LOW LIFE IN THE SEA. 



67 



Successive buds will appear upon both parent and child, un- 

 til there is formed a community of polyps, each one perfect 

 in itself, yet all united by the solid secretions, and by a 

 common cavity in the softer parts. 



4. This figure represents one of the immense variety of 

 coral products, showing the work of the individual polyp, 



Coral Madrepore. 



the relations of one polyp with another, the branching of 

 stems, and the general connections which form the com- 

 munity. The branch coral appears in hundreds of beauti- 

 ful and fantastic forms ; and, besides this, there are varie- 

 ties which are hard and compact, like the ordinary rocks 

 which we see on land. In every specimen of coral which 



