CHAPTER XIII 



Corals 



THERE is a world of hidden beauty both in a 

 piece of coral and in the tiny creatures which 

 secrete it from the surrounding waters. A small 

 piece of white coral, about four inches long and 

 scarcely two in width, is found to contain numbers of 

 recesses beautifully arranged. 



There is no definite shape that we can describe, yet 

 all over it there is an unmistakable attractiveness that 

 prompts us to place it among our treasures rather 

 than to throw it away. 



Such a piece has been photographed for me, and 

 from the photograph a lantern slide has been made. 

 I place this in the lantern and throw an illuminated 

 picture of the coral upon a screen over twenty feet 

 high and about the same width. The coral is now 

 made to appear twenty feet long, yet its texture 

 exhibits innumerable cavities that will bear the closest 

 examination and still be perfect. Audiences imagine, 

 until matters are explained, that they are looking at 

 the photograph of a very large block of coral. 



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