Articles in This Slice:
COQUELIN, BENOIT CONSTANT CORNWALL (city of England)
COQUEREL, ATHANASE JOSUE CORNWALLIS, CHARLES CORNWALLIS
COQUEREL, ATHANASE LAURENT CORNWALLIS, SIR WILLIAM
COQUES, GONZALEZ CORO
COQUET (river of Northumberland) COROMANDEL COAST
COQUET (simulate love-making) CORONA
COQUIMBO CORONACH
CORACLE CORONADO, FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE
CORAES, ADAMANTIOS CORONATION
CORAL CORONER
CORALLIAN CORONIUM
CORAL-REEFS COROT, JEAN-BAPTISTE CAMILLE
CORAM, THOMAS CORPORAL
COR ANGLAIS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
CORATO CORPORATION
CORBAN CORPS
CORBEIL, WILLIAM OF CORPSE
CORBEIL (town of northern France) CORPULENCE
CORBEL CORPUS CHRISTI
CORBET, RICHARD CORPUS CHRISTI, FEAST OF
CORBIE CORRAL
CORBRIDGE CORREA
CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS CORREA DA SERRA, JOSE FRANCISCO
CORD CORREGGIO
CORDAY D'ARMONT CORRENTI, CESARE
CORDELIERS, CLUB OF THE CORRESPONDENCE
CORDERIUS CORREZE
CORDES CORRIB, LOUGH
CORDILLERA CORRIDOR
CORDITE CORRIE
CORDOBA, GONZALO FERNANDEZ DE CORRIENTES (province of Argentine)
CORDOBA (province of Argentine) CORRIENTES (city of Argentine)
CORDOBA (city of Argentine) CORRIGAN, MICHAEL AUGUSTINE
CORDOBA (town of Mexico) CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE
CORDON CORRUPT PRACTICES
CORDOVA (province of Spain) CORRY
CORDOVA (city of Spain) CORSAIR
CORDUROY CORSICA
CORDUS, AULUS CREMUTIUS CORSICANA
CORELLI, ARCANGELO CORSINI
CORELLI, MARIE CORSON, HIRAM
CORENZIO, BELISARIO CORSSEN, WILHELM PAUL
CO-RESPONDENT CORT, CORNELIS
CORFE CASTLE CORTE
CORFINIUM CORTE-REAL, JERONYMO
CORFU CORTES, HERNAN
CORI CORTES
CORIANDER CORTI, LODOVICO
CORINGA CORTLAND
CORINNA CORTONA
CORINTH (city of Greece) CORUMBA
CORINTH (city of Mississippi) CORUNDUM
CORINTH, ISTHMUS OF CORUNNA (province of Spain)
CORINTHIANS, EPISTLES TO THE CORUNNA (city of Spain)
CORINTO CORVEE
CORIOLANUS, GAIUS MARCIUS CORVEY
CORIOLI CORVINUS, JANOS
CORIPPUS, FLAVIUS CRESCONIUS CORVUS, MARCUS VALERIUS
CORISCO CORWEN
CORK, RICHARD BOYLE CORWIN, THOMAS
CORK (county of Ireland) CORY, WILLIAM JOHNSON
CORK (city of Ireland) CORYATE, THOMAS
CORK (bark) CORYBANTES
CORK AND ORRERY, MARY CORYDON
CORLEONE CORYPHAEUS
CORMENIN, LOUIS MARIE DE LA HAYE COS
CORMON, FERNAND COSA
CORMONTAINGNE, LOUIS DE COSEL
CORMORANT COSENZ, ENRICO
CORN (grain) COSENZA
CORN (outgrowth of the skin) COSHOCTON
CORNARO, CATERINA COSIN, JOHN
CORNARO, LUIGI COSMAS (of Alexandria)
CORNBRASH COSMAS (of Prague)
CORNEILLE, PIERRE COSMATI
CORNEILLE, THOMAS COSMIC
CORNELIA COSMOGONY
CORNELIUS COSMOPOLITAN
CORNELIUS, CARL AUGUST PETER COSNE
CORNELIUS, PETER VON COSSA, LUIGI
CORNELL UNIVERSITY COSSA, PIETRO
CORNET COSSACKS
CORNETO TARQUINIA COSSIMBAZAR
CORNICE COSTA, GIOVANNI
CORNIFICIUS COSTA, LORENZO
CORNING, ERASTUS COSTA, SIR MICHAEL ANDREW AGNUS
CORNING COSTAKI, ANTHOPOULOS
CORN LAWS COSTANZO, ANGELO DI
CORN-SALAD COSTA RICA
CORNU, MARIE ALFRED COSTELLO, DUDLEY
CORNU COPIAE COSTER-MONGER
CORNUS COSTS
CORNUTUS, LUCIUS ANNAEUS COSTUME
CORNWALL (city of Canada)
COQUELIN, BENOIT CONSTANT (1841-1909), French actor, known as Coquelin
_aine_, was born at Boulogne on the 23rd of January 1841. He was
originally intended to follow his father's trade of baker (he was once
called _un boulanger manque_ by a hostile critic), but his love of
acting led him to the Conservatoire, where he entered Regnier's class in
