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The precious coral is found in the Mediterranean Sea. It grows 

 on rocky ground in the neighbourhood of the coasts at a depth 

 of about 240 to 600 feet, seldom beyond that region; and is 

 principally fished on the coasts of Sicily, the Jonian islands , 

 Algiers and Tunis ; the last place alone yearly yielding about 

 60,000 pounds weight of coral, at a value of about two mil- 

 lion francs. The apparatus for fishing coral consists of a heavy 

 cross of wood attached to a windlass, and hung with old nets, 

 unravelled ends of rope, and such like. This is dragged along 

 the bottom of the sea, when the jagged branches of coral are 

 caught in the meshes, torn off the rocks, and rise to the surface 

 entangled in the nets. Before working the coral into ornaments, 

 the branches are brushed in order to get rid of the rind with 

 the animals; afterwards the surface of the stem is filed off, and 

 the reddish dust thus produced is sold under the name of co- 

 ralline, and used as tooth-and polishing powder. When the co- 

 ral has been thus prepared it is polished with emery paper and 

 oil; the beads are turned in a lathe and bored, and figuies are 

 worked with the graver. 



The value of coral varies greatly, even in the raw material. 

 The larger and thicker branches are often injured by boring ani- 

 mals (worms, sponges) and their value varies from three to ten 

 francs a pound. Commonly good material fetches from twenty 

 to forty francs, the selected rose coloured coral from two to 

 three hundred francs a pound. Black coral is the precious co- 

 ral chemically altered by the action of muddy deposits. 



A very beautiful coral may often be seen alive in the Aqua- 

 rium; it is the Dendrophyllia, the skeleton of which consists- 

 of pure white chalk, and is formed of large branches. The po- 

 lypes are of a brilliant yellow colour and are crowned when ex- 

 panded with lovely tentacles. This kind is often met with in 

 the Gulf. 



Besides the above-mentioned calcareous corals, there may be 

 seen alive in the tanks some horny corals, fhe Antipathes and 

 Gorgonidae, which have a flexible horny skeleton. The little 

 trees of the Gorgonidae are vertically branched, which is seen 

 by the direction of the tiny feathers which protrude at regu- 

 lar intervals on both sides of the branch when the polyps ex- 

 pand their tentacles. It is exactly these little feathery brushes 

 that are the living animal. There are white, yellow, and red 

 Gorgonidae, most of the yellow kind are found in the Gulf ; f 

 Naples. Then there are the remarkable Alcyoniae , or cork- 

 polypes, which have no solid skeleton at all, and are theieforo 



