138 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
“ To my mind, the most wonderful thing about 
these tiny animals of the sea is their power to 
build islands and great reefs of coral. Perhaps 
you may have heard of the Great Barrier Reef of 
Australia, which is over one thousand miles long, 
or of our own Florida Keys? Considering that 
coral polyps build at the rate of about three 
inches in height per year, think how many years 
of labor must have gone into these! Indeed, it is 
said that the Florida Keys were from one thou¬ 
sand to twelve hundred years in building. 
“ Many kinds of coral polyps take part in the 
building of a reef, some being able to work in one 
depth and some in another. All of them must 
have clean, fresh sea-water, which is never cooler 
than sixty-eight degrees.” 
“ They certainly are wonderful little animals,” 
said Ruth, when her aunt had ended; “and I 
shall like coral all the more after this.” 
