampuses--sometimes snap him up as he sleeps. + +Then, in the springtime, there comes a change. The Seals leave the open +sea and take to the land. They go to their special breeding-places, or +"rookeries," as they are called. The big "old man" Seals arrive first, +and haul themselves on shore. Each chooses a spot for himself among the +rocks. He then settles down to defend it; for more and more "old man" +Seals come, all eager to own the best places. The roaring and fighting +go on day and night. The gentle Seal is now a savage beast, covered with +wounds. + +Then the soft-eyed female Seals come ashore. Now the thing is, for each +big male Seal to claim as many lady Seals as he can. More fighting, +roaring and tearing occur now, in which the lady Seals are banged about +like footballs. The strongest "old man" drags the female Seal away in +his teeth, and plumps her down in his special part of the beach. Along +comes another big Seal to take her away, and the fight begins again. + +Meanwhile, the younger Seals keep out of the way. Strange to say, the +fighting Seals take no food at all, though they are on the beach for +several weeks. A few stones is all they eat, though at other times they +devour numbers of fish at every meal. + + +EXERCISES + +1. How could you tell the Sea-lion from the real Seal? 2. Where are the +Seal "rookeries"? What happens there in the springtime? 3. Why is the +Sea-elephant so named? + + + +LESSON IV + +SOME STRANGE NURSERIES + +As a rule, nests or nurseries are unknown in the world of fishes. They +lay their eggs and leave them; and the young ones have to fight their +own battles, in a sea full of fierce and hungry enemies. Indeed, it +often happens that a parent fish is eager to make a meal of its own +children! + +The Codfish lays about nine million eggs! You would hardly expect the +female Codfish to make a nursery for such a family! She would be much +worse off than the "old woman who lived in a shoe." As a matter of fact, +the eggs are laid in the open sea; and the Cod shows no interest in +them, but leaves them to become food for many a roving enemy. + +Those cousins of the Shark,--the Skate and the Dog-fish,--are more +careful of their eggs. Have you ever found their empty eggs on the sea +shore? Children call them "mermaids' purses." But they are more like +little horny pillow-cases than purses. + +When first laid, the Dog-fish's egg has a very long string or _tendril_ +at each corner. As the fish lays the egg, she winds these tendrils round +and round a sea-plant; thus the egg is fixed firmly until the young one +is ready to escape from within (_see_ p. 49). + +The Skate's egg is much the same, only there is no tendril, but a curved +hook at each corner. These hooks, of course, serve as anchors to hold +the egg: no doubt they catch in weeds and stones. One fish, you see, +ties her eggs with strings, the other uses anchors. These large "purse +eggs" are like cradles, and the baby Skates do not slip out of them +until they are quite ready to look after themselves in the ocean. + +There are fish in the sea which take great pains to save their eggs and +babies from harm; they will even defend them at the risk of their own +lives. Of course these careful parents do not have huge families, like +the Cod. No; the fish that care for their young have small families, but +the babies have a much better chance of living than the baby Cod. It is +one of Nature's wise laws. + +Our common Stickleback--"Tiddler," or "Red-throat," as boys call +him--builds a nest in ponds. He has a seaside cousin, the fifteen-spined +Stickleback, who is also a nest-builder. This little fish is fairly +common round our coasts, living in weedy pools by the shore, where it +devours any small creature unlucky enough to come near. It is about six +inches long, this sea Stickleback, with a long snout, and its body is +very thin near the tail. + +To build his nest, this little fish chooses a quiet corner, then gathers +pieces of green and purple seaweed. He takes the pieces in his mouth, +pushing them about until the shape is to his liking. Having got his +nursery to the right size and shape, the little builder next fastens it +together. How can he do this? What mortar can he find in the sea? It is +quite simple. He uses threads, which come from his own body. He swims +round the nest, again and again; and, each time, a thread is spun, +binding the clump of weed into a safe, tight nest for the eggs. When the +task is done there is a weed-nursery about the size of your fist. Now +all is ready for the eggs to be laid by the female Stickleback. You +would expect them to be kept in a hole amid the nest, would you not? +Instead of that, they are tucked a few here, a few there, in the weed. + +Then the father Stickleback mounts guard. Woe betide any small fish +looking for a dinner of Stickleback eggs! The gallant little sentry will +rush at him, with spines as stiff as fixed bayonets, ready to do battle +to the death. When the young are hatched out he still keeps guard. They +are not allowed out of the nursery for some time. The watchful parent +forces them back if they try to wander out into the perils of the +shore-pool. + +[Illustration: _Photo: A.F. Dauncey_. SKATE'S EGG CASE] + +Let us look at another nest-builder--the Sand Goby, or Spotted Goby, He +is common enough in the pools at low tide, but not easy to find. You can +look at him, yet not see him! For he takes the same colour as the rocks +and sands of his home. Amid the glinting lights and shadows of his +rock-pool, with a background of sand, rock, and weed, this little fish +is nearly invisible. Of course it is a dodge, and a useful one, to +escape the eye of the enemy! + +Perhaps you will not think the Spotted Goby so clever at nest-building +as the Stickleback. He likes to use a "ready-made" house, whereas the +Stickleback finds his own "bricks and mortar." In the pools of the shore +there is no lack of houses to let, the empty homes of shell-fish are +there in plenty. So the little Goby, when nesting time comes, hunts +round for the empty shell of a Cockle lying with its hollow side to the +sand. + +This shell is to be used as the roof for the nursery. The Goby's next +task is to make a hole beneath the shell. He sets to work and, by +scooping out the sand, makes a hole about as large as a marble. To keep +the sand from tumbling in, he smears the hole with slime, which soon +binds hard like mortar. Now the nursery is nearly ready; but a +passage-way is made, passing under the edge of the shell, and then, to +make things quite safe, the whole roof is covered with sand: it then +looks more like a bump in the sand than a fish-nursery. + +The female Goby enters the nest, and leaves her eggs in it; and then the +little father fish is left in charge. He rests on the sand, near the +entrance. When the little ones appear, he seems to think he has done his +duty. So away, he swims, not staying, like the father Stickleback, to +guard the youngsters. Again we see that the father, and not the mother, +is the builder and nurse. + +[Illustration: CORALS OF MANY KINDS.] + +That very strange creature, the Pipe-fish, has the most peculiar nursery +of all. He uses no building material! No made-up nest of weed or sand +for him! No, he prefers to carry his eggs in his pocket. To be more +exact, there is a small pouch under his body, and there the eggs are +kept until they hatch. Meanwhile, the Pipe-fish goes about his affairs +in the pool as if nothing particular had happened. You will see more +about this funny little fish when we come to our lesson on "The Fish of +our Rock-pools." + + +EXERCISES + +1. What are the eggs of the Skate and the Dog-fish like? 2. How does the +Sea-stickleback build his nest? 3. Where would you find the Sand Goby, +the Pipe-fish, and the Sea-stickleback? 