[page 5]

"And remember it takes many hundreds of years for coral to
form. Every little curlicue and fancy scroll design was once a little live
animal or polyp. These little animals get lime and phosphate from the
water with which they make their coral houses, and they keep on
building and living and dying in these houses on through the ages." (2)
(4) (6)

"Tell me more," said Peggy Ann.

"The coral families are like colonies. When one family dies
another family goes right on building and living where the dead ones left
off, and so on forever.

"There are reefs of coral in the ocean that took thousands of years
to form. A reef grows until it reaches the surface, only a stopping after it
has thrust its tops out of the sea." (2) (4) (7)

"And then," said Peggy Ann, "people sometimes build
lighthouses to warn ships against being wrecked on them."

"Did you know, Peggy Ann, that in the beautiful undersea
garden, over which we are sailing, are hundreds of conch shells?"

"Sees funny," said Peggy Ann, "I have seen shells like those in
store windows, but I never expected to see them walking about in their
ocean home."

You are looking at King and Queen conchs. See the clear rose-
pink of the queen, and the speckled-brown of the King? Between