POLYPES. 225 



duced by eggs, by buds, and by self-division. It 

 multiplies rapidly, and its stem will go on rami- 

 fying, like the stem of a tree, for an indefinite 

 period of time. 



All these data should be borne in mind by those 

 who would undertake to cultivate coral, a branch of 

 industry which has lately been seriously thought of, 

 and to which the French have already given the 

 name of Coralliculture. And if it be impossible to 

 grow coral upon our English coasts, there are spread 

 over the globe hundreds of English possessions 

 where Coralliculture might become an unexpected 

 source of wealth. 



For ages past coral has been the object of an 

 extensive and valuable industry ; it constitutes an 

 important feature in the commerce of Marseilles, 

 Genoa, Catalogna, Corsica, Sicily, and other Medi- 

 terranean islands. The coasts of Sicily, the Adri- 

 atic, and the coast of Tunis, are classed among the 

 places where the most active operations of this 

 kind are carried on. Regular coral fisheries are 

 established in the Straits of Messina, on the shores 

 of Majorca and Ivica, .the coasts of Provence, of 

 Algiers, etc. Abundant supplies are obtained from 

 the Bed Sea, the Persian Gulf, the coast of 

 Sumatra, and other localities. 



Sicilian coral is much prized, and has been 

 known to value as much as ten guineas per ounce. 



Q 



