Note 61 — VIII.

The origin of coral-stocks is minutely described by Ehrenberg, in the Abhandl. for 1832, where he makes the following remarks:—"The coral mass is neither a mere structure composed of many animals arbitrarily conjoined, as Ellis supposed; nor one single animal with many heads, or with simple furcations, as Cavolini maintained; nor a vegetable stem with animal flowers, as Linnæus expressed it; it is a body of families, a living tree of consanguinity; the single animals belonging to it, and continually developing upon the primary ancestor, are entirely isolated within themselves, and capable of complete independence, although unable to achieve it."