CLASS III.—ORDER III. 



GENERA AND SPECIES. 



1 REE-LIKE Polypidoms, formed of a rind analogous 

 to that of the Gorgonias^ but with an articulated axe ; 

 the articulations are alternately horny or corky, and 

 calcareously stony. 



MELITEA. 



A TREE-LIKE, knotty Polypidoni, with branches al- 

 most always anastomosed ; articulations stony, and 

 substriated ; between the knots spongy and swelled ; 

 rind cretaceous, very thin, and friable on desiccation ; 

 polypi on the outside, or in tubercles. 



It has been generally observed in this genus, that 

 a horny articulation is constantly united to a stony, 

 hard, and compact one ; should the former be spongy, 

 the latter is then found porous and not solid. In the 

 first case, the horny articulation is easily distinguished 