4. How does the Sand Goby build +its nest? + + + +LESSON V + +THE OGRE OF THE DEEP + +The ogre of the fairy-tale is bad enough, but, for evil looks, the +Octopus is worse still. With his tough, brownish skin, knobbed like the +toad's back, his large staring eyes, his parrot's beak, and ugly bag of +a body, the Octopus is a horrid-looking creature. Add to this eight long +arms twisting and writhing like snakes, and you have an idea of the most +hideous inhabitant of the deep. + +Then, like the ogre, the Octopus lives in a cave, and goes forth at +night to claim his victims. He tears them to pieces, and returns to his +dark cavern when daylight comes. + +Before seeing how this ugly monster lives, eats, breathes and fights, we +must know something of the way he is made. In the first place, it may +surprise you to know that the Octopus's body is made on the same plan as +that of the snail. The ogre of the ocean and the Garden Snail are second +cousins! Their family name--_mollusc_--means _soft-bodied._ + +But there are such numbers of molluscs that we split them up into +different orders, just as a big school is split into classes. The +Octopus belongs to an order of molluscs with a long name, which only +means _head-footed._ Why is he called head-footed? The snail, as you +know, has one broad foot under its body. The foot of the Octopus is +divided into eight strips. These long strips are set round his head, +hence the name head-footed. Because there are eight of these long feet +he is named _octo-pus_ or eight-feet. + +The feet--or arms, or tentacles, as they are called--are joined at their +base by a skin. It makes a sort of webbing. In the centre of this is a +horny beak, usually of a brownish colour. It is just like a parrot's +beak, only of thinner and lighter stuff. There are two parts to it, the +top one curving down over the lower one. Behind this beaked mouth is a +hard, rasping tongue. On each side of the head is a big, staring eye; +and behind the ugly head is the ugly body, like a bag. + +The Octopus breathes by means of gills. Water enters through a big hole +under the head, passes over the gills, and out again through a _funnel_, +or _siphon_. Now the Octopus can make good use of this siphon. Sometimes +he is attacked, and wishes to "make himself scarce." So he sends the +water rapidly through the siphon; the force is enough to jerk him +quickly backwards, his "arms" trailing behind. + +The Octopus and his relations have another dodge as well. They possess a +bag of inky fluid. By mixing this ink with the spurt of water from the +funnel, the Octopus leaves a thick cloud behind him. The enemy is lost +in this dark cloud, while the Octopus darts safely away. + +[Illustration: THE OCTOPUS--A MONSTER OF THE DEEP] + +Having no armour to protect him, and no shelly home like that of the +snail, the Octopus is an easy prey to large fish, Seals and Whales. So +this trick of shooting backwards, hidden in a cloud of ink, must be of +great use. Soldiers and sailors use clouds of smoke to baffle their +enemy in battle. The Octopus uses clouds of ink. + +Sharks, Conger Eels, and Whales are able to fight the Octopus and eat +his soft body; but small fish and Crabs keep away from the ogre if they +can. This is not easy, for he hides away under rocks, watching with his +great eyes for passing prey. If anything comes near enough, out flicks a +long, tapering, snaky arm, and holds the victim tight. + +Down the inside of each arm are nearly three hundred round suckers. Each +one acts like those leather suckers with which boys sometimes play. Once +fixed, it is nearly impossible to unloose them, without chopping or +tearing the arm to pieces. First one and then another sucker takes hold, +and the wretched victim is drawn up to the ogre's beak, with no chance +of escape. + +When one sees the grasping power of even a small Octopus, it is easy to +believe that a large one would be a dangerous enemy. The strongest +swimmer would stand no chance: those clinging arms could hold two or +three men under water. + +[Illustration: WHALING.] + +Luckily, the Octopus has no wish to attack people. It is not fierce. But +to the Crabs it must seem an awful ogre. I once watched an Octopus on +the lookout for food. It had its lair between two rocks, its twining +arms showing outside, its eyes and body in the shadow. Along came a +Crab, scuttling near the rocks. He spied the ogre, at once stopping and +raising his claws as Crabs do, like a boxer ready to fight. The Crab +having strong pincers, and a good suit of armour, I expected to see him +fight for life. But no! Like poor Bunny chased by the dreaded Stoat, the +Crab gave in as soon as the ogre flicked him with an arm. The suckers +gripped him fast and, still holding up his claws, he was drawn into the +den of his dreadful enemy. + +Although armed with a beak, the Octopus seems not to use it against the +Crab. He prefers to pull the poor Crab to pieces with his strong arms, +and then to pick up the crab-meat with the hooked beak. When full-fed, +he retires to his den; he sometimes pulls shells and stones over the +entrance, and rests within until hungry. + +In this strange order of molluscs there are dwarfs and giants. One kind +is never more than two inches long, others are vast monsters. The +Octopus is big enough and ugly enough to make one shudder to see him, +but the real ogre of the deep is the Giant Cuttle-fish, beside which the +Octopus is a tiny mite. + +These Giant Cuttles have ten arms, two of them being very long. The +Octopus's body is round, like that of a fat spider, while the Cuttle has +a long body. The Cuttle has many sharp claws on its arms, besides +numbers of big, strong suckers. It holds and tears its prey at the same +time. Its staring eyes are like big black lanterns on each side of the +head. The head twists this way and that, so that nothing escapes the +glare of those horrible eyes. + +Lurking in the dark depths of the sea, these Giant Cuttles wait for +large fish, Crabs, or even their own relations, to come near. Like +hideous, gigantic Spiders, they are the terror of the ocean caverns. +They are so large that they have few enemies to fear. Indeed, it is +surprising that any animal dares to attack such a monster, but that +other giant, the Sperm Whale, dives deep to the home of the Cuttles, +purposely to attack and eat them. + +The Sperm Whale _must_ attack these big creatures in order to get enough +food. He has such a huge, barn-like body to fill, that only these big +Cuttles will satisfy him. Whale-hunters sometimes catch a glimpse of +terrific combats between these giants of the deep. The Sperm wins the +battle, for he is nearly always found to contain great pieces of the +ogre's arms. + +Although the Octopus and the Cuttle are related to the Snail and Whelk, +they have no shell. Their bodies are naked. Neither do they grow a +backbone, or skeleton; but, inside the body, the Cuttle has a plate of +chalk, which you may find on the shore. Some kinds have a long strip of +transparent substance, like a large feather. Fishermen use the smaller +kinds of Cuttle as bait. You will find it quite easy to cut out the +"beaks" and "bone" for yourself, or the fishermen will not mind saving +them for you. + + +EXERCISES + +1. What is the meaning of the words "mollusc" and "octopus"? 