Excerpt from The Pelican Island, and Other Poems The examination of a coral reef during the different stages of one tide, is particularly in teresting. When the tide has left it for some time it becomes dry, and appears to be a com pact rock, exceedingly hard and ragged; but as the tide rises, and the waves begin to wash over it, the coral worms protrude themselves from holes which before were invisible. These animals are of a great variety Of shapes and sizes, and in such prodigious numbers, that, in a short time, the whole surface Of the rock appears to be alive and in motion. The most common worm is in the form Of a star, with arms from four to six inches long, which are moved abolit with a rapid motion in all direc tions, probably to catch food. Others are sosluggish, that they may be mistaken for pieces Of the rock, and are generally Of a dark colour, and from four to five inches long, and two or three round. When the coral is broken about high-water mark, it is a solid hard stone; but if any part Of it be detached at a spot which the tide reaches every day, it is found to be full Of worms Of different lengths and colours, some being as fine as a thread and several feet long, Of a bright yellow, and sometimes Of a blue colour; others resemble snails, and some are not unlike lobsters in shape, but soft, and not above two inches long. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.