20 Thomas Henry Huxley 



ocean. Following the shoreline of Oueensland, at a 

 distance of from ten to one hundred and fifty miles, 

 and stretching for twelve hundred and fift}' miles, is 

 the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, one of the wonders 

 of the world. The shelving floor of the ocean rises 

 nearly to the surface along this line, and vast colonies 

 of coral-building creatures have formed their reefs up 

 to the water's edge along the ridge. The turbulent 

 waves scouring over this living mass have carved and 

 moulded it into millions of fantastic islands, sometimes 

 heaping detached masses of dead debris high above the 

 surface of the water. At low tide the most w^onderful 

 fields of the animal flowers of the sea are exposed. 

 Some of them form branching systems of hard skeletons 

 like stony trees, the soft, brightly coloured animals 

 dotted over the stems like buds. Others form solid 

 masses ; others, again, rounded skull-like boulders, or 

 elevations like toadstools. The colours of the skeletons 

 and the animals are vivid scarlets and purples and 

 greens. Sea-anemones, shell- fish, and starfish of the 

 most vivid hues are as abundant as the corals. Bril- 

 liant fish dart through the blossoms of the marine 

 gardens, and sea-birds scream and wheel in the air. 

 The whole region is a paradise for the naturalist. 

 Along the seaward side of the reef the great ocean 

 surges and thunders perpetually. Between it and the 

 shore the quiet channel glows luider the tropical skies. 

 It was amid such scenes as these that the Rattlesnake 

 moved for nearly four years in the slow work of taking 

 soundings, fixing the exact position of channels through 

 the outer reef by slow triangular measurements, and 

 generally preparing for the safety of the commerce of 

 all nations. The ship went first up to Port Curtis in 

 Brisbane ; then fetched back to Sydney. Its next trip 