2. How does +the Octopus capture its prey? 3. How does the Octopus escape its +enemies? 4. What creatures prey on the Cuttle and Octopus? + + + +LESSON VI + +THE WHALE + +Now and again Whales are washed up on our coasts, and then we can see +how huge is this strange monster of the deep. It is by far the largest +of all living animals. Once on the land it is quite helpless; it cannot +regain its home in the waters, and slowly dies. It is shaped like a +fish, and its home is in the sea, so no wonder it has often been called +a fish. + +If by chance the Whale is held under water, it drowns. It has no gills, +like those of the fish, to take air from the water; it is a mammal, a +creature that must breathe the free air just as other mammals. Nature is +full of surprises. And here she surprises us with a mammal most +marvellously fitted to live a fish-like life. + +The Whale dives to great depths in search of food, and stays under water +for a long time. But it is forced to rise again, and breathe at the +surface. To do this, it need not put its head and mouth out of water, +for its nostril is at the top of the head. + +As the Whale forces used-up air from its nostril--or "blow-hole," as it +is called--it mixes with water; this causes a jet or spout of water to +rise some distance into the air. The blow-hole is closed by a stopper or +valve, opening to let the air in or out, but closing to shut out the +water. + +Some of the Whale family are enormous, and some are small. A large Sperm +Whale may grow to be ninety feet long, and its weight would be nearly +two hundred tons! This huge creature would look like a deep barge in the +water. + +These Sperm Whales love to swim in herds, or schools. As many as three +hundred have been seen in one school, old "bulls" and "cows," and their +young ones swimming together far out at sea. It has been noticed that +they all spout, or breathe, at the same time, and then dive to great +depths. The old ones seem to know that their babies cannot stay under +water as long as a full-grown Whale can, and they all rise at the same +time. These youngsters may be nearly thirty feet long; but they gambol +like so many kittens, twisting and turning over and over, and throwing +themselves into the air. Most Whales are happy creatures, enjoying their +roving life in the free ocean. + +You can well imagine that a Whale as big as a barge needs huge dinners. +We should not be far wrong if we guessed that he would need about a ton +of food every day. Where is he to get all that food? It is said that he +feeds mostly on the Cuttle-fish, that giant cousin of the Octopus, who +haunts the dim caverns of the deep. The Sperm is of enormous strength, +and is as fierce as he is strong. Otherwise he would not dare to face +the awful, clinging arms of the Cuttle, that ogre of the deep sea. + +The Sperm Whale has a great, blunt head, a huge mouth, and a throat +large enough to swallow a man. His clumsy-looking head contains oil, so +does the deep layer of blubber with which his body is covered. + +For the sake of this oil, the Sperm has always been hunted. But he is +not easily overcome. He fights hard for life; and many a whaling boat +has been dashed to pieces with one blow from the powerful tail of a +hunted Sperm. + +This great tail is set cross-wise, not upright like the tail of a fish. +It is of immense power, and divided into two big "flukes," as they are +called. With strong up-and-down strokes the tail propels the monster +along at a great pace. It also shoots him down to his feeding place in +the depths of the sea, and up again to fill his lungs with sweet fresh +air. The fins, or paddles, are used only as balancers, and to protect +the young. + +These Sperm Whales inhabit warm seas, but others of the Whale family +haunt colder regions. The greatest of these is the Right Whale, or +Greenland Whale, a monster whose bulk rivals that of the Sperm. + +Now it is very strange that this, the largest member of the whole +kingdom of animals, should live on some of the smallest creatures of the +sea, and that the mouth and throat of this monster should be so made +that he can eat only this minute food, food like that which the tiny +Herring eats. + +In some parts of those cold northern seas the water is coloured in bands +of red and blue. If you took up a bucketful, you would find that the +colour was due to myriads of tiny creatures. Amongst these are other +myriads of small animals, each of less size than a house-fly. The larger +ones are there to feed on the smaller ones. And that mass of small life +is the food of this mountain of fat and flesh, the Greenland Whale. + +He swims through the sea with his mouth gaping open, like a great +cavern, and soon thousands of the little creatures are inside. Then his +tongue comes forward. It is of immense size, and it pushes out all the +sea water from his mouth. But the small animals remain inside! For the +water is forced through a wonderful sieve, made of fringed plates, which +hangs from his upper jaw. Instead of having teeth in his mouth, as many +Whales have, the Greenland Whale has this sieve of "whalebone." Of +course it is a large sieve, to fill so large a mouth. Yet it is never in +the way, being neatly packed away at the top of the mouth, one plate +over the other, when not in use. + +The mass of small animals, held back by this peculiar sieve, then slides +down his throat, which is a tube about as wide as a boy's wrist! We said +just now that Nature was full of surprises. Is it not surprising to find +a gigantic Whale feeding in this way! Inside the great mouth the +_Remora_? or Sucking Fish, is often found. This fish has an oval sucker +on its head, by which it fixes itself to Whales, or even to the hull of +a ship. It has fins, and can swim perfectly well, but prefers to live in +this lazy way. + +The Whalebone Whales lead a peaceful, happy life, though not without +dangers. The bitter cold of their northern home is nothing to them, for +are they not snug in a deep blanket of blubber? To obtain food, they +merely swim along with open mouth. These peaceful giants do not know how +to fight for their lives, like the Sperm Whales. So, when man came, +hunting the Greenland Whale for oil and "whalebone," he found an easy +victim. + +They have other enemies, besides man. The Killer Whale is one of the +fiercest, swiftest terrors of the sea. It is tiny, compared with the +Greenland Whale, but much quicker and more cunning. Several Killers band +together and spring to the attack at the same time, Like wild cats, they +dash