The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-06-24
CORAL INSECTS AND CORAL ISL.
ANDS.

CORAL INSECTS AND CORAL ISL.
Man has always been boastful of the
great works built by his own hand.
Age after age has repeated the praise
of the huge Hanging Gardens of Bab-
ylon, the Pyramids Of Egypt, and the
famous Wall of China. But these begin
to look mean and puny as soon as they
are compared with the achievements Of
one OF the smallest and weakest crea-
lures in existence.
The tiny coral insects, or polyps, have
far outstripped the mightiest efforts of
human endurance. Their noiseless and
unending toll has thrown up barrier
reef along the northeast coast of Aus
tralia, already thousand miles long,
and which, for third of that distance.
has not a single passage-way to the
mainland.
The tropical waters of the Central
Pacific Ocean, whose warmth, even in
winter, rarely falls below seventy de-
grees, is their chief building area
That vast waste of seas, which is
about equal to Asia in size, is dotted
with their marvellous structures. These
consist of reefs and islands. The
latter are mostly circular reefs of coral,
Just rising above the waves, and inclos-
ing lagoon, or central sheet of still
water. Indeed, the islands of Oceanica
are almost all of coral. only one here
and there being of granite.
The coral polyp is SO minute and so
peculiar in form that it was long
classed by naturalists among plants.
Even Linnaus, who was the master of
botahy in his time, thought and called
it zoophyte, or plant-animal, as o sort
of connecting-link between the two
kingdoms of life. To the sight, it is
little else than an oval bit of soft jelly.
The little mouth has q fringe or circle
of hair-like threads, whose use is to
draw in atoms of food. BY eieetinx
the water within, which answers IN
place of blood, and closing the mouth,
the animal amounts merely to q thin
film on a rock, though it clings 30 firm
ly that the coral can be detached soon
er than itself. The baby insects come
forth on the surface as little buds, in
vast profusion. and expand like tiny
flowers These simple beings general
ly live in compound or family struct-
ure, having the outline of dwarf
tree, and with all the members in q
most intimate connection with each
other.
Each colony dwells in a series Of
houses, which are literally strong
framework of its own making. For q
foundation, it builds upon the dead
bodies of its ancestors, of which moth
ing but the rocky tombs remain. These
villages stretch under the water hori-
zontally, and the task of each successive
generation is to add q new story to
these dwellings. Nature has implanted
in them the aspiration to always mount
upward, toward the sunlight.
These xoophytes have the singular
property Of forming a strong skeleton
within themselves, thus strengthening
and enlarging the beds to which they
are attached. This is done by absorb.
| ing the lime salts, which are in excess
in sea-water, and depositing them upor
the stone hamlet. The job is somewhat
| after the fashion OF a scavenger, mas
much as the seas are thus purified b
the surplus of earthly matter which al
the rivers are steadily casting in. And
it is striking feature of this Pacific re
| gion that the converging currents of the
mighty trade-winds make the tropica
seas the chief quarter of this purging
The mission is quite as noble, also, q.
that performed by plants in the anima
economy, in eating up the excess o
carbonic acid, which all living creature.
breathe out into the atmosphere.
The growth of coral beds is rapid
though the rate varies, according to the
/ special colonies and other circumstanc
es. The star-coral adds q few inclfe:
of masonry in height each year, anC
that of the strongest construction. Eacf
Of its single insects occupies only ,
half-inch square. and dome-shapel
specimen, twelve feet wide, will con.
tain above q hundred thousand. An
other species is found to have fve-and
a-halfS millions combined within the
same space. Instances are also known
where a mass of coral has grown up
ward several feet within a few months
And the marvel is that the best anl
quickest work is done on the QUITE
verge of the reef. These polyps de
light to be in the surge of the roughes
breakers, and SO avoid the placid water
The only sign of life visible in such {
living masonry is very thin covering
of living substance like gelatine. A
soon as piece is broken off and fftet
up to the surface, this living textur
dies, and runs out of the skeleton as
l WdttTN Dut tuC n "
these toilers will continue to defy tn
mightiest breakers as long as the cart
itself endures.
\ The shapes and colors of corals ar
very varied. The finish ranges fror
rough and ridged rock to an elegant
polished surface, which brings a fabu
lous price from the nabobs of the East
The tree-coral branches out in all direc
tions, and puts forth delicate blossom
like the camellia; the organ-coral ha
long and parallel tubes. Other form
are those of a fan, cup, flower or mush
room. Some specimens are also decke
with gay hue of pink, rose, green
purple, white or black. A voyager ca
often view with delight such flower
beds of the ocean, which are at time
but few feet beneath the water. O
all these varieties, rich customers pre-
fer the rose or blood-coral for neck
laces, bracelets and other ornaments
1t grows but slowly. and few specimen
are found above a foot in length. 1t
chiefly fished for off the coasts of Sicil
and Algeria, with a sort of grapplin
apparatus dragging from a boat. TIL
favorite tints bring as high as six hur
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