Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/184

LEFT CORAL 148 CORAL many of the actinozoa, which form one of the divisions of the coelenterate zoophytes, and also applied to the ani- mals themselves. Two kinds of corals are distinguished by naturalists, sclero- dermic and sclerobasic, or those in which the calcareous skeleton is developed in the walls of the body, as in the reef-building corals, and those in which (as in the red coral of commerce) the skeleton is ex- ternal or cuticular. Reproduction takes place by ova, but chiefly by budding, the new individual remaining in organic union with the old. The coral masses grow not merely by the multiplication of individuals, but by the increase in height of each of the latter, which, as they grow, become divided transversely by parti- tions. The animal, distended with ova, collapses on their discharge, and thus becomes too small for the cup which it formerly occupied; it cuts off the waste cific, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea, are built up. The coral of commerce is the produc- tion of various polyps, and is of differ- ent colors and internal structure. The red, pink, and black sorts are the most highly prized. The red coral has a branching shrublike form, and, as well as other sorts, is found abundantly in the Mediterranean. The coral fishery, as it is called, is carried on in various parts of the Mediterranean, the principal localities being the S. W. coast of Cor- CORAL 1. Organ pipe Coral — skeleton of colony with two living polyps. 2. True or stony Coral. 3. Cup Coral. space by a horizontal layer of coral, and sica, where the finest quality is found, the repetition of this process gradually the coast of south Italy, and the N. coast adds to the height of the mass. It is in of Africa (Algeria and Tunis). The this way that the coral reefs and islands, raw coral is wrought chiefly in Leghorn, occurring in such abundance in the Pa- Genoa, and Naples.