THE MUSEUM. 



107 



mense coral islands, which follow; and, 

 from such sketches, without other in- 

 formation, one might infer that the 

 specimens of coral to be found in al- 

 most every cabinet, as well as the reefs 

 and islands common in the tropical 

 parts of the ocean, were built the vol- 

 untary work of a species of minute in- 

 sect, and, in imagination, we may see 

 them working, hundreds of feet below 

 the surface, with all the energy which 

 characterizes the labor of the ant in 

 building its own domicile. As a poeti- 

 cal fancy, the idea is exceedingly beau- 

 tiful; but as a scientific fact it is utterly 

 faldacious. Coral is not produced by 

 -any insect, nor is it formed by the 

 voluntary action of any animal what- 

 ever. It is produced by the involuntary 

 and spontaneous action of an animal 

 organism, and is as essential to the 

 .growth, development and protection of 

 that organism, as is the shell to an 

 •oyster. With as much proprietary we 

 might give the elephant credit for pro- 

 ducing ivory, or praise the sheep for its 

 skill in producing wool. Coral is pro- 

 duced simply because the animal pro- 

 ducing it so constructed that it cannot 

 help itself. 



Nor is it the production of an insect, 

 'but, instead of a class of organisms so 

 low in the scale of nature, that, for 

 ■centuries, they were supposed to belong 

 to the vegetable, rather than the ani- 

 mal kingdom. Even Linnalus would 

 not class them as animals, although he 

 recognized the fact that they did not 

 •belong to the vegetable kingdom; so he 

 invented for them the term Zoophites, 

 which, literally signifies, animals that 

 grow like plants. The term is a mis- 

 nomer but has come into general use. 



The Zoophites which produce the 

 coral comprise several genera, each of 



which includes various species, and 

 each species produces a distinct variety 

 of coral but the same general descrip- 

 tion will apply to all. They are all 

 small, the largest seldom being over 

 half an inch in diameter, and the small- 

 est of microscopic dimensions; but they 

 often grow in colonies, or clusters, and 

 the entire mass is often more than 

 twelve feet in diameter. The zoophite 

 or polyp, as the living organism is 

 called, consists of a cylindrical, sac- 

 like membrane, attached to the rock at 

 the lower end. The upper end is 

 partially open and incloses a second 

 sac, similar, but of smaller dimensions, 

 and which hangs, pendulous, within 

 the larger. The mouth of the sac is 

 surrounded with tentacles, and, when 

 open, the polyp resembles a flower in 

 its general appearance, and is often 

 exquisitely beautiful. The sole object 

 in life of this polyp seems to be to se- 

 crete carbonate of lime from the water 

 of the ocean, and to deposit it, as a 

 hard calcareous rock, at the base of 

 the sac. 



The polyp reproduces itself in vari- 

 ous ways. First by means of eggs 

 which are discharged in immense num- 

 bers, and are carried hither and thither 

 by the waves, until, perchance, they 

 are deposited in some favorable locali- 

 ty, when they hatch and the tiny polyp 

 attaches itself to the rock or soil be- 

 neath it, and begins its growth. 

 Secondly, by division. At a certain 

 stage in its growth many varieties 

 divide, and each division becomes an 

 independent polyp, although attached 

 to a common base and it, in turn, 

 divides and reproduces others of its 

 kind, and thus the operation goes on 

 indefinitely. This is especially true of 

 the variety known as the brain coral, 



