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CORAL

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 131 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CORAL , the hard skeletons of various marine organisms. It is chiefly carbonate of See also:

lime, and is secreted from See also:sea-See also:water. and deposited in the tissues of Anthozoan polyps, the See also:principal source of the coral-reefs of the See also:world (see See also:ANTHOZOA), of Hydroids (see See also:HYDROMEDUSAE), less important in See also:modern See also:reef-See also:building, but extremely abundant in Palaeozoic times, and of certain See also:Algae. The skeletons of many other organisms, such as See also:Polyzoa and See also:Mollusca, contribute to coral masses but cannot be included in the See also:term " coral." The structure of coral animals (sometimes erroneously termed " coral See also:insects ") is dealt with in the articles cited above; for the See also:distribution and formation of reefs see CORAL-REEFS. Beyond their See also:general utility and value as See also:sources of lime, few of the See also:corals See also:present any See also:special feature of See also:industrial importance, excepting the red or See also:precious coral (Corallium rubrum) of the Mediterranean Sea. It, however, is and has been from remote times very highly prized for See also:jewelry, See also:personal ornamentation and decorative purposes generally. About the131 beginning of the See also:Christian era a See also:great See also:trade was carried on in coral between the Mediterranean and See also:India, where it was highly esteemed as a substance endowed with mysterious sacred properties. It is remarked by See also:Pliny that, previous to the existence of the See also:Indian demand, the Gauls were in the See also:habit of using it for the ornamentation of their weapons of See also:war and helmets; but in his See also:day, so great was the Eastern demand, that it was very rarely seen even in the regions which produced it. Among the See also:Romans branches of coral were hung around See also:children's necks to preserve them from danger, and the substance had many medicinal virtues attributed to it. A belief in its potency as a See also:charm continued to be entertained throughout See also:medieval times; and even to the present day in See also:Italy it is worn as a preservative from the evil See also:eye, and by See also:females as a cure for sterility. The precious coral is found widespread on the See also:borders and around the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. It ranges in See also:depth from shallow water (25 to 50 ft.) to water over moo ft., but the most abundant beds are in the shallower areas. The most important See also:fisheries extend along the coasts of See also:Tunisia, See also:Algeria and See also:Morocco; but red coral is also obtained in the vicinity of See also:Naples, near See also:Leghorn and See also:Genoa, and on the coasts of See also:Sardinia, See also:Corsica, See also:Catalonia and See also:Provence.

It occurs also in the See also:

Atlantic off the See also:north-See also:west of See also:Africa, and recently it has been dredged in deep water off the west of See also:Ireland. Allied See also:species of small commercial value have been obtained off See also:Mauritius and near See also:Japan. The See also:black coral (Antipathes abier), formerly abundant in the See also:Persian Gulf, and for which India is the See also:chief See also:market, has a wide distribution and grows to a considerable height and thickness in the tropical See also:waters of the Great Barrier Reef of See also:Australia. From the See also:middle ages downwards the securing of the right to the coral fisheries on the See also:African coasts was an See also:object of considerable rivalry among the Mediterranean communities of See also:Europe. Previous to the 16th See also:century they were controlled by the See also:Italian republics. For a See also:short See also:period the Tunisian fisheries were secured by See also:Charles V. to See also:Spain; but the See also:monopoly soon See also:fell into the hands of the See also:French, who held the right till the Revolutionary See also:government in 1793 threw the trade open. For a short period (about 1806) the See also:British government controlled the fisheries, and now they are again in the hands of the French authorities. Previous to the French Revolution much of the coral trade centred in See also:Marseilles; but since that period, both the procuring of the raw material and the working of it up into the various forms in which it is used have become peculiarly Italian See also:industries, centring largely in Naples, See also:Rome and Genoa. On the Algerian See also:coast, however, boats not flying the French See also:flag have to pay heavy dues for the right to See also:fish, and in the See also:early years of the 20th century the once flourishing fisheries at La Calle were almost entirely neglected. Two classes of boats engage in the pursuit—a large See also:size of from 1 2 to 14 tons, manned by ten or twelve hands, and a small size of 3 or 4 tons, with a See also:crew of five or six. The large boats, dredging from See also:March to See also:October, collect from 65o to 850 lb of coral, and the small, working throughout the See also:year, collect from 390 to 500 lb. The Algerian reefs are divided into ten portions, of which only one is fished annually—ten years being considered sufficient for the proper growth of the coral.

The range of value of the various qualities of coral, according to See also:

colour and size, is exceedingly wide, and notwithstanding the steady See also:Oriental demand its See also:price is considerably affected by th^ fluctuations of See also:fashion. While the price of the finest tints of rot See also:pink may range from £8o to £120 per oz., See also:ordinary red-coloured small pieces sell for about £2 per oz., and the small fragments called collette, used for children's necklaces, cost about 5s. per oz. In See also:China large See also:spheres of See also:good coloured coral command high prices, being in great requisition for the See also:button of See also:office worn by the mandarins. It also finds a ready market throughout India and in Central See also:Asia; and with the negroes of Central Africa and of See also:America it is a favourite ornamental substance.

End of Article: CORAL

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