VIII. 



The Great Barrier Reef of Australia.' 



THE Great Barrier Coral Reef of Australia is 1,250 miles long, 

 stretching along the coast of Queensland from Torres Straits to 

 Lady Elliot Island. The distance from the outer edge of the reef to 

 the mainland varies from 10 to about 150 miles. Already raw 

 material to the value of ;^ioo,ooo is obtained annually from the reefs 

 and the intervening water, and is exported from the colony. 



The chief items in this produce come from the pearl, and pearl- 

 shell, and the Trepang (or Beche-de-merj fisheries. In addition to 

 such commercial interest, the great Barrier Reef is of the greatest 

 scientific interest from the material it provides for collecting informa- 

 tion as to the external features and detailed composition of coral 

 reefs, 



Mr. Saville Kent, Commissioner of Fisheries to the Government 

 of West Australia, was afforded the opportunity, by the wise liberality 

 of the Queensland Government, of making a detailed examination of 

 this great reef. This sumptuous volume contains the first results of 

 his labours. He hopes to publish fuller and more technical accounts of 

 various animals examined at a later date. The present volume is 

 designed to give both the scientific and the general public an idea of 

 the vast and wonderful medley of life presented by a coral reef. 



An interesting and novel feature of the volume is its copious 

 illustration by photo-mezzotype plates.- These provide for us a series 

 of pictures of the coral reef of almost unimagined beauty and value. 

 As the reefs are uncovered only for short intervals, and under 

 conditions unfavourable for drawing, we have had as yet, except for 

 the verbal descriptions of observers, no idea of the actual appearance 

 of a reef. At the end of the volume there are sixteen chromo-litho- 

 graphic plates. It is impossible to deny that these are, artistically, far 

 from pleasing ; but even if they are exact representations of the 

 animals, it may well be that the glaring colours of the tropic seas 

 removed from the brilliancy of tropic sun to the cold atmosphere of 

 England seem harsh and crude. iMoreover, the aesthetic value of 



1 The Great Barrier Reef of Australia ; its Products and Potentialities. 

 By W. Saville Kent, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.I.Inst. With a Chart. 48 Photo-Mezzotype 

 plates; 16 Chromo plates ; and many Woodcuts. Pp. 380. 410. London; W. H. 

 Allen & Co., 1893. Price £0, 4s. 



- See Natural Science, vol. i., p. 648. 