1859. He won the first prize for comedy within a year, and made his
debut on the 7th of December 1860 at the Comedie Francaise as the comic
valet, Gros-Rene, in Moliere's _Depit amoureux_, but his first great
success was as Figaro, in the following year. He was made _societaire_
in 1864, and during the next twenty-two years he created at the Francais
the leading parts in forty-four new plays, including Theodore de
Banville's _Gringoire_ (1867), Paul Ferrier's _Tabarin_ (1871), Emile
Augier's _Paul Forestier_ (1871), _L'Etrangere_ (1876) by the younger
Dumas, Charles Lomon's _Jean Dacier_ (1877), Edward Pailleron's _Le
Monde ou l'on s'ennuie_ (1881), Erckmann and Chatrian's _Les Rantzau_
(1884). In consequence of a dispute with the authorities over the
question of his right to make provincial tours in France he resigned in
1886. Three years later, however, the breach was healed; and after a
successful series of tours in Europe and the United States he rejoined
the Comedie Francaise as _pensionnaire_ in 1890. It was during this
period that he took the part of Labussiere, in the production of
Sardou's' _Thermidor_, which was interdicted by the government after
three performances. In 1892 he broke definitely with the Comedie
Francaise, and toured for some time through the capitals of Europe with
a company of his own. In 1895 he joined the Renaissance theatre in
Paris, and played there until he became director of the Porte Saint
Martin in 1897. Here he won successes in Edmond Rostand's _Cyrano de
Bergerac_ (1897), Emile Bergerat's _Plus que reine_ (1899), Catulle
Mendes' _Scarron_ (1905), and Alfred Capus and Lucien Descaves'
_L'Attentat_ (1906). In 1900 he toured in America with Sarah Bernhardt,
and on their return continued with his old colleague to appear in
_L'Aiglon_, at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt. He was rehearsing for the
creation of the leading part in Rostand's _Chantecler_, which he was to
produce, when he died suddenly in Paris, on the 27th of January 1909.
Coquelin was an Officier de l'Instruction Publique and of the Legion of
Honour. He published _L'Art et le comedien_ (1880), _Moliere et le
misanthrope_ (1881), essays on _Eugene Manuel_ (1881) and
_Sully-Prudhomme_ (1882), _L'Arnolphe de Moliere_ (1882), _Les
Comediens_ (1882), _L'Art de dire le monologue_ (with his brother,
1884), _Tartuffe_ (1884), _L'Art du comedien_ (1894).
His brother, ERNEST ALEXANDRE HONORE COQUELIN (1848-1909), called
Coquelin _cadet_, was born on the 16th of May 1848 at Boulogne, and
entered the Conservatoire in 1864. He graduated with the first prize in
comedy and made his debut in 1867 at the Odeon. The next year he
appeared with his brother at the Theatre Francais and became a
_societaire_ in 1879. He played a great many parts, in both the classic
and the modern repertoire, and also had much success in reciting
monologues of his own composition. He wrote _Le Livre des convalescents_
(1880), _Le Monologue moderne_ (1881), _Fairiboles_ (1882), _Le Rire_
(1887), _Pirouettes_ (1888). He died on the 8th of February 1909.
JEAN COQUELIN (1865- ), son of Coquelin _aine_, was also an actor,
first at the Theatre Francais (debut, 1890), later at the Renaissance,
and then at the Porte Saint Martin, where he created the part of Raigone
in _Cyrano de Bergerac_.
