APPEARANCE OF LIVING CORALS. 285 



in the Indian ocean and some parts of the Atlantic. Many spe- 

 cies of this genus are found along our Atlantic coast and on the 

 shores of England. Some species seem to prefer the more ex- 

 posed situations, flourishing in the greatest profusion, on rocks 

 and plants which the tide every day leaves bare ; the larger 

 polyparia however, are seldom found in places exposed to violent 

 currents; they flourish in the submarine grottoes and hollows of 

 the rock, where they shoot out their delicately branching forms 

 studded with zoophytes of most brilliant colors. Others attach 

 themselves to the flexible branches of the sea plants, encasing 

 them in a living tomb, and are thus fitted to enjoy the powerful 

 action of the surges; the pliant branches bending to and fro, with 

 the movements of the waters. Others form immoveable rocks, 

 and slowly increase, until at last an island is elevated above the 

 waters. The distribution of corals, like that of plants, varies with 

 the climate. In the colder northern latitudes, a few sponges, and 

 sertulariffi alone are found, but in the warmer, equatorial regions, 

 within the tropics, they attain a luxuriance and beauty, a gran- 

 deur and importance well worthy our attention. Here, in an 

 ocean of uniform temperature, they elevate those immense reefs 

 which eventually become the habitations of men, and even gar- 

 dens producing rich tropical fruits and flowers. These minute 

 beings, myriads upon myriads, here exercise their empire, some- 

 times, in the sheltered places, or still lagoons, shooting forth the 

 most delicate branches, and in others, whe: - e the surges beat upon 

 them, growing firm and solid as the rock on which they are based. 

 The appearance of the living corals in the water is described as 

 most enchanting. The whole bed of the Rrd Sea is absolutely 

 a forest of sea-plants and corals, presenting the appearance of a 

 submarine garden of the most exquisite verdure, resembling in 

 splendor and gorgeous coloring the most celebrated parterres of 

 the East. Ehrenberg, the distinguished German naturalist, so 

 well known by his admirable investigations of infusoriee, was so 

 struck with the view of the living corals in the Red Sea, that he 

 exclaimed with enthusiasm " Where is the paradise of flowers 

 that can rival in beauty these living wonders of the ocean ?" Some 