at the poor helpless Whale, and tear its sides with terrible curved +teeth. + +The Sword-fish and Thresher Shark also help to destroy this harmless +giant of the deep. The Sword-fish pierces it with his pointed "beak"; +the other slashes the sides of the wretched Whale with its long tail. It +is said, by those who have seen such a fight, that the Thresher's tail +cuts deep into the Whale's sides. + +[Illustration: THE SUCKING FISH] + +In all parts of the wide sea there are Whales of one kind or another. We +have looked briefly at the Sperm and Greenland Whales, and the Killer +Whale. Besides these there is the Narwhal, or Sea-unicorn, with a +wonderful tusk, which is really a big tooth, some six feet long. Another +one, the Bottle-nose Whale, has a long, narrow "beak," and is sometimes +washed up on our shores. The Pilot Whale is also seen in herds in our +seas. + +Another visitor, the Rorqual, is not welcomed by the fishermen. This big +fellow follows the shoals of Mackerel and Herring. He lives on them, +swallowing as many at each gulp as would fill several big baskets. The +fishermen can spare him the fish. But it is another matter when he swims +through valuable nets, tearing through them as if they were so much +cobweb. + +The commonest Whale of our seas is that small one, the Common Dolphin, +who is a midget some five or six feet long. You may have seen Dolphins, +for they swim near the surface, and may often be noticed not far from +the shore. Like the Rorquals, they follow the Herring and Mackerel +shoals. Now and again they dash into the nets, and are shown in the +fish-market. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Describe how the Whale breathes. 2. What food do the Sperm and +Greenland Whales eat? 3. How does the Greenland Whale eat its food? 4, +Give the names of five kinds of Whale. + + + +LESSON VII + +TIGERS OF THE SEA + +[Illustration: A CORAL REEF.] + +The monsters of the Shark family, fortunately for us, live in warm seas, +and so are not often found near the shores of Great Britain. But our +seas contain smaller Sharks of various kinds, and in greater number than +most people imagine. + +Sharks are fierce hunters. Many a poor sailor or diver has been torn to +pieces and devoured by these ravenous tigers of the deep. Some Sharks +are of great size and immense power; they are by far the largest of all +living fish; and no animal in the whole kingdom of animals owns such a +terrible death-trap of a mouth as the Shark. It is, in some kinds of +Shark, armed with seven rows of teeth with keen edges and points! + +Sometimes a Shark follows a steamer in the open sea, day after day, +waiting for whatever may chance his way; and it is astonishing what +strange objects he will swallow. These monsters are often caught on a +hook baited with a lump of meat, and are hauled to the steamer's deck. +One Shark was found to contain all the rubbish that had been pitched +overboard; tin cans, a bundle of old coats, a piece of rope, old bones, +and so on. What a fierce hunger must have driven the Shark to swallow +such a meal as that! + +Before we look at some of these fierce creatures, whom everyone +dislikes, we will say a word for them. Nature meant them to be +_scavengers_, to clean up the sea. And this they do. Dead and decaying +flesh is a danger, and the Shark, ever hungry, clears it away quickly. + +Now and again fishermen bring a big Shark to port, and hang him in the +market--not for sale, but as a "show." The Blue Shark is the one most +often displayed like this. See how his mouth is set, well under the +head, as in all Sharks; and notice the shape of the body. It tells of +speed and strength in the water; its pointed, tapering form reminds one +of the racing yacht. + +[Illustration: THE WHITE RAY] + +What is this fierce fellow doing so near our coast? He is often found +off Cornwall--too often, thinks the fisherman. This Shark comes to seek +the same prey as the fisherman--the shoals of Mackerel and Pilchard (a +cousin of the Herring). Where the shoals go, the Blue Shark follows. The +silly Mackerel, all crowded together, have no chance to escape their +awful foe. They are nearly as helpless as a flock of sheep with a tiger +in their midst. + +[Illustration: THE ELECTRIC RAY] + +If the Shark comes across a mass of Mackerel or Pilchards in a net, he +looks on them as a fine feast. Dashing at them, he tears the net to +pieces, swallowing lumps of netting with great mouthfuls of fish. Small +wonder the fisherman detests this savage visitor which causes him such +serious loss of time and money. He naturally looks on Sharks as useless +"vermin," to be destroyed whenever possible. + +[Illustration: _Photo: A. F. Dauncey_. DOG-FISH EGG CASE] + +The Fox Shark, or Thresher, is another fierce visitor to these shores. +This savage hunter comes after the Herrings, Pilchards and Sprats. It is +said to hunt these useful little fish in a strange way. As you know, +they travel in shoals. The Thresher swims rapidly round and round them. +Nearer and nearer it comes to the unlucky little fish, and they crowd +together, huddling up in a helpless mass. The Thresher adds to their +panic by _threshing_ the water with its terrible tail. And then, as you +can well imagine, it dashes at them and devours an enormous meal. Half +the length of the Thresher is tail. Not long ago there was landed at one +of our fishing ports a Thresher Shark of half a ton, its tail being over +ten feet in length. Even the great Whale has reason to fear the fierce +lashings of that long, whip-like weapon! + +Our commonest Sharks are those small ones known as Dog-fish, which you +can often see at any fish market. They are good to eat, though not used +much as food. Though small in size, they are large in appetite and +fierce in nature. Like savage dogs, they hunt in packs, waging war +against the Whiting, Herring and other fish. + +[Illustration: THE SHARK] + +There are several kinds of these small Sharks, known as Spur-dog, Smooth +Hound, Greater-spotted and Lesser-spotted Dog-fish, and Tope. And you +will hear fishermen call them by such names as "Rig," "Robin Huss," and +"Shovel-nose." Fisher-folk dislike Sharks, the Dog-fish among them. All +those creatures, like the Cormorant, Seal, and Shark, which catch fish +for breakfast, dinner and supper, are rivals of the fisherman. He often +pulls up his line to find but a part of a fish on the hook--the rest was +snatched by a "dog." At times his nets are torn by these nuisances, when +they attack the "catch" of fish. Or his lines come up from the deep all +tangled round and round a writhing Dog-fish, which had swallowed the +baited hook. + +We come now to those flat Sharks, whose flesh you may have tasted. No +Sharks are nice-looking, but these flat ones--the Skates or Rays--are +really hideous, Many of them are of great size and strength, and armed +with spines on their bodies (_see_ p. 52, No. 3) as well as teeth in +their ugly jaws. They have broad, flat bodies, with wide "wings," and a +long thin tail. The whole shape reminds you of a kite, and you would +hardly know the Ray or Skate as the Shark's first cousin. + +Yet it is only a Shark with flattened body, and whose side fins are so +large that they spread out