CONTENTS. xiii 



I'AOK 



7. Hydra, type of the hydrozoa or hydra polyps — Extraor- 



dinary properties of the hydra discovered by Trembley — 

 Marine hydrozoa 176 



8. Actinias — Sea-anemones — Sea-nettles . . . .184 

 ft. Coral — Miraculous virtue attributed to coral by ancient 



tradition— Coral stone — Coral plant — Marsigli discovers 

 the flowers of the coral — Observations of M. Lacaze- 

 Duthiers 18G 



10. Coral chiefly found in the Mediterranean Sea — Various 



species of coral — The coral fishery — Antipathes, com- 

 monly called black coral ...... 189 



11. Gorgons of the old writers — Their animal nature discovered 



by Peyssonnel, Trt-mbley, and Bernard de Jussieu — The 

 fan-gorgon — Its cosmopolitan character . . . 191 



1 2. The more active submarine constructors — Astroides — Curyo- 



phillia — jNIadrepora i)lantiiginca — Dendrophyllia — Occu- 

 lina, or white coral — Meandrina — Fungia — Pontes — 

 Milleporaj 195 



i;i. T' alley-slaves of the sea — The giants and pigmies of crea- 

 tion — The suckers — Legends of monsters — Singing fishes 207 



14. Algae — The untrodden forests and prairies of the ocean — 

 Animal life more abundant than vegetable life — Sea- 

 plants kss widely distributed than marine animals — 

 Influence of liyht — Collection of seaweed on the coasts 

 — Assistance aftbrded by the tide .... 224 



MAN AND HIS WORK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. 



1. Tl)e empire of the seas denied to man — Nxmierous attempts 



at submarine exploration — Disturbance of present social 

 conditions which would ensue from the possibility of 

 travelling beneath the surface of the water — The sea the 

 best tie between nations . . . . . .231 



2. Exploration of the bottom of the sea — Diving apparatus — 



Invention of MM. Rouquayrol and Denayrouze — Sub- 

 niiirine electric illumination — Salvage of objects sunk in 

 the sea — A chest of gold reoovere 1 under peculiar cir- 

 cunistances in th«i port of Marseilles .... 243 



3. (iowan's sjilvage of Russian vessels in Sebastopol Harbour 255 