COQUEREL, ATHANASE JOSUE (1820-1875), French Protestant divine, son of
A. L. C. Coquerel (q.v.), was born at Amsterdam on the 16th of June
1820. He studied theology at Geneva and at Strassburg, and at an early
age succeeded his uncle, C. A. Coquerel, as editor of _Le Lien_, a post
which he held till 1870. In 1852 he took part in establishing the
_Nouvelle Revue de theologie_, the first periodical of scientific
theology published in France, and in the same year helped to found the
"Historical Society of French Protestantism." Meanwhile he had gained a
high reputation as a preacher, and especially as the advocate of
religious freedom; but his teaching became more and more offensive to
the orthodox party, and on the appearance (1864) of his article on
Renan's _Vie de Jesus_ in the _Nouvelle Revue de theologie_ he was
forbidden by the Paris consistory to continue his ministerial functions.
He received an address of sympathy from the consistory of Anduze, and a
provision was voted for him by the Union Protestante Liberale, to enable
him to continue his preaching. He received the cross of the Legion of
Honour in 1862. He died at Fismes (Marne), on the 24th of July 1875. His
chief works were _Jean Calas et sa famille_ (1858); _Des Beaux-Arts en
Italie_ (Eng. trans. 1859); _La Saint Barthelemy_ (1860); _Precis de
l'eglise reformee_ (1862); _Le Catholicisme et le protestantisme
consideres dans leur origine et leur developpement_ (1864); _Libres
etudes, and La Conscience et la foi_ (1867).
COQUEREL, ATHANASE LAURENT CHARLES (1795-1868), French Protestant
divine, was born in Paris on the 17th of August 1795. He received his
early education from his aunt, Helen Maria Williams, an Englishwoman,
who at the close of the 18th century gained a reputation by various
translations and by her _Letters from France_. He completed his
theological studies at the Protestant seminary of Montauban, and in 1816
was ordained minister. In 1817 he was invited to become pastor of the
chapel of St Paul at Jersey, but he declined, being unwilling to
subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. During
the following twelve years he resided in Holland, and preached before
Calvinistic congregations at Amsterdam, Leiden and Utrecht. In 1830, at
the suggestion of Baron Georges de Cuvier, then minister of Protestant
worship, Coquerel was called to Paris as pastor of the Reformed Church.
In the course of 1833 he was chosen a member of the consistory, and
rapidly acquired the reputation of a great pulpit orator, but his
liberal views brought him into antagonism with the rigid Calvinists. He
took a warm interest in all matters of education, and distinguished
himself so much by his defence of the university of Paris against a
sharp attack, that in 1835 he was chosen a member of the consistory of
the Legion of Honour. In 1841 appeared his _Reponse_ to the _Leben Jesu_
of Strauss. After the revolution of February 1848, Coquerel was elected
a member of the National Assembly, where he sat as a moderate
republican, subsequently becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly.
He supported the first ministry of Louis Napoleon, and gave his vote in
favour of the expedition to Rome and the restoration of the temporal
power of the pope. After the _coup d'etat_ of the 2nd of December 1851,
he confined himself to the duties of his pastorate. He was a prolific
writer, as well as a popular and eloquent speaker. He died at Paris on
the 10th of January 1868. A large collection of his sermons was
published in 8 vols. between 1819 and 1852. Other works were _Biographie
sacree_ (1825-1826); _Histoire sainte et analyse de la Bible_ (1839);
_Orthodoxie moderne_ (1842); _Christologie_ (1858), &c.
His brother, CHARLES AUGUSTIN COQUEREL (1797-1851), was the author of a
work on English literature (1828), an _Essai sur l'histoire generale du
christianisme_ (1828) and a _Histoire des eglises du desert, depuis la
revocation de l'edit de Nantes_ (1841). A liberal in his views, he was
the founder and editor of the _Annales protestantes_, _Le Lien_, and the
_Revue protestante_.
COQUES (or COCX), GONZALEZ (1614-1684), Flemish painter, son of Pieter
Willemsen Cocx, a respectable Flemish citizen, and not, as his name
might imply, a Spaniard, was born at Antwerp. At the age of twelve he
entered the house of Pieter, the son of "Hell" Breughel, an obscure
portrait painter, and at the expiration of his time as an apprentice
became a journeyman in the workshop of David Ryckaert the second, under
whom he made accurate studies of still life. At twenty-six he
matriculated in the gild of St Luke; he then married Ryckaert's
daughter, and in 1653 joined the literary and dramatic club known as the
"Retorijkerkamer." After having been made president of his gild in 1665,
and in 1671 painter in ordinary to Count Monterey, governor-general of
the Low Countries, he married again in 1674, and died full of honours in
his native place. One of his canvases in the gallery at the Hague
represents a suite of rooms hung with pictures, in which the artist
himself may be seen at a table with his wife and two children,
surrounded by masterpieces composed and signed by several
contemporaries. Partnership in painting was common amongst the small
masters of the Antwerp school; and it has been truly said of Coques that
he employed Jacob von Arthois for landscapes, Ghering and van Ehrenberg
for architectural backgrounds, Steenwijck the younger for rooms, and
Pieter Gysels for still life and flowers; but the model upon which
Coques formed himself was Van Dyck, whose sparkling touch and refined
manner he imitated with great success. He never ventured beyond the
"cabinet," but in this limited field the family groups of his middle
time are full of life, brilliant from the sheen of costly dress and
sparkling play of light and shade, combined with finished execution and
enamelled surface.