like fleshy wings. The mouth is on the under +part, as it is in all Sharks. + +[Illustration: FISHES (No.1). +1. Blue Shark. +2. Saw Fish. +3. Starry Ray. +4. Ox Ray. +5. Plaice. +6. Trunk Fish. +7. Blue Striped Wrasse. +8. Malted Gurnard. +9. Muroena.] + +These flattened Sharks must be a terror to their neighbours. We shall +see, in our next lesson, what strange weapons are used in the battles of +the fish. The Rays or Skates have their share of spines, stings, and +poisons. One glance at their shape tells you that speed is not their +strong point. If they wish to eat fast-swimming fish--and they often +do--they must use cunning. + +The Skate, being sandy-coloured and flat, is nearly invisible as it lies +on the bed of the sea. There it lurks, waiting for the first unwary +fish. A sudden spring, and its wide body smothers its unlucky victim. + +Skates also flap their way slowly over the ocean floor, looking for a +dinner. They can eat shell-fish, and are fitted with teeth suited to the +work of crushing such hard fare. But, as we have seen, they have also +the Shark's love of eating other fish. + +These Skates are the only members of the Shark family that we value as +food. You can see Skates of several kinds in the fish market. They go by +such names as Thorn-back Ray, Blue Skate, Spotted Ray, Starry Ray, +Cuckoo Ray, Long-nosed Skate and Sting Ray. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Of what use are Sharks? 2. How does the Thresher Shark hunt its prey? +3. Give the names of several Dogfish and Rays. 4. What is the food of +the Skate, and how is it obtained? + + + +LESSON VIII + +THE DANGERS OF THE DEEP + +The "game" of hide-and-seek is played by most of the dwellers in the +sea. Many of them are "hiders" and "seekers" by turn. That is to say, +they are always seeking other creatures to devour, but must also be +ready to hide from their own enemies. + +_Eating and being eaten_--that is the life of the sea. The small and +weak ones must hide, and their lives depend on their skill in hiding. +Perhaps we should not call it a "game," as it is not done for fun. But, +though the sea is full of danger for some creatures, you must not think +that they live in fear. There is no doubt that they enjoy their lives, +each in its own way. + +Many are the quaint dodges and tricks of the hiders and seekers in the +sea. We can mention but a few in this lesson. Look at the Spider Crabs, +and their trick of dressing up. They have hooks on their backs, which +catch in the seaweed. Some of them even tear off weed with their +pincers, and fix it on to these hooks, and succeed in looking like +bundles of weed, and not a bit like living Crabs. + +Then there are the fish which wear a coloured scaly coat. Many of them +are not easily seen in the glinting water, as you know. Others are lazy; +they lie on the bed of the sea, and wear a disguise which hides them +from prowling foes. The Plaice and other flat-fish, as we noticed in +Lesson 2, are coloured and marked like the sand and pebbles of their +home; and they can even change colour to suit their background. They are +wonderfully hidden, owing to this useful dodge. It is as if Mother +Nature had given them the marvellous "cloak of invisibility," of which +we read in fairy-tales. + +Shrimps and young Crabs wear a coat of sand-colour or weed-colour. Our +soldiers, for much the same reason, wear suits of _khaki_. + +Another common hide-and-seek trick is to look like nothing at all. That +sounds difficult, but it is a favourite dodge in the sea. If a number of +very young Herrings or Eels were placed in a glass tank of sea-water, +you would have a hard task to find them. You can look _at_ them, and yet +not see them. They are transparent--you look through them as if they +were water or glass. You can imagine how well hidden they are in the +open sea. + +It is well to be able to hide, when all around you are enemies who look +on you as good food. But there is another way, and that is to wear +armour. Then you can frighten your enemy, or at least prevent him from +eating you. Some fish, like the Trunk Fish, (p. 52, No. 6), are covered +with bony plates, jointed together like armour. Spines and prickles are +a commoner defence. + +The little Stickleback of our ponds wears sharp spines, and knows well +how to use them. Even the terrible Pike will not swallow such a +dangerous mouthful unless driven by hunger. + +Sea-fish are the most hunted of all living things. From the day they +leave the egg, enemies lurk on all sides to gobble them up. The weak +ones are eaten, and none of them has the chance to die of old age! So we +find a defence of spines and prickles worn by many sea-fish. Spines on +the fins are the commonest, and no doubt help to keep away enemies; but +some fish go one better than that, and wear a complete suit of spines. + +The Porcupine-fish, as his name tells us, is one of these. He is a small +fish, living in warm seas. No doubt he has many enemies, eager to meet +him and eat him. But, when they see this little fish puff out his sides +like a balloon, and when pointed spines rise up all over the balloon, +they think better of it! They leave him alone; and the Porcupine-fish +goes back to his usual shape, the spines lying flat until wanted again. +He is sometimes called the Sea-hedgehog or Urchin-fish, and well +deserves his name. + +Many of the Skates or Rays wear terrible spikes. The Starry Ray (p. 52, +No. 7) is not easy to handle, dead or alive, for he has spines all over +his body. The Thornback is another ugly fellow of this family, having +spines on his back and a double row of them down his tail. Fishermen are +careful to avoid the lash of this armed tail. The Sting Ray shows us +still another weapon. At the end of its long tail it has a horrible, +jagged three-inch spike. As this fish likes to bury itself in wet sand, +bathers sometimes tread on it. In a flash the tail whips round! A +poisonous slime covers the spike, causing great pain to the unlucky +bather. + +Several poisonous fish are common near our coast. You may have seen the +one called the Great Weaver, also its small cousin, the Sting Fish. The +Weaver is dreaded by fishermen; for the spines on its back fin, as well +as the one on its gill-cover, cause poisoned wounds. They are grooved, +to hold a very poisonous slime. + +Some fish have the power to kill their prey, and stun their enemies, at +a distance! Instead of a spiny defence, they are _armed with +electricity!