. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. 392 FUNAFUTI: THE STORY OF A CORAL ATOLL. DARWIN INCINC REE. mountain, is formed of the same material. Not perhaps a strictly logi- cal conclusion, yet, as events have proved, in the main correct. Chamisso's opinion was not destined to remain long unchallenged, for two famous French naturalists—Quoy and Gaiinard—asserted, as the result of their observations, that the coral rock of an atoll is only skin-deep—i. e., it forms, according to the
. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. 392 FUNAFUTI: THE STORY OF A CORAL ATOLL. DARWIN INCINC REE. mountain, is formed of the same material. Not perhaps a strictly logi- cal conclusion, yet, as events have proved, in the main correct. Chamisso's opinion was not destined to remain long unchallenged, for two famous French naturalists—Quoy and Gaiinard—asserted, as the result of their observations, that the coral rock of an atoll is only skin-deep—i. e., it forms, according to them, a mere superficial crust, not more than about 25 feet in thickness; the rest (Chamisso's "table mountain") being, on this view, of volcanic, or at all events of inorganic, origin. Few of the arguments by which it was attempted to sustain this erroneous conclusion strike one as being very satisfactory, but they include one highly important observation, viz, that reef-building corals do not live at greater depths than 25 feet below the level of low tides. Subsequent inquiry, while fully confirming the existence of a limit, has at the same time extended it down to a depth of as many as 25 or perhaps even 40 fathoms. Yet, even with this modification, the unex- pected discovery of Quoy and Gaimard seems to stand in flagrant contradiction to the views of Chamisso. If corals can not grow below a depth of 25 fathoms, how could they possibly have built up islands of over 100 fathoms in thick- ness? The answer to this question, as is well known, was given by Charles Darwin. If. we admit the truth of both the apparently conflicting state- ments, it is obvious that the corals at the base of a reef 100 fathoms in thickness must have been situated within the limit of 25 fathoms at the time they were alive. But in order to bring them within this limit it is only necessary to suppose that the foundation on which they grew originally stood 75 fathoms nearer the sea level than
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