156 Scienvtfic Intelligence. 



life of a coral reef. It also gives an account of the economic 

 importance of much of this life, and discusses in detail the obser- 

 vations which throw light upon the geological origin of coral 

 reefs in general. 



The region studied affords an unparalleld field for such an 

 investigation. The Great Barrier Reef of Australia extends for 

 a distance of 1250 miles along the coast of Queensland from 

 Torres Straits to Lady Elliot Island, or from 9|° to 24° South 

 Latitude. The outer edge of the reef is in some cases only 10 

 miles from the mainland while in others it is 150 miles and 

 varying between these limits. A reef of such extent presents 

 unique opportunities for the study of all the zoological and geo- 

 logical problems involved. 



The attention of the reader is claimed first by the admirable 

 portrayal and description of the beautiful life of the coral reef 

 itself. Never before have those, who have known little of corals 

 but the specimens mounted on the shelves of a museum, had such 

 an opportunity to become acquainted with the living corals 

 and the varied features of the growing reef. The author, skillful 

 with his camera as with his pen, was able to secure many photo- 

 graphs not only of the scenes over the reefs in all their diversity 

 of coral growths and groupings, but also of the expanded corals 

 in their natural positions in the shallow waters. We cannot 

 praise too highly the wonderful perfection with which the 

 photographs are reproduced. To the senior editor they bring 

 back vividly the delightful opportunities afforded him over fifty 

 years ago, when in the U. S. Exploring Expedition under Commo- 

 dore Wilkes, he studied corals and coral reels in the Paumotus, 

 Tahitian, Samoan and Fiji Islands. Other plates, not equal in 

 execution to those just mentioned, give colored representations 

 of the coral polyps, sea-anemones, etc. It would be difficult 

 indeed to give any adequate idea of the variety of color displayed 

 in the many kinds of animal life present in these coral gardens. 

 The author's observations have resulted in adding many new 

 genera and species to those previously recorded. 



The formation of the Great Barrier Reef as a whole, the author 

 refers to a gradual subsidence, in accordance with the theory of 

 Darwin. 



In the chapter on the economical value of the living produc- 

 tions, it is stated that the reef-regions afford annually raw 

 material for export to the value of £100,000. The pearl and pearl- 

 shell fisheries are of prime importance, and so largely have the 

 shells been gathered that an Act of Parliament has become neces- 

 sary to prohibit their being taken in an immature state, that is, 

 with a less diameter than six inches across the pearl lining. The 

 author has succeeded in transplanting the young shells to quiet and 

 shady waters where their growth was protected, and the artifi- 

 cial propagation thus shown to be possible may have important 

 results. Another industry is that of collecting and curing the 

 Beche-de-mer, or sea-cucumber, used by the Chinese as an article 



