262 TOILERS IN THE SEA. 



of great extent, whilst to the north are numerous 

 islands of coral. The Kingsmill Islands, Marshall 

 Islands, and the Carolines, about eighty in number, 

 are all (excepting three Carolines) atolls. South of 

 the Equator, New Caledonia, and the north-east 

 coast of New Holland is said to be the grandest reef 

 region in the world. Between Australia and New- 

 Caledonia the islands are all of coral. 



The islands of the Indian ocean are mostly of 

 coral. Such are the Laccadives, Maldives, Keelings, 

 and Chagos Islands. The Seychelles have extensive 

 reefs, and there are fringing reefs on parts of the coast 

 of Madagascar. 



In the Atlantic there are few reefs on the American 

 shores, except in the West Indies. The reefs of 

 Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas are well known. 

 South of the Equator there are reefs at intervals 

 from near Cape St. Roque to the Abrolhos. 



It might almost be said that the coral zone girts 

 the world in correspondence with the tropics, when- 

 ever the other conditions are favourable to their 

 growth. 1 This reminds us that besides the tempera- 



1 I have been assured, by several people, that there are no 

 coral reefs on the West Coast of Africa, or round the islands 

 in the Gulf of Guinea. This, perhaps, may be attributed, in 

 part, to the sediment brought down by the many rivers 

 debouching on that coast, and to the extensive mud banks 

 which line great part of it. Darwin, " Coral Reefs," p. 62. 



