The Mighty Deep 



seventy miles, and in parts fifty miles broad. 

 Barrier-reefs, reaching through many hundreds 

 of miles, are even more remarkable. 



Travellers write stirring descriptions of the 

 beauty of these erections. The vivid pen of 

 Miss Gordon-Cumming, for instance, has painted 

 many a picture of Pacific reefs, of thundering 

 breakers, and dazzling white surf. 



We are told by her of ''the patches of coral, 

 sea-weed, and sometimes white sand, lying at 

 irregular depths beneath a shallow covering 

 of the most crystalline emerald-green water," 

 producing "every shade of aqua-marine, mauve, 

 sienna, and orange, all marvellously blended." 

 And, again, of the wonderful masses of living 

 coral which grow like garden-plants below the 

 clear water, and of branching shrubs of all 

 imaginable tints, such as pink, blue, mauve, and 

 primrose. 



To pluck and carry off these ocean-blossoms 

 would be a vain attempt, for the ''gelatinous 

 slime" to which the colours belong "drips 

 away, as the living creatures melt and die, 

 when exposed to the upper air." 



From the pen of another eye-witness^ we have 

 a description of a visit at low-tide to the barrier- 



* The Hon. Ralph Abercromby. 

 172 



