Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/472

* COKAL ISLAND AHD CORAL REEF. 404 CORANACH. undergone elevation. Later, ilurray pursued llie study of the question still further and as able to siiow that reefs do not necessarily require a sinking shore for their formation, but they may •>rov on a stable foundation such as a submarine bank, raised to near sea-level by accumulation of fossil organisms, or the slopes of a volcanic island. After becoming established in such localities the corals continue their growth outward, and at the same time wave-action washes down debris from the reef to the bottom, forming a platform for their further activity. In case the original foun- dation was above sea-level the projecting portion may have been cut down by breakers. The solvent action of water would remove the dead coral from the interior of the reef and thus excavate a basin to be occupied by the lagoon. Both theories of reef-building are probably to be accepted as valid, and each must be tested by actual conditions before its application in any particular instance can be determined. BiDLiOGRAPiiy. Darwin, Tlic tStrticture and Distribution of Coral Islands (Xew York, 1891) ; Dana, Corals and Coral Islands (New York, 1890) ; Agassiz, A Visit to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia in the Steamer Croydon, in iSOG (Cambridge, llass., 1898) : Murray, "On Coral lleefs and Other Carbonate of Lime Formations in Modern Seas," in Proceedings of the Royal So- ciety of Edinhiiryh. vol. xvii. ( Kdinburgh, 1891) ; Murray, '"On the Structure and Origin of Coral Keefs and Islands," in Proceedings of Royal So- ciety of Edinburgh, vol, X. (Edinburgh, 1880) ; Agassiz and Pourtal&s, Monograph of the Corals of Florida (Cambridge, Mass., 1871) ; Heilprin, The Bermuda Islands (Philadelphia, 1889). See Atoll; Cokal. COR'ALLI'NJE, or COR'ALLINE ALGJE (Lat. noni. pi. fem. of conilliiius. made of coral, fiom coralhmt, corallius, coral), A group of red algte ( Rhodophycefe, q.v.), distinguished by the calcareous incrustations secreted by the thal- lus. The thallus is branching, usually articu- lated, and, with its limestone deposits, forms stony masses like those of the branching corals with which they are often associated. Corallinie are important rock-making organisms in some formations, especially of Tertiary age, such as the granular limestone of the Paris basin, the lower Eocene of AriSge, and the nunnnulitic lime- stone of the Alps. The genus Corallina itself, now abundant, was rare during Tertiary time, Lithothamnium, however, appeared in Jurassic time, extending through the Cretaceous, was very abundant dtiring the Tertiary, and has jiersisted to the present era with little change of its char- acters. Consult: Giimbel, "Die sogennanten Nulli- poren, etc," Abhandhingen der koniglich bayer- ischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, vol. ii. (Miinehen, 1874) ; Unger, "Beitrag zur naheren Kentniss des Leithakalkes," Denkschriften der Kaiserlich-ktiniglichen Akademie der Wissen- schaften CM IVioi, vol. xiv. (Vienna, 18.58) ; Zit- tel and Schimper, Traite de palfontologie, part ii., Palcophylologie (Paris, 1891). See Alg.e. CORAL SEA (so named from its numerous reefs). A section of the Pacific, stretching be- tween Australia on the west and the New Heb- rides on the east (Map: Australasia, G 4). Sound- ings in 1874 gave an extreme depth of 14,700 feet. CORAL-SNAKE. A poisonous serpent of the genus Elaps, common in tropical America, and also represented in Africa, so called because coral-red is its prevailing color. There are many species, each nuuked by some difl'erent arrange- ment of black and yellow rings; the epidermis is also iridescent, probably due to laminations on the scales, and no more beautiful snakes exist. (See Plate with article Snake.) All are CORAL-SX.KE OF FLORIDA. small, of terrestrial habits, and provided with a poison apparatus sufficient for the killingof small animals and birds, but rarelj- fatal to man. A representative species (Elaps fulvius) is well l-;nown from Mexico to South Carolina, and com- mon in Florida, as the 'coral-snake,' 'American col)ra,' 'garter-snake,' and 'harlequin;' it is the only jjoisonous snake, not crotaline, in the United States, and, though small and gentle, is not safe to handle. Consult: Report United States Na- tional Museum (Washington. 1893), and ilales and Urich, "Serpents of Trinidad;" in Proceedings Zoological Society of London (London, 1894). See CvLINnEK-SNAKE. CO'RAM, TnoM.s (c.l66S-1751). An Eng- lish philauthroi)ist, born at Lyme Regis, Dorset- shire. His father was a merchant captain and he was probably a shipwright by profession. He lived some time in Taunton. Mass. (c.1094- c.l71fl), and then settled in London about 1720. He was constantly interested in philanthropic schemes,, particularly in the establishment of the Foundling Hospital, which was accomplished after manv .vears of struggle. The institution was opened in Hatton Garden in 1741, Coram wasalso a promoter of the English settlements in Cieorgia and Nova Scotia. In later life he lost most of his fortune, and at his death was in possession of an annuit.v from the Government. He was buried in the cha])el of the Foundling Hospital. One of Hogarth's best )>ortraits is tluit of Coram, which has hung in the hospital since its presenta- tion by the painter (1740). CORAM'BIS. In Sliakespeare's Hamlet, the name given in the quarto edition of 1603 to the character aftcriianls called Polonius. CORANACH, kor'a-nak, CORONACH, COR- ANICH, or CRONACH (Gael.. Ir. coranach, from Gael., Ir. camh, with + CJael. ranaieh, a crving, from ran, to cry out ). A funeral dirge, formerly in use among the Irish and Scottish Celts. "The cries (coranich) are called by the Irish the ulagohne and hululu, two words ex- tremely expressive of the sound uttered on these occasions (funerals) : and being of Celtic stock, etymologists would swear to be the origin of the olohmgon of the Greek, and nlulatus of the Latins." — Pennant's Tour. The coranach Seems to be identical with the Irish caoine, generally written and pronounced keen, a dirge for the dead, "according to certain loud and mournful notes and verses," wherein the pedigree, property, the good and great deeds of the deceased, and the manner of his death are re- counted, in order to excite sorrow or revenge in the hearers, and to show them the loss they have sustained.