177 
THE VETERINARIAN, MARCH 1, 1857. 
Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. 
Cicero. 
OUR LITERATURE. 
The enterprising traveller and missionary. Dr. Living- 
ston, has told us that in some of the valleys of the interior 
of Africa, whence he has recently returned, there exists 
a complete network of perennial streams, which generally 
run from the sides into the centre of the country, rendering 
it exceedingly fertile and healthy ; and that, after coalescing, 
they form one magnificent river, the Leambye, which falls 
into the Mozambique Channel. 
A group of zoophytes have located themselves in the cleft 
of a rock below the waters of the South Pacific Ocean, and 
they are busily at work forming for themselves coral cells as 
habitations. The colony increases until myriads upon my- 
riads of these little animals are all engaged in the same 
occupation. At length their united labours have raised the 
formation above the surface of the waves, which, dashing 
over it in crested foam, induces them to proceed with their 
work on either side, and all around, thus extending their 
operations and increasing their dominions. 
Ere long, the mighty mass becomes uplifted by some 
internal convulsion, or the waters do not rise so high as they 
were wont to do, and the polyps being thus removed from 
the influence of the sea-w r ater, soon die. And now another 
change is observed to commence. First on the coral reef is 
noticed a tiny moss, its sporule borne there by the passing 
winds. It gathered its spare nutriment from the decaying 
polyps, and thus converted putrescence into life and beauty. 
In its turn it also dies, and, dying, generates an acid, which 
by decomposing the coral sets free other ingredients, and 
these, mingling with the film of vegetable mould, increase 
both the quantity and the fertility of the newly formed soil. 
This process goes on, it may be, for ages, until at length 
an island is formed. Soon it becomes clothed with luxuriant 
vegetation; Nature spreads her carpet over it; stately trees 
xxx. 24 
