136 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
to ornament their weapons and helmets. The 
Romans made coral necklaces for their children 
in the belief that the coral preserved them from 
danger, and even in Italy to-day coral is worn to 
keep off the evil-eye.” 
“What is coral, anyway, Auntie?” asked 
Ruth. 
“ It is the skeletons of some of the most beauti¬ 
ful and interesting animals of the sea. Their 
home is in the deep water of the warm ocean, and 
they are such delicate creatures that it is impos¬ 
sible to take them from their home alive. In the 
living coral the skeleton is covered with soft flesh 
and all over the surface are tiny starlike animals 
called polyps. Each one of these polyps live in 
a tiny cup or hollow in the skeleton, and even one 
small branch may hold as many as a million of 
these tiny homes. It takes countless numbers of 
polyps to make up a coral family. 
“ Inside the little cups are partitions that do 
not quite reach the center. The stomach of the 
animal hangs down between these walls. In the 
center is the mouth, and the polyp captures its 
food by means of tentacles and lasso cells. Baby 
polyps are not fastened in one place. They sail 
the ocean until their stomach and tentacles are 
formed, and then a building site is chosen and 
they settle down to build their skeletons. First 
of all, lime is secreted from the sea-water and de- 
