The sea-shore / by W.S. Furneau.

  • William Samuel Furneaux
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The sea-shore / by W.S. Furneau. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    coast really begins to be of great interest to the naturalist. From here to the Land’s End almost every part of the shore will yield a great variety of life in abundance, and the same is true of the rocky coasts of the west, and also of the more rugged shores of the Isle of Wight. As an ideal hunting-ground one cannot do better than to select one of the small fishing towns or villages on the rocky coasts of Devon and Cornwall. With such a spot as his head- quarters the most enthusiastic sea-side naturalist will find ample employment. The exposed rocks and rock pools yield abundance of life; and if these be searched when the tide is out, there will remain plenty of sea angling and other employments to occupy him at other times. ^Ve will now describe the actual work of the sea-side naturalist, giving the necessary instructions for the observation axtd collection of the various living things he will meet with. First, then, with regard to work on the cliffs, a very few words will suffice; for, seeing that the objects of interest to be met with here will consist principally of the various flowers that are peculiar to or characteristic of the sea shore, and certain insects and other creatiires more or less partial to a life on the cliffs, we may regard these as coming within the range of the general work of the botanist, entomologist, &c.; and since instructions for the collection and preseiu'ation of such objects have already been given in former works of this series, we may pass them over at once in order to deal with those objects which are essentially marine. It has already been hinted that the right time for collecting on the shore is when the tide is at its lowest; and in order that the best work may be done the collector should consult the local tide- tables, or calculate, if necessary, the time of high tide from the establishment of the port ; and, of course, the period of spring tides should be selected if possible.- The time during which work should continue must be regulated according to the enthusiasm of the collector or the time at his disposal, but, as a rule, it is advisable to be on the scene of action about three hom-s before the time of low tide, with a determination to work continuously until the lowest ebb of the water. On reaching the beach it is always advisable to start by examining the line of miscellaneous material at high-water mark, along which may be found quite a variety of objects, more or less interesting, which have been washed in by the breakers, especially just after a storm, together with numerous scavengers of the shore
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