12 CONTENTS. 



arms of marine worms — Nereids — Beautifully colored — White 

 rag worms — Sea-leech — Leaping- worms — "Jumping Johnnies" — 

 Butterflies of the deep 88 — 97 



CHAPTER YI. 



CORAL— THE ROCK BUILDERS. 



Beauty of color — Its curious form in the ocean — Formerly supposed 

 to be marine plants — Discovered to be the work of minute ani- 

 mals — Coral wonders described — How their habitations are 

 made — Coral examined under the microscope — Continents built 

 by the polyps — Wonderful instinct of the coral workers by 

 building walls on the windward side — Qualities and varieties of 

 coral described — Manufacture of false coral — Superstitions re- 

 specting the changing of color — Perils of the coral reefs — An 

 incident of shipwreck , 98 — 109 



CHAPTER VII. 



PEARLS. 



Rare and valuable objects of creation — Perilous employment of the 

 divers — Condemned criminals formerly employed — Character- 

 istics of the pearl divers — Shark charmers — Pearl fishing in the 

 Gulf of Manaar — Off the Bahrem Islands — Cingalese divers — 

 Separation of the pearl from the oyster — Extent of the pearl 

 fishery in Ceylon — System pursued at the Pearl Islands — Oriental 

 pearls — Their preparation for market — How pearls are formed in 

 the oyster — Amusing account given by Pliny — Suppositions re- 

 specting pearls — Curious methods pursued by the Chinese — The 

 pearl oyster not the only mollusk which produces pearls — Pearls 

 found on the British coasts — Incidents — Extravagant fancy of the 

 ancients — Names applied to various kinds — Largest pearls on 

 record — Runjeet Sing and his string of pearls HO — 119 



CHAPTER VIII. 

 SPONGES. 



Ancient use of the sponge for helmets, etc. — One of the most valuable 

 spoils taken from the ocean — Long undecided whether sponges 