_ The best-known sea-fish of this sort is the Electric Ray, +also called the Cramp Fish or Torpedo (_see_ p. 48). It is a clumsy fish +about a yard long, and very ugly. Being too slow to catch its swift prey +in fair chase, it stuns them with an electric shock, and then eats them. +The electric power comes from the body of the Ray; if it wishes it can +send a deadly shock through any fish which ventures near. Without chance +of escape, it is at once stunned, and falls helpless. + +We come now to some formidable dangers of the deep--big strong fish, so +well armed that they roam the seas without fear. On page 52 you see a +picture (No. 2) of the Saw-fish, one of the Shark family. It is a large +fish, and carries a big saw on its head, with which it stabs sideways at +its prey. + +Imagine, if you can, a Shark about fifteen feet long and weighing a ton +or so. Now suppose the top jaw of this monster to be drawn out into a +hard, flat blade six feet in length. Then suppose there are sharp ivory +teeth, one inch apart, fixed on each side the blade, and you have an +idea of the Saw-fish. This strange Shark is said to be as strong as it +is fierce. It kills its prey by tearing them open with side blows from +its sharp, two-edged saw. Its big mouth is fitted with a great many rows +of needle-like teeth. + +The Sword-fish wears a different weapon--a lance instead of a saw. He is +not a Shark, but a cousin of the beautiful Mackerel. This warrior of the +deep is more dreaded than the Saw-fish, and braver than any Shark. His +speed in the water is marvellous; it makes him safe from attack. He +carries in front of him a terrible weapon, and all sea-creatures hasten +from his path as fast as they can. + +You may have seen the Sword-fish in a museum. There is a fine one in the +London Natural History Museum, where there is also a "sword" from one of +these fish, driven eighteen inches into the solid oak of a ship. The +Sword-fish never thinks twice about attacking, no matter if his enemy is +ten or twenty times as large as himself. He sees a Whale, and, like a +flash, hurls himself at it, stabbing his sword as deep as it will go +into the Whale's side. With a twist of his body the sword is wrenched +free, only to be driven savagely in again. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Mention three ways in which sea-creatures try to escape their +enemies. 2. How do the Sting-fish and Sting Ray defend themselves? 3. +What is the Saw-fish like? 4. How does the Sword-fish attack its prey? + + + +LESSON IX + +THE FISH OF OUR ROCK-POOLS + +The pools left by the falling tide have many an interesting thing to +show us. There are living creatures in plenty, besides the pretty weeds, +shells, and other objects. Shrimps, Prawns and Crabs abound in the +rock-pools and shallows, with anemones and shellfish of all kinds. In +the rock-pools we shall also find the interesting little fish whose +story we glance at in this lesson. Of course there are baby flat-fish, +and large fish too, along the shore. But these are only visitors. The +real rock-pool fish are those which live their lives there. + +Some of them are tiny things, two or three inches long. With quick +movements like Shrimps they dart away as you approach. They have a way +of hiding under weeds and rocks, being very clever at "hide-and-seek," +and knowing all the dodges. But, by using a net, you will soon capture a +few of them. Then you can put them in a small pool and examine them; or +even keep them in an aquarium, giving them clean sea-water, seaweed, and +the small shrimps on which they feed. + +[Illustration: PIPE-FISH AND FLUTE MOUTH] + +In our lesson on fish-nurseries we saw how the Sea-stickleback, Sand +Goby and Pipe-fish cared for their eggs or young ones. These three fish +are often to be found by the shore. As you look into the clear and still +waters of a pool you may see a Pipe-fish getting its dinner. This funny +creature looks more like a pencil swimming than a fish. It may be a foot +in length, but its body is no thicker than a pipe-stem! + +[Illustration: FISHES (No. 2). +1. John Dory. +2. Rock Cod. +3. Sand Eel. +4. Small Pipe Fish. +5. Cuckoo-Wrasse. +6. Angler. +7. Whiting. +8. Gattorngine. +9. Sapphirnal Gurnard. +10. Three-bearded Rockling. +11. Red Gurnard. +12. Pipe Fish. +13. Bass. +14. Red Mullet. +15. Turbot.] + +It has very long jaws. They are quite useless, however, being fastened +together! At their tip is an opening, though a very small one, and that +is the mouth of the Pipe-fish. Of course, with such a mouth, the fish +cannot bite its prey, and so has to suck in small creatures and swallow +them. Its method of hunting them is strange. It stands on its head, as +it were, takes in a mouthful of water, and spurts it out at the sandy +bed of the sea. This stirs up the small living things, which are at once +swallowed by the Pipe-fish. + +We have already seen how the male Pipe-fish carries his eggs in his +"pocket." Another curious thing is his suit of armour. Instead of +scales, he has hard plates all over his body. Very often you may see +young Pipe-fish among Sprats and "Whitebait" in the fishmonger's shop. + +Most of the little shore-fish are either Gobies or Blennies. No doubt +they have to avoid the sharp eyes of Gulls and Cormorants, for they are +very anxious not to be seen. Some of these rock-pool fish do not mind +being out of water for hours at a time. In every way Nature has fitted +them for their life between sea and shore. They have cousins in warmer +seas which love to come ashore at times. This is how a traveller +describes one of these foreign Gobies:-- + +"Though they are fish, and breathe by gills, they have a passion for the +land, and during the daytime may always be seen ashore, especially where +the coast is muddy. They bask in the sun, and hunt for food, raising +themselves on their fleshy fins.... When pursued, they take great +springs, using their tails and fins for the purpose; and if they cannot +escape into the sea, they will dive down the burrow of a land-crab, or +dash into a bunch of mangrove-roots." They are very wary, having eyes +like swivels, to turn in all directions. + +[Illustration: A BUTTERFLY BLENNY] + +The Spotted Goby, as we have already noticed, makes a nest under a +shell, and guards it until the eggs hatch. Two other Gobies are quite +common in the pools of our south coast--the One-spot Goby and the +Two-spot Goby. The back fin has the one spot, or two spots, from which +they get their name. Though they are such mites, they have sharp teeth, +as you may already know if you have caught them with your fingers! + +These lively little fellows are not very easy to catch! They have a +cunning way of hiding amid sand and rock, and are coloured to suit such +places. One strange thing about the Gobies is their trick of anchoring +themselves to a stone. + +You may wonder what kind of anchor they can use. It is a simple matter, +however. The fins on the stomach are pressed together to form a little +disc. This acts as a strong sucker, much like that of the Sucking Fish +(p. 43). If the Goby wishes to stay still in one place, it presses its +sucker to a stone; then it cannot be washed away by the ever-moving +water. + +In the Blenny family we find big, ugly fish as well as pretty little +ones of strange shapes and lovely colours. There are several kinds of +small Blennies in our rock-pools. The Eyed Blenny, or Butterfly Blenny +is not very common along our shores, but may be seen now and again. It +is only a few inches in length, with eyes like jewels, a kind of tuft +over each eye, and a pretty spot on its tall back fin. + +It will live quite well in a glass tank of sea-water; someone who kept +many interesting fish says of this Blenny:-- + +"Our little Butterfly Blenny was not often to be seen. It was using an +old whelk shell for a nursery. In this broken old shell the dainty fish +was able to hide, and was so nervous that we seldom saw it. But we +placed some food near the hole in the shell, and were rewarded by the +sight of the Butterfly's head, and its lovely eyes, each with a little +movable tassel above it." + +[Illustration: A SMOOTH BLENNY] + +Hidden under weed and stones is another small brownish fish of the +shore, the Gunnell or Butter-fish. You may turn it out of its snug +hiding-place, but you will have a hard task to catch it, even in a small +rock-pool, and, once caught, it slips through your fingers like an eel. +Its body is eel-shaped, with a narrow fin on the back, and covered with +a layer of slime. It well deserves the name of Butter-fish. + +The eggs of this strange little fish are rolled into a mass by the two +parents. By curling their long, slimy bodies around the eggs, a +closely-packed ball is the result. This precious ball of eggs is then +taken care of, and guarded by the two fish. In this nursery both the +father and mother fish take their share as guardians. + + +EXERCISES + +1. Name three rock-pool fish. 2. Describe the Pipe-fish. 3. How does the +Sand Goby anchor itself? 