Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1852-09-30
Coral and Coral Islands.

Perhaps OF all the agents that are gradually
and silently effectlng changes upon the sur
face oil our planet, the most universal and
important is the insect which produces coral.
The South Pacific ALI, the Indian Oceans,
and the Arabian Cult, presents with
rious examples OF its stupendOus powers
and others are daily making their appear
ance upon The surface of The sea, in the
shape OF reels and islands, which bewiIder
ana impede the navigator; who, guided by
The charts OF his predecessors, is astonshed
10 encounter shadows aud soundngs and
even diy land, and trees, aud animals, and
human beings, in places where lie expected
to find nothing bur faIhomless depth and
nnbroken horizon. II we reflect that coral
islands are often discovered in isolated mas
ses IN the deepest part OF the ocean we shall
obtain some faint idea of the vast quantity of
material which enters into their structure,
and oil the magnitude of the labors of these
insects Which are The instruments Of their
formation. The coral island must have lis
foundation in the bottom OF lhe ocean from
whence the little moluscous architects must
raise it i'll successive layers til in reaches
the surface OF the waves, even should the
depth be thousands of feet or faIhoms.--
What an Insignificant proportion thus must
the visible extent of any coraline archipela-
90 bear 10 the mass of matter which lies
concealed under wafer, and forms irs basis
and foundation And il is well worthy of
remark, that the insects in question seem TO
observe kind of economy in their architec-
ture, and never make the inferior part of
their structures BROADER or perhaps SO broad,
as their upper surface is intended 10 he for
deep water is generally found at the edge of
a coral reef; which proves that il does not
rise from tits foundation in the shape of a
pyramid, but that ii is actually from top TO
bottom vast pillar or column of the same
thickness. Peron, French nautical man,
has even supposed that the coral islands
sometimes raised upon slender stalks; which
bear no greater proportion 10 the extent OF
their surface than the stem Of mushroom
does 10 Ihe vegetable growing upon il and
that whena violent tempest occurs, the stroke
Of the waves NAV break the coral pillar, and
occasion the instantaneous SnbmersioD Of The
! Island which it supported. In this way we
may explain how navIeators have often
searched in vain for reefs, shadows, and
breakers, which had been observed and le-
ported to exist by the predecessor.
The coral structure having been raised to
a level with the surface of the ocean, the
inOIItSC6 necessarily suspe1u tneir laDOrs,
because it is only under wafer ihat they can
carry these on. But nevertheless, the still
half submerged island acquires in the course
of time an increase of elevation from other
source. Shells, and sea-weed, and various
marine exuvie, are detained and entangied
by its rugged surface, which becomes fiji TO
support vegetation. The cocoa nut which
owing to its buoyancy and lis protecting
shell, is Of all other frHits or seeds the best
able TO float upon the waves without injury
to the powers of termination, is soon acci.
denta!y thrown upon the coral island, where
it sows itself and becomes tree. It seems
very certain, at least, that the palm species
appears upon recently emerged lands within
the tropics before any other form of veseta-
and that it can exist and flourish in places
where no other plant would grow; and, as
it abounds upon most of the islands and
coasts OF the torrid zone, The extensive
dispersion ofils fruits by the waves is thing
that mus, necessarily happen. Sir George
Staunton in describing his voyage IN the ln-
dian Ocean, says, The coral rocks above
the surface on which vegetation fourlshes
were many of them so small as TO contain
each only single stem, like vessels mast,