So that if you
suppose a single polype of this kind settled upon the bottom of the
sea, it may by these various methods--that is to say, by cutting itself
in two, which we call "fission," or by budding; or by sending out these
swimming embryos,--multiply itself to an enormous extent, and give rise
to thousands, or millions, of progeny in a comparatively short time;
and these thousands, or millions, of progeny may cover a very large
surface of the sea bottom; in fact, you will readily perceive that, give
them time, and there is no limit to the surface which they may cover.
Having understood thus far the general nature of these polypes, which
are the fabricators both of the red and white coral, let us consider a
little more particularly how the skeletons of the red coral and of the
white coral are formed. The red coral polype perches upon the sea
bottom, it then grows up into a sort of stem, and out of that stem there
grow branches, each of which has its own polypes; and thus you have a
kind of tree formed, every branch of the tree terminated by its
polype.
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