COQUET (pronounced Cocket), a river of Northumberland, draining a
beautiful valley about 40 m. in length. It rises in the Cheviot Hills.
Following a course generally easterly, but greatly winding, it passes
Harbottle, near which relics of the Stone Age are seen, and Holystone,
where it is recorded that Bishop Paulinus baptized a great body of
Northumbrians in the year 627. Several earthworks crown hills above this
part of the valley, and at Cartington, Fosson and Whitton are relics of
medieval border fortifications. The small town of Rothbury is
beautifully situated beneath the ragged Simonside Hills. The river
dashes through a narrow gully called the Thrum, and then passes
Brinkburn priory, of which the fine Transitional Norman church was
restored to use in 1858, while there are fragments of the monastic
buildings. This was an Augustinian foundation of the time of Henry I.
The dale continues well wooded and very beautiful until Warkworth is
reached, with its fine castle and remarkable hermitage. A short distance
below this the Coquet has its mouth in Alnwick Bay (North Sea), with the
small port of Amble on the south bank, and Coquet Island a mile out to
sea. The river is frequented by sportsmen for salmon and trout fishing.
No important tributary is received, and the drainage area does not
exceed 240 sq. m.
COQUET (pronounced co-kette), to simulate the arts of love-making,
generally from motives of personal vanity, to flirt; in a figurative
sense, to trifle or dilly-dally with anything. The word is derived from
the French _coqueter_, which originally means, "to strut about like a
cock-bird," i.e. when it desires to attract the hens. The French
substantive _coquet_, in the sense of "beau" or "lady-killer," was
formerly commonly used in English; but the feminine form, _coquette_,
now practically alone survives, in the sense of a woman who gratifies
her vanity by using her powers of attraction in a frivolous or
inconstant fashion. Hence "to coquet," the original and more correct
form, has come frequently to be written "to coquette." Coquetry (Fr.
_coquetterie_), primarily the art of the coquette, is used figuratively
of any dilly-dallying or "coquetting" and, by transference of idea, of
any superficial qualities of attraction in persons or things. "Coquet"
is still also occasionally used adjectivally, but the more usual form is
"coquettish"; e.g. we speak of a "coquettish manner," or a "coquettish
hat." The crested humming-birds of the genus _Lophornis_ are known as
coquettes (Fr. _coquets_).
COQUIMBO, an important city and port of the province and department of
Coquimbo, Chile, in 29 deg. 57' 4" S., 71 deg. 21' 12" W. Pop. (1895)
7322. The railway connexions are with Ovalle to the S., and Vicuna (or
Elqui) to the E., but the proposed extension northward of Chile's
longitudinal system would bring Coquimbo into direct communication with
Santiago. The city has a good well-sheltered harbour, reputed the best
in northern Chile, and is the port of La Serena, the provincial capital,
9 m. distant, with which it is connected by rail. There are large
copper-smelting establishments in the city, which exports a very large
amount of copper, some gold and silver, and cattle and hay to the more
northern provinces.
The province of Coquimbo, which lies between those of Aconcagua and
Atacama and extends from the Pacific inland to the Argentine frontier,
has an area of 13,461 sq. m. (official estimate) and a population (1895)
of 160,898. It is less arid than the province of Atacama, the surface
near the coast being broken by well-watered river valleys, which produce
alfalfa, and pasture cattle for export. Near the mountains grapes are
grown, from which wine of a good quality is made. The mineral resources
include extensive deposits of copper, and some less important mines of
gold and silver. The climate is dry and healthy, and there are
occasional rains. Several rivers, the largest of which is the Coquimbo
(or Elqui) with a length of 125 m., cross the province from the
mountains. The capital is La Serena, and the principal cities are
Coquimbo, Ovalle (pop. 5565), and Illapel (3170).
