New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-05

dant in the ocean sank down whore they died.
and their shells gradually accumulated till the
hin was sum .iently near the surface. Then the
curals began to- grow and for a while IN" SHAPE
~ the mass might hc compared 10 a muffin. but,
as it> toy came near a. the surface. the cora.s
on tn ont lido were better supplied with food
and air than those within. and thus grew faster.
so that "a, top became saucer shaped. To" r'.i
was thcn supposed 10 expand lat"rally. The
waves broke dead branches from It's outer face,
those formed 4 talus under water. and fresh
coral grew ou This a. foundation But th"
lagoon also had 10 Doe, enlarged. "r an old at"ll
would be- always much broader than young
one Hence 10 was suggested that when the
coral Inside ,hc lagoon was dead 1t was dis
solved ty the sea water and thus carried away.
and SOD thc Whole reef vas supposed to spread
like fairy ring.
Ths Ingenious hyqoth isis presents more than
one difficulty. OF which critics have not been
slow 20 avail themselves. and the result of the
long debate vas 20 produce a very general con-
yiction that the nfst step ic settling tho question
must h- .u ascertain The actual structure of The
aton 10 e depth IL d few hundred feet II has
been generally admitted hS all naturalists who
have .stgat"d IN" matter that the reef build
ing coral pol ps do NOT Use at a greater Il pm
indn ift u llf i' 81 ffi il q ~ '''i 80
reef begins. a. 10 is now found o. do at Fuua-
futi. al 80 feet. ard extends down 20 fully go
feet. that is "a proof oi subsistence Of 1T least
so fert and. perhaps of even more 1t va, al
ready known from horiugs 10 the Sandwich
Islands cited by the late Professor Dana. that
near Diamond Head oahu "a limestone. called
hard coral rock had been struck at depth
Of - feet. and was found To- bc "a httle moi"
than 500 fr.t thick
Tn form Il Fuafuu also adds "a particular
value 10 thc discovery. 1t is "a typical example
of q rather lare, group az aiois As d0i rmin'd
hv tn, souudiuc~ mad. hi Captain Field in Her
Majesty ship Penguin. during The i"rtr OPP
erations Of 1886 if risos from depth 20 about
T. pu fct ON q nearly circular base. thirty
miles in ts longest diameter II as."nds
AT first gently. to within about = lpD feet from
tho surface. then comes fairly steep slope io ;"
feet. after which the face Is almost precipitous
10 the top of the water 1t is. therefore. DO"
certain that some OF the lower part Of this sub
merged limestone rampant Was once living
reef and very probably the whole either Was
this. or contains tn. fragments of one. What
the great mountainous mass below may be- We
cannot Vet tell-not imposshy submerged
volcano from which perhaps the lighter ma
terials of the cone have been washed away
That We may learn if IA" party can con
tinuc boring to depth of rather NOR" than
another 700 feet. But however this may bc
tho result has shown that some hNpothcs' IS
which have been mentioned above cannot ap-
ply 10 Funafuti and other aiols of like struci-
ure In these there has been great and con
tinuous subsidence unless the rcri-huildnS
polvps can thrive AT depths far below -"
feet which. as Ne have said - generally az
cepted as their owcst limit. That they some
Zines RANGE considerably beneath 1hs imI'