this family is now content to produce 

 comparatively delicate ramose shapes like 

 the Pocillopora meandrina of our illus- 

 tration. 



Of all the Corals none excel the Ma- 

 dreporas or pore Corals in size, beauty or 

 abundance. They are the predominating 

 species of many CoTal reefs. There are 

 over seventy sj>ecies known, the larger 

 number being confined to the Pacific 

 Ocean, where they flourish in countless 

 multitudes. The polyp of this Coral is 

 a simple, star-shaped animal of twelve 

 rays, and the colors are mainly bright 

 green, red or umber. The Madrepora 

 Coral may usually be known by its pe- 

 culiar branching shape. Frequently it 

 will form a broad, flat expansion many 

 feet in extent, from which numerous 

 little tree-like branches extend vertically, 

 forming a miniature Coral forest. Other 

 shapes occur, such as shrubby, reticu- 

 lated, foliated and vase-like. 



The limits of this article precludes the 

 possibility of enumerating more than a 

 very few of the many forms of Stony 

 Corals. They are found in all the warm 

 waters of the globe, and several species, 



as the little Astrangia danae of the New 

 England coast, brave even the inhospita- 

 ble shores of the temperate clime. Of 

 the Corals reefs and their formation 

 we shall speak in another article. 



Little is known concerning the rate 

 of growth of Corals. A specimen of 

 brain Coral, taken from Fort Jefferson, 

 in the Tortugas, which had been in the 

 water for over twenty years, was a foot 

 in diameter and four inches in thickness. 

 A gentleman residing at Key West, Flor- 

 ida, calculated that the brain Coral grew 

 at the rate of half an inch a year. Prof. 

 Verrill, of Yale College, the well-known 

 specialist of this branch of zoology, states 

 that a Madrepora found growing on the 

 wreck of the ship Severn grew sixteen 

 feet in sixty-four, years, or three inches 

 each year. From these facts, it will be 

 seen that Corals grow rather slowly and 

 we can dimly imagine the tremendous 

 length of time which must have been 

 required to build up the extensive reefs 

 in the Indian Ocean or the gigantic bar- 

 rier reef on the northeast coast of Aus- 

 tralia. 



Frank Collins Baker. 



VOX VERNA. 



The midnight sky is clouded thickly o'er; 



The East wind, moist and cold, 



Blows over sodden wold. 

 Night's silence reigns by inland river's shore. 



Save that from darkened sky 



I hear the wild drake's cry, 

 Calling the flock to Northern clime once more. 



— Edgar MacLaren Swan. 



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