CORACLE (Welsh _corwg-l_, from _corwg_, cf. Irish and mod. Gaelic
_curach_, boat), a species of ancient British fishing-boat which is
still extensively used on the Severn and other rivers of Wales, notably
on the Towy and Teifi. It is a light boat, oval in shape, and formed of
canvas stretched on a framework of split and interwoven rods, and
well-coated with tar and pitch to render it water-tight. According to
early writers the framework was covered with horse or bullock hide
(_corium_). So light and portable are these boats that they can easily
be carried on the fisherman's shoulders when proceeding to and from his
work. Coracle-fishing is performed by two men, each seated in his
coracle and with one hand holding the net while with the other he plies
his paddle. When a fish is caught, each hauls up his end of the net
until the two coracles are brought to touch and the fish is then
secured. The coracle forms a unique link between the modern life of
Wales and its remote past; for this primitive type of boat was in
existence amongst the Britons at the time of the invasion of Julius
Caesar, who has left a description of it, and even employed it in his
Spanish campaign.
CORAES (KORAIS), ADAMANTIOS [in French, DIAMANT CORAY] (1748-1833),
Greek scholar and patriot, was born at Smyrna, the son of a merchant. As
a schoolboy he distinguished himself in the study of ancient Greek, but
from 1772 to 1779 he was occupied with the management of his father's
business affairs in Amsterdam. In 1782, on the collapse of his father's
business, he went to Montpellier, where for six years he studied
medicine, supporting himself by translating German and English medical
works into French. He then settled in Paris, where he lived until his
death on the 10th of April 1833. Inspired by the ideals of the French
Revolution, he devoted himself to furthering the cause of Greek
independence both among the Greeks themselves and by awakening the
interest of the chief European Powers against the Turkish rule. His
great object was to rouse the enthusiasm of the Greeks for the idea that
they were the true descendants of the ancient Hellenes by teaching them
to regard as their own inheritance the great works of antiquity. He
sought to purify the ordinary written language by eliminating the more
obvious barbarisms, and by enriching it with classical words and others
invented in strict accordance with classical tradition (see further
GREEK LANGUAGE: modern). Under his influence, though the common patois
was practically untouched, the language of literature and intellectual
intercourse was made to approximate to the pure Attic of the 5th and 4th
centuries B.C. His chief works are his editions of Greek authors
contained in his [Greek: Hellenike Bibliotheke] and his [Greek:
Parerga]; his editions of the _Characters_ of Theophrastus, of the _De
aere, aquis, et locis_ of Hippocrates, and of the _Aethiopica_ of
Heliodorus, elaborately annotated.
His literary remains have been edited by Mamoukas and Damalas
(1881-1887); collections of letters written from Paris at the time of
the French Revolution have been published (in English, by P. Ralli,
1898; in French, by the Marquis de Queux de Saint-Hilaire, 1880). His
autobiography appeared at Paris (1829; Athens, 1891), and his life has
been written by D. Thereianos (1889-1890); see also A. R. Rhangabe,
_Histoire litteraire de la Grece moderne_ (1877).
CORAL, the hard skeletons of various marine organisms. It is chiefly
carbonate of lime, and is secreted from sea-water and deposited in the
tissues of Anthozoan polyps, the principal source of the coral-reefs of
the world (see ANTHOZOA), of Hydroids (see HYDROMEDUSAE), less important
in modern reef-building, but extremely abundant in Palaeozoic times, and
of certain Algae. The skeletons of many other organisms, such as Polyzoa
and Mollusca, contribute to coral masses but cannot be included in the
term "coral." The structure of coral animals (sometimes erroneously
termed "coral insects") is dealt within the articles cited above; for
the distribution and formation of reefs see CORAL-REEFS.
Beyond their general utility and value as sources of lime, few of the
corals present any special feature of industrial importance, excepting
the red or precious coral (_Corallium rubrum_) of the Mediterranean Sea.
It, however, is and has been from remote times very highly prized for
jewelry, personal ornamentation and decorative purposes generally. About
the beginning of the Christian era a great trade was carried on in
coral between the Mediterranean and India, where it was highly esteemed
as a substance endowed with mysterious sacred properties. It is remarked
by Pliny that, previous to the existence of the Indian demand, the Gauls
were in the habit of using it for the ornamentation of their weapons of
war and helmets; but in his day, so great was the Eastern demand, that
it was very rarely seen even in the regions which produced it. Among the
Romans branches of coral were hung around 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 charm continued to be
entertained throughout medieval times; and even to the present day in
Italy it is worn as a preservative from the evil eye, and by females as
a cure for sterility.
