LACE CORAL 
When, delineations of thcfe beautiful fubje&s of microfcopic attention attract our 
notice or kindle our admiration, we can fcarce fail to recur to Mr. Ellis in ill uftrati ora 
of thele remarks, which their uncommon elegance or peculiarity of ftrufture may fug- 
ged. He is fo juftly celebrated for his elaborate care in inveftigating and defcribing 
the feveral fpecies of thefe wonderful produ&ions, that no apology is requifite for quot- 
ing his obfervations, with fuel comment as may afeertain thofe particulars, of which the 
fpecimen he examined did not give him opportunity of having adequate information. 
Both in the Ejj'ay on Carolines, and in his more general work the Natural Hiftory of 
Zoophytes, he has taken nctice of this very beautiful coral : lie mentions it under the 
title of the Lace-millepore ; “Formed like a net, funnel fhaped, and irregularly 
“ waved, and plaited in the margin.— The under part is quite fmooth between the 
“ openings, but the upper furface is full of cells, which are difpofed in a regular quin- 
“ cunx order.”— ° 
He adds, “ That although this elegant little coral is found nov; and then on ou~ 
" Coaft, we cannot boaft of thefe beautiful forms that we find in fpecimens from the 
“ Mediterranean. v 
“ ° urs ar e generally funnel fhaped, but the foreign are more Ioofely folded and 
“ waved.” 
The remark with refpeB to the fupetior beauty of this kind of Cora! from the Med' 
terrancan, had been made only in confequence of the few fnecimens of ,t,,.r„ t , ■' 
the Brililh Seas, which he had feen. The one delineated in the plate of tif Ty 
her fltews that thofe of our Northern coalts, yield not in point of variety and eJa^ 
of folds to any foreign ones; yet many more ample, complex, and beautiful ones “we, 
dredged up wtthto a few leagues of thefe fltores, and were eHecmed no i, .confide, M 
addition to the Portland Cabinet. v m-derable.- 
It moreover would appear that Mr. Ellis had not feen fpecimens of thil Con] f 
ciently recent from the fea, to enable him to diferiminate the peculiar ft ru a u ! ’ 
cells, or even afeertain their general form. The mouths of the cells and t '7 !i • 
wherewith they are furrounded, are fo exceedingly delicate and tender f 
crufhed with the fmalleft prefl'ure, and even in a little time fall away with thr 
drying alone. This makes it of the firfl confequence to a faithful drawine If . ° f 
cimens which have not been expofed to either of thefe injuries. Thofe f t PC ' 
the drawings by the microfcope were taken, which are exhibited in the phte 1'' 
infant ones, minute as that on the branch of Coral at a. They had nl L ’7 q !! Ue 
fafety by being lodged in the cavities among the thick wrought branches- 
and examined in thele their native retirements, difclofed all their beautv T! ^ * * 
ance of part of when firft magnified, is reprelbnted at a-i . and a Angle poimlfnT- 
under the higheft powers of the microfcope, gave more accurately ,h, f ? f P 
arrangement of the cells, as at A. The myriads of Aniftccrs 
1 working 