4. In what ways are these rock-pool fish so +well fitted to live in such places? + + + +LESSON X + +SOME CURIOUS FISHES + +Now and again that queer fish called the Sea-horse is found by our +coast; a little brown fish, with bluish-white spots and lines on the +sides and tail. But Sea-horses are common in warmer seas, in the banks +of seaweed where they love to dwell. You would never guess that these +curious creatures were fish. + +The shape of the head, and the curved neck, remind you of a horse. It is +also rather like the knight of the chess-board; or it may make you think +of the dragon of the fable; but, really, the Sea-horse is like nothing +on the earth, or in the waters. Nature has given it a special pattern of +its own. + +Sea-horses use their twisty tails as monkeys do, clinging to the seaweed +with them. They swim along slowly, in an upright position. Every now and +then they seem to be falling forward on their noses, and pull themselves +up again, only to begin falling a moment after. It is fun to see them +play hide-and-seek among the weed in an aquarium. Some Sea-horses are +like floating scraps of torn weed; this, of course, hides them from the +eyes of enemies. + +[Illustration: SEA-HORSES] + +They have no teeth, but a long mouth like a pipe; so you can be sure +they eat only the smallest sea-creatures. To add to his odd look, the +Seahorse moves his eyes in a comic fashion. One eye may roll round and +look at you, while the other gazes forward. + +As if this were not strange enough, he surprises us again. Mr. Sea-horse +turns himself into a living nursery. He carries the eggs about with him, +in a special pouch of skin! You will remember that the Pipe-fish also +carries the eggs in his pocket, as it were. So you will not be surprised +to hear that these two quaint fish belong to the same family. + +We will leave the funny little Sea-horse, and look at a very different +fish--the Sunfish. This remarkable fish often reaches a good size; even +near our coast big ones are caught now and again, and in warmer seas, +where they are often killed for the sake of the oil they contain, big +fellows of half a ton are quite common. + +This Sunfish has a peculiar shape. It looks as if it had once been an +immense fish of the usual fish shape, but someone cut off the head and +shoulders, and placed a short fin where the rest of the body had been. +Above and below there is a long pointed fin. The mouth is very small, +and has no real teeth; so the Sunfish lives on small prey, such as the +young of other fish, or small shell-fish. + +Far away from land these strange Sunfish are met with, asleep near the +surface, with the back fin showing above water. They roll along lazily, +not unlike big cart-wheels. The top and bottom fins are for balancing +and guiding the body, which is moved forward by the fin which frills the +back part of this odd fish. + +[Illustration: GLOBE FISH] + +In the fishmonger's shop you may sometimes see that ugly monster of the +deep, the Angler-fish, or Fishing-frog. Now and again he finds his way +into the fishermen's nets; and is also caught on the lines, for he is so +greedy that he will snap at a hooked fish. Rather than let go of his +prey, he will be drawn to the surface. Then he is knocked on the head, +and thrown into the boat with the other fish. + +Being slow and clumsy, the Angler-fish cannot chase his prey, so gets +his dinner by fraud. Nature has given him a fishing line and a bait! He +has long spines on his head, so beautifully joined to the bones of the +head that they can wave to and fro very easily. At the tip of the front +spine there is a loose, shining strip of skin--that is the bait. Now, +all anglers know how a fish is lured by a shining bait. The Angler-fish +seems to know this too. He buries himself in the wet mud and sand at the +bottom of the sea. Then he waves the long spine, so that the shining tip +glistens as it shakes in the water, until a fish swims up to see what it +is all about. A sudden snap, and that inquisitive fish is inside a huge, +toad-like mouth, well furnished with rows of sharp teeth. The +Angler-fish puts his catch in his pocket, and begins fishing again, for +he is never satisfied. His pocket is a loose bag of skin in the throat. +This bag is always examined by fishermen who capture the Angler, for it +may contain a nice big Plaice or Sole, worth money in the market. + +There are Angler-fishes in every ocean, and some live in the very +deepest parts. In those black depths the little waving "bait" would not +be seen. So it is made to shine, like a bluish spark moving to and fro +over the cold black slime of the sea-bed. + +Down in those awful deeps it is for ever dark, and freezing cold, There +is no day or night, summer or winter. No plants can live there. Yet in +that strange, still world there are numbers of living things, though we +know very little about them. There are weird Crabs, blind Lobsters, and +fish terrors such as are never seen elsewhere. + +In that darkness you would think that eyes would be of no use, but some +of the deep-sea fish have great black owl-like eyes. Others are quite +blind, or have eyes like pin-points. Some of them make their own light, +glowing with rows of little lamps on their bodies, each like the lamp of +the glow-worm of our country lanes. Blue, red, and green these lights +are, but no one can tell you their real use, or why they are so +coloured. The blind fish feel their way with long feelers, stretched out +like the threads of a web. + +[Illustration: THE FISHING FROG.] + +As there are no plants down there, these strange fish must live mostly +on one another! And here is a puzzle, for some of them have great big +bodies, but small heads and tiny mouths; others have bodies like +ribbons, but large heads and huge mouths, and some are such gluttons +that they swallow fish twice their own size! This sounds absurd, but it +is true. Their mouths gape open like trap-doors, and their stomachs are +made to stretch, to hold their huge meals! There are other terrors of +the deep with such big teeth that they cannot shut their mouths. No +doubt the sea holds yet other weird fish which no man has seen. + + +EXERCISES + +1. In what ways is the Sea-horse so different from most other fish? 2. +In what ways are the Sea-horse and Pipe-fish alike? 