CHAPTER I. 



DESCRIPTIYE DETAILS OF PHOTOTYPE PLUTES. 



T has been thought desirable to devote this chapter to a detailed 

 description of the forty-eight plates, comprising some sixty subjects, 

 reproduced by photo-mechanical processes from the author's original 

 negatives. These photographic subjects, including more particularly 

 the reef-views, are referred to individually, or as a whole, or with 

 reference to some specific detail, in various disconnected sections of 

 the succeeding text. To many subscribers to this work the illustra- 

 tions will, probably, prove the most prominent, if not the sole, 



attraction ; in their interests, a condensed description of the most noteworthy illustrative 



features is obviously demanded. 



PLATE I. 



BLEfiCHED CORfiL SPECIMENS FROM THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. 



The initial plate in the series forms a fitting introduction to the main subject of this volume. 

 It represents a typical collection of specimens obtained from the Great Barrier Reef in the 

 neighbourhood of Port Denison, specially prepared by bleaching, for the export trade. Large 

 quantities of this bleached coral are utilised, in conjunction with Barrier Reef shells, as the 

 orthodox adornment of the innumerable oyster saloons throughout the Australian colonies, 

 while many of the more ornamental varieties find a ready sale among retail purchasers for 

 household decoration. 



The identification of the specific varieties included in this introductory plate will be facilitated 

 by a reference to the accompanying diagrammatic plan, in which a cross with an associated figure 

 occupies the approximate position of each individual coral. The majority of the specimens 

 included in this group are referable to the extensive genus Madrepora, and are for the most part 

 remarkable in life for their brilliant coloration. The large bouquet-shaped mass. No. 21, towards 

 the left-hand corner of the foreground, is, in its living condition, intense violet and identical with 



