THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



261 



Bringing the coral ashore. 



MfCiillorli 



) laiits in a tr()i)ical jungle, each en- 

 deavouring to secure as nuich food as 

 possible and crowcing out its neighbour. 

 Brilhant green and brown Jladrejjorps 

 spread their inninnerable fronds out- 

 ward in the form of flat shelves, while 

 dark coloured and massive Porites 

 reach u]>ward in pillar form, their tips 

 brightly tinted with blue or yellow. 

 Stocks of Focillojiora, variously tinted 

 with carmine, lemon-green, or salmon 

 pink, add coloiu" to the duller brown 

 creeping madre])ores which form the 

 greater mass of the solid structure. 

 White coral-sand covers the floor of the 

 pool, upon which some black slug-like 

 beche-de-mer are creeping, while orange 

 starfishes and spiny sea urchins secrete 

 themselves among the coral branches. 

 Brilliantly coloin-ed fish are also shown 

 in the pool. 



All the specimens used in the con- 

 struction of this exhibit were collected 

 on the reef at Lord Howe Island, with 

 no small amount of labour and difficulty. 

 Most of the corals desired occurred only 

 in crevices on the outer edge of the reef, 

 and could be approached only on calm 

 days and when the tide was at its 

 lowest. Living corals cannot bear ex- 

 posure to the air, so our quarry had to 

 be searched for in the deeper holes, 

 which were submerged at even the 

 lowest spring tides. 



A small party manoeuvred a flat- 

 bottomed dinghy over the shallows, and. 

 b}' means of water-glasses, peered down 

 through the water in search of suitable 

 corals. They were in plenty, but gener- 

 ally in such positions as made them too 



difficult to procure. Upon finding 

 some likely looking jtieces several 

 of the ])arty dived overboard and. 

 witlithe aid of swim-gla«ses which 

 enable one to see clearly under 

 water, endeavoured to detach and 

 bring them to the surface. 'I'hey 

 were uimsually firmly secured, 

 however, and much diving with 

 crow-bars, cold-chisels and ham- 

 mers, was necessary before thej' 

 could b(; loosened. Audit is not 

 easy to manipulate such tools be- 

 neath the water while holding 

 one's breath till almost at burst- 

 ing point and at the same time 

 fighting the constant tendency to float 

 upward. So, with feet Avaving above 

 our heads, and ever swinnning cIoanu- 

 ward, we struggled and tussled A\'ith 

 the refractory bits until they were 

 loose, to be either carried u]) to the 

 boat in one's hands, or, if too heavy 

 for this, to be hoisted inboard with 

 ropes. 



One needs leather gloves and heavv 

 boots to protect hands and feet from 

 severe scratches and cuts which are 

 inflicted by the jagged coral whenever 

 it comes into contact with naked flesh. 

 Further, the slimy animal matter of 

 the living polyps readily inflames any 

 such wounds, so all precautions must 

 be taken to minimise the inevitable 

 injuries. At the slightest touch, the 

 long needle-like spines of sea urchins 

 projecting from unexjiected crannies 

 penetrate far into one's flesh from 



The corals were bleached by burying them 

 in the sandy beach between tide- marks. 



[Photo.— .4. R. McCidlixh. 