3. How does the +Angler-fish catch its prey? 4. Mention a few strange facts about the +deep-sea fish. + + + +LESSON XI + +THE GARDEN OF THE SEA + +For many centuries men were puzzled over those strange growths in the +sea--Corals and Sponges. Were they to be classed as animals or as +vegetables? It was by no means an easy question to answer. + +Corals, with their pretty colour, and their stems and branches growing +up from the sea-bed, were said to be shrubs, but they were as hard as +rock, said some people, so how could they be vegetables? The reply to +this was, that the Coral became hard as soon as it reached the air. +Then, of course, it was found that Coral was as hard under water as +above it, and the question was still unanswered. + +Sponges, too, were thought to be sea-plants for many, many years; though +some people even said that they must really be made of hardened +sea-foam! The Sponge took its place in the vegetable kingdom, then it +was moved to the animal kingdom, and back again. + +This went on for long years. Then, by careful watching, it was found +that the Sponge is an animal. True, it is a very lowly member of the +great kingdom of animals, yet it is one, and not a plant. + +Like all other animals, the Sponge animal must eat, and its way of doing +so is rather strange. If you look at any ordinary washing-sponge, you +notice a great many very small openings and some larger ones amongst +them. It is through the smaller holes, or pores, that the Sponge gets +its supply of food. When it is alive, and in its own home, there is a +current of water always passing through its and the Sponge depends on +the food which the water brings. Now, if you could watch this +water-current, you would see that it rushes into some of the holes, and +out of others; it has a certain path to follow. It enters the small +pores, or openings, of the Sponge, and goes along narrow canals, and is +then led into larger ones. Finally, it rushes out again through those +large openings we noticed. We may compare it with traffic coming into a +city by many narrow streets, then passing into broader roads, and at +last out again by big main roads. + +[Illustration: CUPS AND SOLID SPONGES] + +[Illustration: _Photo: A. F. Dauncey_. SEA FURZE] + +How does the Sponge animal cause this current; and how is it made to +follow a certain path? + +The narrow canals in the Sponge are lined with lashes, or tiny hairs, so +very small that you can just see them through a microscope. Now the +secret of the wonderful water-current is a secret no longer. As long as +the Sponge lives, these little lashes are always moving, always lashing +the water along in one direction. They cause it to follow its proper +course, through and through the Sponge, and out again into the sea. On +its way it loses the tiny scraps of food which it contains, and carries +away any waste stuff out of the Sponge. + +You will have noticed that there are various kinds of Sponges in the +market; some are large and flat, others small and cup-shaped; some are +soft, and others rather hard. They are all somewhat horny and elastic. +This "spongy" material is the skeleton of the Sponge animal, cleaned and +dried for your use. Some kinds of Sponge would tear your skin if you +tried to use them, for they have a hard skeleton. It is made of lime, +and sometimes of flint, which the Sponge obtains from its food. Of +course we use only those sponge-skeletons which are soft; but the +cheaper kinds do often contain little flinty needles. + +The best washing-sponges live in warm seas, attached to the rocks on the +sea-bed. Divers go down and obtain them; or else they are dredged up, +cleaned, dried, and sorted, and then sent to the market. Some Sponges, +called Slime Sponges, have no skeleton, being merely a living mass of +slime. + +Coral is also the hard skeleton of a little animal, known as the Coral +Polyp. The rest of the polyp's body is soft jelly, which many fish +regard as good food. The Sea Anemone--another jelly-animal--is first +cousin to the Coral Polyp. And we may call the Jellyfish second cousin +to these two, for it is in the same big division of the animal kingdom. + +The pretty red Coral, then, is really the hard part of a little +jelly-animal. This animal is much like a Sea-anemone, with a hard +skeleton of lime. Coral, as you know, looks like a solid rock; it is +really made of needles of lime, fastened together into a solid mass by +the little Coral Polyp. + +Now, many of the Coral animals have the strange habit of budding. The +buds become perfect polyps, and then they, too, begin to bud. In this +way, those marvellous _coral-reefs_ and _coral-islands_ have been made. +Branch by branch, layer by layer, the hard Coral is built up by myriads +of the small, soft-bodied creatures. This kind of polyp can live only in +warm, clear water. So it is not found in the cold depths of the sea, nor +in the seas near our islands, but in the warm shallow waters near +tropical lands it flourishes so well that it builds up most wonderful +Coral walls. So strong are they that they can defy the terrific force of +the waves. + +[Illustration: THE PICTURE STORY OF A CORAL ISLAND.] + +Some coral-reefs are of immense size and strength. One, near the coast +of Australia, is nearly a thousand miles in length. These marvellous +works of the polyp are of great use, for they break the force of the +waves, and so make a calm shelter for vessels. + +The brilliant masses of Coral make a world of colour in the clear seas +of the tropics, a gay garden inhabited by fishes of gaudy hues. In dull +seas we have, as a rule, dull creatures to match. And in bright, warm, +sunny seas the fishes are also brightly coloured. A dull fish would show +up amid such rich colours, so it is easy to know why Coral fish wear +such fine clothes. + +Many of them spend all their time among the Coral, their food being the +living tips of the Coral "branches," which they nip off with fine, sharp +teeth. Others have teeth like millstones, fit for crushing the hard +Coral, and eating the fleshy body of the polyp within. + +Blue, red and yellow, striped and spotted, and of wonderful shapes, are +the fish which swim in these coloured gardens of the sea. Some of them +have golden bands round their bodies, and fine spines which wave in the +water like shreds of weed--all to help them hide in the bright, sunlit +groves of Coral. + +Gorgeous Sea-anemones of all shapes and sizes add to the brightness; and +even the Shrimps, Prawns, and Crabs are coloured to fit their +background. Crabs are always surprising us with their queer ways and +quaint "dresses"; and here, among the Coral, it is the same story. For +there are Crabs whose shelly coats are covered with coloured knobs and +spikes, so that the sharpest eye cannot pick them out from the Corals on +which they rest. + + +EXERCISES + +1. How does the Sponge obtain its food? 2. What is Coral? 3. How are +Coral-reefs formed? 4. Why are there no Coral-reefs in our seas? + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Within the Deep, by R. 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