The Osceola times., 1881-10-15
QUEER FACTS ABOUT CORAL.
Fishing for Specimens OF the Coss. of Cubs
Working with "A Calcium Light
Costly Ornaments and
Jewelry,
New York sun.


New York sun
You would hardly think" the owner
ofa fine collection of coral said, that a
coral animal could be tanned. Come
now?"
The reporter, remembering the trained
oysters at the Aquarium, was non. com
initial.
Well" the owner continued holding
up specimen, 81 found this on the reef
in Florida, and wishing 10 watch i's
growth, / put it where | could observe it
every day. For a long time as soon as
came near the spot the polyps would dart
into their cells, but after weeks had gone
by noticed that some of them remained
out, and gradually cameout while stood
there and finally they would all stay in
bloom, even with my hand in the water.
They had become acquainted with me
and knew that | wouldn't hurt them.
and think I'm the first man that ever
tanned an animal 40 low downin life. 1t
took 81, 900, 600 coral animals to build that
head" pointing 10 fine oval piece Of
the kind called Portes, about twelve feet
in diameter, "and 100000 polyps to build
this head of astrea. You sec it is coarser
and there are many more cells to the
corals are the best for selling, and we
ship tons every year. There is great
demand from colleges and schools for
sets OF different kinds, together with the
iai and plumes that look like coras
An ordinary set can be sold for Sl5 or
500, and they run up into the hundreds,
according to their variety and shape
You cta get small pieces of common
al at1
a ';ttle piece called Cdry1phiAhd one OF
TIE most beautiful of all coras. You gee
how exquisite the radating partitions
are, and the whole thing is a perfect
flower in shape | value it at s., aud
brought il up myself from a coral reef
about 20 miles from Cuba in about 90
feet of water. They have been seen to
CLEAN with phosphorent flame The ma
iority of corals--the leaf branch and
brain kinds-we find in shallow water,
and by taking a boat you can ill it with
the branch or madrepore as fast as Won
can pick it mp by wading along. It's
rough work, though on your hands and
feet and requires good deal of care,
as the slightest Jar breaks the tips. For
deeper water we use long coral hooks
something like oyster hooks, only more
delicate"
"Then you do your own Collecting"
ayes, its combining business with
pleasure with me- and Pm sure to get
what | want. You write to Bahama,
Bermuda or the Florida reef for coral
and you get the first they pick .up-the
rough pieces that wont sell. It's agrand
sight drifting along over a coral reef,
especially way down on the lower Flori-
Ia a ghnrag
branch and leaf corals, giving the whole
a rich brown tint while here and there
blue. deep channels wind in and out,
their sides bristling with coral right up
and down for twenty, thirty and fifty
feet, and the water is so clear you can see
the small shells"
"Then you must have smooth water?"
"Not necessarily. We have boat
built for IL g purpose. A square is cut o.
the bottom, and pane of thick glass set
in, 40 all you have to do is TO sit and
look down. In deep water | have used
the calcium light with great effect, direct
ing the light down through the glass,
which is. of course under water or below
the level. II looks queer and ghostly,
especially at night lighting mp the bot
tom around for twenty five fest, and az
you drift along. the light penetrating all
the crevices in the bottom, you catch Il
glimpse of everything and hundreds o!
strange fishes that are attracted by it,
II a rare piece of coral or shell is passed,
you can dive for it or pick it up with
hook. though diving is the easiest plan.
"See under water? Why rs plain rs
YOU can above, and in the light. be-
ieve you could pick up pin. Yes, the
water about there is full OF sharks, but /
never heard of any one being bitten,
and never think of it. Here is an in
teresting specimen" holding up q COM
mon brick with beautiful oval coral
growing on it. "You know scientific
men, or a good many, claim that coral
grows very slowly-about an inch in a
hundred years. We'll, this little piece of
brick dsproves all that, as when ! found
it first the coral called meandrind conrera,
was one inch in diameter gain Of an
inch year. The branch coral grows
faster vet. About twenty years ago
brig went ashore on the reef, and slid of
in about fifty feet of water. Her bottom
ia partly eaten away, and her hold Just
full of living, growing coral that should
estimate is fifteen feet high. That's over
six inches a year on a rough estimate.
But for these big heads that weigh ton
or more it takes a long time to reach a
big size. ! know of one head more than
twenty five feet across and ten feet high
1t would be worth $500 up here, but it
can't be moved. If it was near the
channel we might rig a derrick and lift
it aboard; but it isn't and to roll 1t over
would spoil IT,"
Here's what they call pepper coral; |
sell a good deal of that. Just taste a bit
of it; 'twont hurt the simplest person"
A bit of the millepore was touched to
the tongue, aud in the next minute tears
were flowing profusely. II was worse
than the virgin red pepper, seeming to
burn into the tongue and last some time,
This and some of these Others" the
collector said pointing TO lot on the
shelf of very delicate design, "are coral
secreters, but not yet what we call acti-
mold polyps. The are hydroids. Almost
any one would say they were ordinary
corals, but their young are jelly-tishes
who in turn give birth to hydroids-al.
ternate generation they call it. Prof
Agaseiz discovered it, aud il is quite in
teresting to geologists, who are thus en-
abled to prove that there were jelly-fshes
in the oldest rocks, not because they
fnd them, as, of course the delicate forms
have long since disappeared, but they
find the parent millepore, and thereby
know that the jelly-fsh must have been
there. Here is an interesting contrast to
the astrea. with its many cells" (holdins
up piece about foot long, radiating tc
the centre). "It's coral of Only one polyp
tho 6tao,., anl rba, tho animal ia aliyt