§ 36. CORALLINE MARBLES. 643 



more or less transmuted into the same substance, are sus- 

 ceptible of a high polish, and constitute some of the most 

 beautiful marbles. The limestones of Babbicombe, and 

 Torquay, in Devonshire, and those of Clifton, owe their 

 markings to the petrified zoophytes of which they are in 

 a great measure made up. The black Kilkenny marble is 

 mottled with varied and elegant figures of the purest white, 

 which are sections of corals and shells transmuted into 

 calcareous spar. 



Lign. 142. — Favosites polymorpha ; A section of a polished 



PEBBLE, FROM TORQUAY. 



(Drawn by Miss Jane AUnutt.* ) 



Many of the pebbles thrown up by the waves on the 

 shore along the coast of Devonshire, are water- worn frag- 

 ments of the coralline limestones of that country, and when 

 cut and polished, display exquisite sections of the enclosed 

 corals {Lign, 143).f 



* From a beautiful specimen in the possession of Mrs. Allnutt, of 

 Clapham Park. 



t The form and structure of the species of coral, of which a section 

 appears in this polished pebble, are shown in Lign. 66, Medals of 

 Creation, vol. i. p. 295. 



VOL. II. U U 