The precious coral is found widespread on the borders and around the
islands of the Mediterranean Sea. It ranges in depth from shallow water
(25 to 50 ft.) to water over 1000 ft., but the most abundant beds are in
the shallower areas. The most important fisheries extend along the
coasts of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco; but red coral is also obtained
in the vicinity of Naples, near Leghorn and Genoa, and on the coasts of
Sardinia, Corsica, Catalonia and Provence. It occurs also in the
Atlantic off the north-west of Africa, and recently it has been dredged
in deep water off the west of Ireland. Allied species of small
commercial value have been obtained off Mauritius and near Japan. The
black coral (_Antipathes abies_), formerly abundant in the Persian Gulf,
and for which India is the chief market, has a wide distribution and
grows to a considerable height and thickness in the tropical waters of
the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
From the middle ages downwards the securing of the right to the coral
fisheries on the African coasts was an object of considerable rivalry
among the Mediterranean communities of Europe. Previous to the 16th
century they were controlled by the Italian republics. For a short
period the Tunisian fisheries were secured by Charles V. to Spain; but
the monopoly soon fell into the hands of the French, who held the right
till the Revolutionary government in 1793 threw the trade open. For a
short period (about 1806) the 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 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 industries, centring largely in
Naples, Rome and Genoa. On the Algerian coast, however, boats not flying
the French flag have to pay heavy dues for the right to fish, and in the
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 size of from 12 to 14 tons, manned by ten or twelve
hands, and a small size of 3 or 4 tons, with a crew of five or six. The
large boats, dredging from March to October, collect from 650 to 850
[lb] of coral, and the small, working throughout the 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
colour and size, is exceedingly wide, and notwithstanding the steady
Oriental demand its price is considerably affected by the fluctuations
of fashion. While the price of the finest tints of rose pink may range
from L80 to L120 per oz., ordinary red-coloured small pieces sell for
about L2 per oz., and the small fragments called _collette_, used for
children's necklaces, cost about 5s. per oz. In China large spheres of
good coloured coral command high prices, being in great requisition for
the button of office worn by the mandarins. It also finds a ready market
throughout India and in Central Asia; and with the negroes of Central
Africa and of America it is a favourite ornamental substance.
CORALLIAN (Fr. _Corallien_), in geology, the name of one of the
divisions of the Jurassic rocks. The rocks forming this division are
mainly calcareous grits with oolites, and rubbly coral rock--often
called "Coral Rag"; ferruginous beds are fairly common, and occasionally
there are beds of clay. In England the Corallian strata are usually
divided into an upper series, characterized by the ammonite
_Perisphinctes plicatilis_, and a lower series with _Aspidoceras
perarmatus_ as the zonal fossil. When well developed these beds are seen
to lie above the Oxford Clay and below the Kimeridge Clay; but it will
save a good deal of confusion if it is recognized that the Corallian
rocks of England are nothing more than a variable, local lithological
phase of the two clays which come respectively above and below them.
This caution is particularly necessary when any attempt is being made to
co-ordinate the English with the continental Corallian.
The Corallian rocks are nowhere better displayed than in the cliffs at
Weymouth. Here Messrs Blake and Huddleston recognized the following
beds:--
/ Upper Coral Rag and Abbotsbury Iron Ore.
| Sandsfoot Grits.
Upper | Sandsfoot Clay.
Corallian < Sandsfoot Clay.
| Trigonia Beds.
\ Osmington Oolite (quarried at Marnhull and Todbere).
/ Bencliff Grits.
Lower | Nothe Clay.
Corallian < Nothe Clay.
\ Nothe Grit.
In Dorsetshire the Corallian rocks are 200 ft. thick, in Wiltshire 100
ft., but N.E. of Oxford they are represented mainly by clays, and the
series is much thinner. (At Upware, the "Upware limestone" is the only
known occurrence of beds that correspond in character with the Coralline
oolite between Wiltshire and Yorkshire). In Yorkshire, however, the hard
rocky beds come on again in full force. They appear once more at Brora
in Sutherlandshire. Corallian strata have been proved by boring in
Sussex (241 ft.). In Huntingdon, Bedfordshire, parts of Buckinghamshire,
Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire the Corallian series is represented by
the "Ampthill Clay," which has also been called "Bluntesham" or
"Tetworth" Clay. Here and there in this district hard calcareous
inconstant beds appear, such as the Elsworth rock, St Ives rock and
Boxworth rock.
