Coral

[Gr. kor all i on - ko - re, a daughter, and halo, halos, the sea. Literally, the daughter of the sea; Lat. corallum; Fr. corail; Ger. koralle.] ( Zool.) The name given to the stony frame secreted by many species of animals of the cla Polypı, q. v. "The too common no tion that coral is built by an insect, or that the coral animals build coral at will, as the bee builds comb, or as workmen masonry, is wholly erroneous. C. is simply the frame-work or skeleton, or aggregate skeletons, of polyps or, in some cases, of acalephs-and is a nece ary result of their existence, and is entirely independent of the volition of the animals themselves. In fact, polyps form C. in a manner not different in kind from that in which the higher animals form bones; and the C. is wholly inside the polyps, and is in no sense a house, as is too commonly supposed, in which the latter live; and it is only when the polyps die, wither, and disappear, that we see the solid C. itself. From their resemblance to plants, the animals of this cla were regarded by the early naturalists as vegetable forms; and later they have been regarded as partaking of the nature of both plants and animals; but now their strictly animal character is established beyond any question. Still, they are often called Zoöphytes, as well as polyps. The forms and hues exhibited by them are almost endle . Some parts of the tropical seas, where polyps especially flourish, rival in graceful and varied forms, and in beauty and splendor of colors, the most beautiful flower gardens of the land. There is scarcely a form of vegetation, either trunk or branch, leaf or flower, fern, mo , lichen, or fungus, that is not imitated with striking exactne by these wonderful animals of the sea," ( Sanborn Tenney.) - As an ornament, black C. is much esteemed; but the red and the pink are also highly prized. C. is found in very great abundance in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and in the Mediterranean, on the coast of Sumatra, . It grows on rocks, and on any solid submarine body, and it is nece ary to its production that it should remain fixed to its place. C. is an important branch of industry and commerce in Italy. Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples have been, from old times, the three great entrepôts to which the raw material has been carried, and where skilful artificers have established themselves in order to work at its transformation. Coral is obtained in large quantities in the Mediterranean, and at considerable depths, of from 200 to 600 ft. Four varieties are distinguished: 1st, red, which is subdivided into deep crimson red, paler red, and vermilion, which is very rare; 2d, black; 3d, clear white; 4th, veiled white, which is the most common. See CORAL ISLAND. Coral, in Illinois , a post-village and township of McHenry co., about 60 m. N.W. of Chicago; pop . 1,345, Fig . 678.-ORGAN-PIPE CORAL. (Tubipora syringa. - Dana.) (See also Fig. 85.) Cor'al, a small rocky island off the S. E. coast of Brazil. Lat. 25° 45′ S.; Lon. 48° 35' W. the first inhabitants of the new island. The Pacific Ocean, throughout a space comprehended between the thirteenth parallel of latitude on each side of the equator, is a great nursery of coral islands; as are also the Arabian and Persian gulfs. Between the coast of Malabar and that of Madagascar there is a great sea of coral. Flinders describes an unbroken reef 350 miles long upon the coast of New Holland; and between that country and New Guinea coral formations extend throughout a distance of 700 miles, interrupted by no intervals exceeding 30 miles in length. The growth of coral seems, when compared with human epochs, extremely slow; but the facts just cited show that they have produced results of no mean importance, as influencing the general aspect of the earth's crust. Their circular form, the Fig . 679.- WHIT-SUNDAY ISLAND. In the Pacific, with its enclosed lagoon. steep angle at which they plunge into the sea, and the countries in which they occur, render it probable that they are the crests, as it were, of submarine craters; and occasionally lava and volcanic rocks have been found in their central lagoons, which have generally a deep narrow pa age, kept open by the efflux of the ocean at low tides. Coral formations are among the oldest and the newest rocks that come under the notice of the geologist. The ancient limestones of the Silurian and Devonian periods, the vast ma es of carboniferous limestone underlying the coal-measures, the limestones of the coral rag, and among others of the secondary age, with those at present in course of formation in many parts of the world, are all e entially the same. Coralla'ceo us, a . Like coral: having the nature of coral. Coralled, ( kor'ald ,) a. Furnished with coral. Coralliferous, a . [Lat. corallum , coral, and fero , to bear or produce.] Producing or containing coral. Coralliform, a . Having the form of coral. Corallig'enous, a . [Lat. corallum , and genere, to generate.] Producing or yielding coral. Corallig'erous, a. Coralliferous. Coralli'na, n. ( Bot . ) The Coralline, a genus of marine plants, order Ceramiaceæ , remarkable for their rigidity, which is mostly owing to a calcareous incrustation. Some of them expand into leafy lobes, usually fan-shaped. They are mostly abundant in tropical seas. Coralline, a . Consisting of coral; like coral; containing coral; as, a coralline bed. Cor all i nite, n. (Pal.) A fo il plant of the genus Cor all in a .