16 THE BERMUDA ISLANDS. 



and we found that our pilot was little inclined to risk his boat 

 in the ragged growth of millepore an<l serpula which every- 

 where forms the superficial portion of the growing reef This 

 inaccessibility, doubtless, accounts for the fact that so few 

 among the visitors to these distant shores — or for that matter, 

 even residents — have visited this remarkable spot, which is, be- 

 yond comparison, the most interesting feature which the Ber- 

 mudas have to offer. To those who have seen the reef merely 

 bj^ sailing over it, it can be well said that they have but half 

 seen it — they have missed its greatest charms. 



The traverse of the inner waters between Flatts Village 

 and the reef is of itself replete with interest. Here and there 

 glimpses of the bottom reveal wonders of a natural fairy-land 

 which bid welcome to a realm of indescribable beauty. Corals 

 of bright orange and yellow, sponges of black and cardinal, 

 nodding sea-fans of purple and silver, and fishes of all that 

 brilliancy of coloring which distinguishes the ichthyic element 

 of the coralline seas, these and much more are the pictures 

 that appeal invitingly to a habitation in the oceanic waste. 

 The ruffled surface of the water bars out that clear vision 

 to which we are accustomed in our meadow-wanderings, but 

 the magic of a few drops of oil, or the stilling of the water- 

 glass, brings out the relief in the most wondrous detail. The 

 bottom bristles with a forest of rising stems and branches, the 

 work principally of that most indefatigable hydroid-coral, the 

 millepore, and through it are scattered the roses of the deep. 

 Countless black sea-urchins (Diadema) lie quietly nestled in the 

 maze, while here and there, where the animal shrubbery has 

 permitted the white sand to come to view, we catch passing 

 glimpses of the lonely black sea-cucumber {Stichopus diaboli), 

 quiet and motionless, as in the stiller waters of the Sound. 

 One of the most beautiful objects of these waters is the pink 

 tunicate Diazona whose long stems we hooked up in association 

 with one or more forms of Gorgonia. 



The water shallows, and we approach the boundaries of the 

 outer reef; the huge brain-corals (Diploria) rise to within four 