In Yorkshire the Corallian rocks differ in many respects from their
southern equivalents. They are subdivided as follows:--
/ Upper Calcareous Grit \
Kimeridge | / Coral Rag and Upper >_A. plicatilis._
Clay | | Limestone |
Cora- |"Coralline | Middle Calcareous Grit /
....... llian < Oolite" <
Rock | | Lower Limestone \
Oxford | \ Passage Beds >_A. perarmatus._
Clay \ Lower Calcareous Grit /
These rocks play an important part in the formation of the Vale of
Pickering, and the Hambleton and Howardian Hills; they are well exposed
in Gristhorpe Bay.
The passage beds, highly siliceous, flaggy limestones, are known locally
as "Greystone" or "Wall stones"; some portions of these beds have
resisted the weathering agencies and stand up prominently on the
moors--such are the "Bridestones." Cement stone beds occur in the upper
calcareous grit at North Grimstone; and in the middle and lower
calcareous grits good building stones are found.
Among the fossils in the English Corallian rocks corals play an
important part, frequently forming large calcareous masses or "doggers";
_Thamnastrea_, _Thecosmilia_ and _Isastrea_ are prominent genera.
Ammonites and belemnites are abundant and gasteropods are very common
(_Nerinea_, _Chemnitzia_, _Bourgetia_, &c.). _Trigonias_ are very
numerous in certain beds (_T. perlata_ and _T. mariani_). _Astarte
ovata_, _Lucina aliena_ and other pelecypods are also abundant. The
echinoderms _Echinobrissus scutatus_ and _Cidaris florigemma_ are
characteristic of these beds.
Rocks of the same age as the English Corallian are widely spread over
Europe, but owing to the absence of clearly-marked stratigraphical and
palaeontological boundaries, the nomenclature has become greatly
involved, and there is now a tendency amongst continental geologists to
omit the term Corallian altogether. According to A. de Lapparent's
classification the English Corallian rocks are represented by the
_Sequanien_ stage, with two substages, an upper _Astartien_ and lower
_Rauracien_; but this does not include the whole Corallian stage as
defined above, the lower part being placed by the French author in his
_Oxfordien_ stage. For the table showing the relative position of these
stages see the article JURASSIC.
See also "The Jurassic Rocks of Great Britain," vol. i. (1892) and
vol. v. (1895) (_Memoirs of the Geological Survey_); Blake and
Huddleston, "On the Corallian Rocks of England," _Q.J.G.S._ vol.
xxxiii. (1877). (J. A. H.)
CORAL-REEFS. Many species of coral (q.v.) are widely distributed, and
are found at all depths both in warmer and colder seas. _Lophohelia
prolifera_ and _Dendrophyllia ramea_ form dense beds at a depth of from
100 to 200 fathoms off the coasts of Norway, Scotland and Portugal, and
the "Challenger" and other deep-sea dredging expeditions have brought up
corals from great depths in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. But the
larger number of species, particularly the more massive kinds, occur
only in tropical seas in shallow waters, whose mean temperature does not
fall below 68 deg. Fahr., and they do not flourish unless the
temperature is considerably higher. These conditions of temperature are
found in a belt of ocean which may roughly be indicated as lying between
the 28th N. and S. parallels. Within these limits there are numerous
reefs and islands formed of coral intermixed with the calcareous
skeletons of other animals, and their formation has long been a matter
of dispute among naturalists and geologists.
Coral formations may be classed as fringing or shore reefs, barrier
reefs and atolls. _Fringing reefs_ are platforms of coral rock extending
no great distance from the shores of a continent or island. The seaward
edge of the platform is usually somewhat higher than the inner part, and
is often awash at low water. It is intersected by numerous creeks and
channels, especially opposite those places where streams of fresh water
flow down from the land, and there is usually a channel deep enough to
be navigable by small boats between the edge of the reef and the land.
The outer wall of the reef is rather steep, but descends into a
comparatively shallow sea. Since corals are killed by fresh water or by
deposition of mud or sand, it is obvious that the outer edge of the reef
is the region of most active coral growth, and the boat channel and the
passages leading into it from the open sea have been formed by the
suppression of coral growth by one of the above-mentioned causes,
assisted by the scour of the tides and the solvent action of sea-water.
