New Ulm review., 1912-09-11
'IStAVbS Of CORAL
TIM Ones Only In tho Paolho
and Indian Oceans.
The GREAT BARRIER AToLL.
Thls. Famous Coral Rssf, on ~ Aus.
traiian csast, 10 The Largest In the
Weeld and Extsnds For Theusands
Of Mijee-DSemuda's Worm Tubes.

II WOtJ0 0Oo SASOU0S TIT SUVVo0USse
of -Dsrmuda's Worm Tubes.
There are no true coral islands In the
Atlantic. The coral islands Of the Pa
ciic and Indian oceans are very dis
tinct from the so called coral islands
Of Bermuda and the West Indies.
True coral islands, or atolls, are
formed by corals building upward on
4 submerged reef or peak until the
growth reaches the surface Of the sea
or 50 near it that broken pieces Of coral,
drift, sand, etc., accumulate and In
time build an exposed islet At other
times the coral reef Is raised above the
water by volcanic action. The Pacific
reefs are often circular or semicircular
In form. and such reefs are known as
atolls. IF.
The largest coral teef is the Great
Barrier reef Of Australia, which ex-
tends for several thousand miles. q
The coral islands Of the Atlantic are
formed by wave broken shells and bits
Of coral which have become solidihed
and fossilized by chemical action and
age. This material Is known as aeo-
liam limestone and after exposure to
the air Is exceedingly hard and dura-
BILE. but where freshly broken or cut
1t Is very soft and can be chiseled and
sawed into blocks for building pur-
poses. sa-eygssssrss ssrrss g.sa szssssstss
Many Of the West Indian coral IS
lands are partly composed Of fossil
coral reefs which have been raised far
above the present sea level by the vol
canic uplift Of the rocks to which they |
were attached. Such coral reefs, says |
the American Boy, are often found
hundreds Of feet above sea level and
In places are found alternating with T
layers Of lava, showing that the is
ands have been raised and submerged
several times in the past. 4
The atoll-like reefs in Bermuda are
lot coral at all, but are formed of in
worm tubes belonging to
'ertain annelids. These worm tubes
re often thickly incrusted with other
such as coraline, seaweeds,
'ry0z0a, corals, etc., and thus have the
ppearance Of being composed Of real
oral.
Corals, when alive, are not white, but
re Of many beautiful and vivid shades
+ green, pink, red, brown, yellow, Law
nder or orange.
A mass Of living corals, when seen
trough the wonderfully clear waters
the tropical sea, is very beautiful
nd brilliantly colored sight. There
re great many kinds of coral. Some
re rounded and massive and are B
nown as brain corals." Others are 6
road and spreading or branched, while \
hers are delicately formed and very f
rittle. Others are covered with rose p
,aped or star shaped markings and
e called "rose" or "star corals.' n
The openings or indentations in any A
'ral mark the spot where a coral ami Il
al lived. The animals or "polyps" G.
e very similar to sea anemones in et
rm and have numerous feshy tenta- c,
es, which may be drawn in out Of o.
ght when danger threatens. The en-
'e coral is covered with animal mat
|
e flesh is removed and the skeleton
bleached that the white coral ap- e
ars. All the corals mentioned are
lown as "stony corals." Il
Another very large group Of corals is ~,
e "horny corals," or Gorgonias. The :.
I'll known "sea FANS" as we'll as the -,
ed coral" used for jewelry, belong to y.
is group. oe oe
Jorals are not all confined to tropical ~ ~
is. There are numerous species ~ ~
und as far north as the Grand banks 0-
Newfoundland and Greenland, but
ase are not the reef building species, -
t belong to groups inhabiting the eu
ep sen. One species is quite COM n0
IN on the coast of New England, but =
rmuda marks the northern limit Of Vi
# building species in the Atlantic
change. II