Coral Architects 



individual may, it is true, have its own mouth, its 

 own tentacles, and even its own small stomach. 

 But the latter at least can hardly be reckoned 

 as personal property, since all are so connected 

 that liquids pass freely from one to another, and 

 the food which is taken in by one polyp helps 

 to nourish its neighbours. 



And again, while we speak of coral as being 

 " built," that really is not the right word ; unless 

 we may also talk of the " building" of a man's 

 skeleton, or of an elephant's framework. 



" Built " undeniably it is ; but the building 

 implies no conscious effort, no deliberate inten- 

 tion, no praiseworthy exertions, on the part of 

 the builder. Coral is simply "secreted" is un- 

 knowingly and without choice put together by 

 the polyps. 



There is invention ; there is plan ; there is 

 design. But these belong to a Mind, above 

 and beyond and out of sight ; not in anywise 

 to the live jelly which clothes the coral-skeleton, 

 or to the extremely limited understanding of 

 that co-operative jelly-sheet. 



Not all polyps have stony skeletons. On our 

 sea-shores we have species many, and individuals 

 by tens of thousands, which secrete no coral. 

 They are known to us as Sea-Anemones : and 



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