GORGONI&. 43 



The Mare's-tail Coral (7sis* Lfippuns}. The short and stunted trunks of the 

 red coral, which in their shape resemble little oaks, although composed of brittle sub- 

 stances, are strong enough to resist the violence of the tempest ; but in the taller and 

 more slender forms, such brittleness would render them quite unfit to occupy the 

 situations in which they grow, and they would be continually liable to be broken by 

 the agitation of the sea, if, by a beautiful modification in the construction of their 

 central stem, they had not been adapted to the circumstances of their position. In the 

 his Hipptiris, therefore (Fig. 37), the central axis is constructed with alternate joints 

 of stony and of horny substance ; so that, being thus made flexible, they bend before 

 the passing waves, and thus remain secure from otherwise inevitable destruction. 



The Bark-bearing Corals (Gorgom<?}\ in their length and slender form 

 resemble osiers, or, as in the case of the Gor^onia flabellum (Fig. 38, i), are 

 spread out into large flat expansions that are called sea-fans. These Zoophytes 

 have their framework entirely composed of horny substance, which is black, 

 and coated with flesh of a bright yellow colour, or sometimes purple. From 

 the ramifications being very numerous and uniting with each other at short 

 intervals, this species is a very beautiful one, and when bespangled with its 

 living flowers, presents a charming spectacle. 



The Sea-Pens (Pennatulce}\ (Fig. 38,2) constitute a very remarkable 

 family, specimens of which are frequently brought up in the nets of fishermen 

 upon our own coasts. The species represented in our engraving (Pennatula 



Fie. 38. i. SEA-FAX. 2. SEA-PEN. 



phosphored) very closely resembles a broad feather from two to four inches in 

 length, and of a purplish colour; the lower part, which represents the barrel of 

 the quill, is tipped with orange. Above this the stem is fringed on each side 

 with flat appendages that represent the plume, along the upper edge of which 



* Isis, a goddess ; ITTTTOS, hippos, a horse; ovpb oura, a tail (Mare's-tail, a plant), 

 f Gorgon, a mythological name. J Pennatula, a little feather. 



