XI. 



TINY ROCK-BUILDERS. 



' Slime their material, but the slime was turned 

 To adamant by their petrific touch ; 

 Frail were their frames, ephemeral their lives 

 Their masonry imperishable." 



MONTGOMEBY. 



JO much has been written about Corals, 

 from the beautiful though not over- 

 accurate poem of The Pelican, Island 

 to the more profound volumes of Darwin 

 and Dana, that the amateur geologist is sure to 

 feel a strong desire very early in his pilgrimages 

 to become acquainted with such vestiges of these 

 marvellous rock-builders as are accessible to him. 

 It was amongst the limestones of Wenlock and the 

 Peak of Derbyshire that I was led first of all to 

 cultivate a close acquaintance with these interesting 

 structures ; but no account ol them would be of much 

 use were I not to refer to other districts and to 

 draw upon the work and writings of others. 



For many reasons corals have for the geologist 

 charms that few fossils possess. Their beauty of 

 structure alone, especially when examined under the 



