VII. 
The Great Barrier Reef of Australia.? 
HE 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 £100,000 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 Béche-de-mer) 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.2, 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. Moreover, the esthetic value of 
1 THE GREAT BARRIER REEF OF AUSTRALIA; ITS PRODUCTS AND POTENTIALITIES. 
By W. Saville Kent, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.Il.Inst. With a Chart; 48 Photo-Mezzotype 
plates; 16 Chromo plates; and many Woodcuts. Pp. 380. 4to. London: W. H. 
Allen & Co., 1893. Price £4 4s. 
2 See NATURAL SCIENCE, vol. i., p. 648. 
