CORAL REEFS, 143 



broad, palmate fronds, and the Meandrinas, with their 

 rounded, pavement-Hke outlines, stretching far away under 

 the water. With the corals that were brought up by our 

 diver came mollusks, echinoderms, worms, crabs, and a 

 host of marine animals, all of which were transferred to 

 our collecting cans. With what curiosity and expectation 

 we watched the diver beneath the ocean as he patiently 

 pulled and tugged away at a specimen, and how quickly 

 we leaned forward and took the treasure from his hands 

 lest he should damage it! 



The reefs in the harbor of Veracruz consist of a 

 number of detached islands from less than half a mile to 

 a mile and a half in length, which extend eastward from 

 the coast line for a distance of nearly six miles. They 

 are known as the Gallega (on which is built the castle cf 

 . San Juan), Galleguilla, Blanquilla, Anegada de Adentro, 

 Isla Verde, Islote de Pajaros, and Sacrificos. Of these, 

 the Gallega is the largest, measuring in a north-and-south 

 direction considerably over a mile. In view of the peculiar 

 conditions which surround these reefs, it is difficult to under- 

 stand how it has come to be the general belief among scien- 

 tists that coral reefs are not found in the western waters of 

 the Gulf of Mexico. Neither Darwin nor Dana mention 

 their existence. 



Few recollections of my Mexican rambles are more 

 vivid and agreeable than those of my many walks over the 

 white sea of sand bordering the shore. Far out at sea the 

 white waves were seen breaking over the coral reefs, and 

 in some places dashing high in the air in a sheet of foam 

 as it struck some large barrier. At our feet the waves 

 were rolling in with that soft, ripply murmur so character- 

 istic of a sandy ocean beach. A little way out the sea 

 birds were flying about, and stranded on a reef a mile or 

 more from shore was a large vessel, which had been blown 



