150 THE ORIGIN OF CREATION. 



more illogical than any Agassiz has given. Many of the 

 coral islands are surrounded by a reef, a short distance from 

 the shore, and deep water exists between them. Darwin 

 aays these islands were originally connected with the reef 

 outside, but as the islands are continually sinking, they carried 

 down with them the coral fringing it. While therefore the 

 fringe was carried down, the reef was always brought up to the 

 surface, by the aforesaid industrious insects, Why the insects, 

 only worked on the reef, and not on the fringe, is unexplained 

 by Dr. Darwin. Moreover, the depths of the vacant spaces are 

 so great, that if it were true the islands were sinking, and had 

 continued to sink along with the fringe, they must have gone 

 out of sight long ago. 



In connection with this, Sir John Herschell says in his Essay 

 on Volcanoes : " Dr. Darwin has shown by the most curious 

 and convincing proofs, that the Coral Islands are sinking, and 

 have been sinking for ages, and are only kept above water by 

 what think youl By the labours of the coral insect which 

 always builds up to the surface." If we only examine the 

 statement for a moment, we will find the arguments are 

 certainly curious, but scarcely convincing. 



Suppose the island to sink twelve inches, the insects cannot 

 all assemble below the island, and raise it up again the space of 

 that foot. Neither can they invade the island and form coral 

 all over its surface, a foot high. The only thing they could do, 

 would be to work all around the shore, and bring it up a foot 

 high. If this had been going on for ages, an immense high 

 wall would be formed all around the shore, and on looking 

 over it we would see a beautiful island, a hundred feet or so 

 below us, looking like a fairy world with luxuriant groves of cocoa- 



