CHAPTER XII. 



IN THE GARDENS OF THE SEA. 



Keeling Island — Among the Corals — Towed by a Turtle — Sagacity of 

 the Birgos — Stinging Corals — Coral-Eating Fish — Theories Re- 

 garding Reef Structure — Mauritius — Extinction of Animals at St. 

 Helena — Return to England. 



ROM the Galapagos Is- 

 lands Darvvin sailed to 

 Tahiti, thirty-two hun- 

 dred miles, and then to 

 New Zealand and Aus- 

 tralia, reaching Keeling 

 Island in the month of 

 April. Here he found 

 one of the richest fields 

 for operation of the en- 

 tire voyage, vast beds of 

 growing coral extending 

 in every direction, con- 

 cealing myriads of forms new to his eyes, and of 

 striking beauty. It was here that he formed some 

 of his theories regarding the nature and origin of 

 coral reefs, that created so much discussion in later 

 years. 



Collecting on shore he found disappointing, the 

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