148 



of 



$?ts"t0ry ; 



deep red, and rising into a bifid, detached, 

 crest-like membrane. The entire plumage 

 is blue-black : its legs are dusky, with a tri- 

 color ring or garter above the knee, red 

 green, and yellow. 



COPPER [BUTTERFLY]. A name ap- 

 plied by collectors to Butterflies of the genus 

 LycMna. [See LYC-ENA.] 



COPRIDJE. A family of Coleopterous 

 insects allied to the ScarabuKi. The name j 

 Copris is from the Greek word for dung, in i 

 which the insects are found. Some of them 

 have the head and thorax singularly armed. 

 They are generally of a dull black colour : 

 but some of the species of the American ge- 



nus Phancem perfectly glow with rich green, 

 red, and blue colours. Our figure, derived 

 from Sturm's Catalogue, represents the bril- 

 liant blue Phancnus sapphirinus of Brazil. | 

 There are but few species of this family I 

 found in this country. 



CORACIAS. A genus of Passerine birds. 

 [See ROLLER.] 



CORALLINA. The name given by Lin- 

 naeus to a genus or group of marine organized 

 bodies, of the class Vermes, order Zoophyta. 

 The animals of this genus are arborescent or 

 tree-like in form ; the stem fixed, with cal- 

 careous subdivided branches, mostly jointed. 

 Neither pores nor polypes are distinguishable 

 on the surface of these beings ; and they were 

 formerly supposed to be vegetable ; but they 

 give the most evident tokens of large por- 

 tions of ammonia, the common test of ani- 

 mal substance, and have been often traced 

 to spontaneous motion. Every tube, vesicle, 

 or articulation, is probably the enclosure of 

 a distinct animal, so that the entire mass or 

 tree is a family ; in this respect resembling 

 the vegetable tree, in which every bud may 

 also be regarded as an individual living 

 plant. [See POLYPES, ACTIM.E, &c.] 



We may in this place very consistently 

 introduce some observations made by late 

 writers on Coral Reefs and Islands, the Coral 

 Fishery, &c. With regard to the growth of 

 coral, it has been observed, that many errors 

 have prevailed upon this subject, both as to 

 the rapidity of their extension, and the depth 

 from which they are built up to the surface 

 of the ocean. It has been commonly stated 

 that many channels and harbours in the 

 Red Sea have been closed up, within the 

 memory of man, by the rapid increase of 

 coral limestone. But Ehrenberg, who care- 

 fully examined these localities, attributes 



the obstruction rather, in some instances, to i 

 the quantities of coral sand which have been 

 washed into the harbours, and in others to 

 the accumulation of ballast (generally com- i 

 posed of pieces of coral rock) thrown out i 

 from vessels. * * * There can be no j 

 doubt that, whether the growth of coral i 

 takes place as rapidly as some maintain, or ! 

 as slowly as it is believed to do by others, j 

 it is among the most important of the pro- | 

 gressive changes, which have been altering I 

 the surface of the globe since it has been | 

 tenanted by man. To it is due the existence 

 of a large proportion of the islands of the 

 Polynesian Archipelago, as well as many of 

 those in the Indian Ocean ; and the extent 

 of these islands is far less than that of the 

 reefs which are not yet raised above the level 

 of the sea, some presenting themselves at 

 a distance from any upraised land, others 

 fringing the shores of continents and islands, 

 composed of other formations. It is not cor- 

 rect, however, to affirm (as has been fre- 

 quently done) that these islands and reefs 

 have been upreared by the Coral-polypes 

 from the depths of the ocean. It is now sa- 

 tisfactorily ascertained that no known spe- 

 cies can build from a greater depth than 

 twenty fathoms ; and a large proportion 

 seem to prefer a depth of from twenty to 

 thirty feet. As very deep water is found in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of many of 

 these reefs, the question arises, upon what 

 basis they are constructed ; and to solve this 

 it is necessary to look at the forms which 

 these massive structures present. 



" A large proportion of the Coral Islands 

 of the Polynesian Archipelago," as Dr. 

 Carpenter observes, " are shaped like a 

 crescent, sometimes like a complete ring ; 

 and these islands never rise many feet above 

 the surface of the ocean. The highest part 

 is always on the windward [easterly] side, 

 against "which the waves are almost con- 

 stantly dashing. Within the crescent or 

 ring is a basin, termed a latjoon; and this 

 usually communicates with the open sea, by 

 a channel, sometimes of considerable width, 

 on the leeward side of the island. Occa-i< >n- 

 ally this channel is completely filled up by 

 the growth of the coral ; and the lake, thus 

 inclosed, only communicates with the sea 

 by filtration through the Coral rock. The 

 Coral-polypes never build above low-water 

 mark ; and they are not, therefore, imme- 

 diately concerned in the elevation of the 

 surface from beneath the waves. This is 

 principally accomplished by the action of 

 the sea itself. Large masses are often de- 

 tached, by the violence of the waves, from 

 the lower part of the structure ; and these 

 (sometimes measuring six feet by four) are 

 washed up on the windward side of the reef. 

 Shells, coral-sand, and various other debris, 

 accumulate upon it in like manner, until it 

 is at last changed into an island, upon which 

 there is a calcareous soil capable of support- 

 ing various kinds of vegetation. When these 

 have once established themselves, the eleva- 

 tion of the surface continues with greater ra- 

 pidity successive layers of vegetable mould 

 being deposited by the rapid and luxuriant 

 vegetation of these tropical islands, which 