_Barrier reefs_ may be regarded as fringing reefs on a large scale. The
great Australian barrier reef extends for no less a distance than 1250
m. from Torres Strait in 9.5 deg. S. lat. to Lady Elliot island in 24
deg. S. lat. The outer edge of a barrier reef is much farther from the
shore than that of a fringing reef, and the channel between it and the
land is much deeper. Opposite Cape York the seaward edge of the great
Australian barrier reef is nearly 90 m. distant from the coast, and the
maximum depth of the channel at this point is nearly 20 fathoms. As is
the case in a fringing reef, the outer edge of a barrier reef is in many
places awash at low tides, and masses of dead coral and sand may be
piled up on it by the action of the waves, so that islets are formed
which in time are covered with vegetation. These islets may coalesce and
form a strip of dry land lying some hundred yards or less from the
extreme outer edge of the reef, and separated by a wide channel from the
mainland. Where the barrier reef is not far from the land there are
always gaps in it opposite the mouths of rivers or considerable streams.
The outer wall of a barrier reef is steep, and frequently, though not
always, descends abruptly into great depths. In many cases in the
Pacific Ocean a barrier reef surrounds one or more island peaks, and the
strips of land on the edge of the reef may encircle the peaks with a
nearly complete ring. An _atoll_ is a ring-shaped reef, either awash at
low tide or surmounted by several islets, or more rarely by a complete
strip of dry land surrounding a central lagoon. The outer wall of an
atoll generally descends with a very steep but irregular slope to a
depth of 500 fathoms or more, but the lagoon is seldom more than 20
fathoms deep, and may be much less. Frequently, especially to the
leeward side of an atoll, there may be one or more navigable passages
leading from the lagoon to the open sea.
Though corals flourish everywhere under suitable conditions in tropical
seas, coral reefs and atolls are by no means universal in the torrid
zone. The Atlantic Ocean is remarkably free from coral formations,
though there are numerous reefs in the West Indian islands, off the
south coast of Florida, and on the coast of Brazil. The Bermudas also
are coral formations, their high land being formed by sand accumulated
by the wind and cemented into rock, and are remarkable for being the
farthest removed from the equator of any recent reefs, being situated in
32 deg. N. lat. In the Pacific Ocean there is a vast area thickly dotted
with coral formations, extending from 5 deg. N. lat. to 25 deg. S. lat.,
and from 130 deg. E. long, to 145 deg. W. long. There are also extensive
reefs in the westernmost islands of the Hawaiian group in about 25 deg.
N. lat. In the Indian Ocean, the Laccadive and Maldive islands are large
groups of atolls off the west and south-west of India. Still farther
south is the Chagos group of atolls, and there are numerous reefs off
the north coast of Madagascar, at Mauritius, Bourbon and the Seychelles.
The Cocos-Keeling Islands, in 12 deg. S. lat. and 96 deg. E. long., are
typical atolls in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean.
[Illustration: Diagram showing the formation of an atoll during
subsidence. (After C. Darwin.) The lower part of the figure represents
a barrier reef surrounding a central peak.
A, A, outer edges of the barrier reef at the sea-level; the coco-nut
trees indicate dry land formed on the edges of the reef.
L, L, lagoon channel.
A', A', outer edges of the atoll formed by upgrowth of the coral
during the subsidence of the peak.
L', lagoon of the atoll.
The vertical scale is considerably exaggerated as compared with the
horizontal scale.]
The remarkable characters of barrier reefs and atolls, their isolated
position in the midst of the great oceans the seemingly unfathomable
depths from which they rise their peaceful and shallow lagoons and inner
channels, their narrow strips of land covered with coco-nut palms and
other vegetation, and rising but a few feet above the level of the
ocean, naturally attracted the attention of the earlier navigators, who
formed sundry speculations as to their origin. The poet-naturalist, A.
von Chamisso, was the first to propound a definite theory of the origin
of atolls and encircling reefs, attributing their peculiar features to
the natural growth of corals and the action of the waves. He pointed out
that the larger and more massive species of corals flourish best on the
outer sides of a reef, whilst the more interior corals are killed or
stunted in growth by the accumulation of coral and other debris. Thus
the outer edge of a submerged reef is the first to reach the surface,
and a ring of land being formed by materials piled up by the waves, an
atoll with a central lagoon is produced. Chamisso's theory necessarily
assumed the existence of a great number of submerged banks reaching
nearly, but not quite, to the surface of the sea in the Pacific and
Indian oceans, and the difficulty of accounting for the existence of so
many of these led C. Darwin to reject his views and bring forward an
explanation which may be called the theory of _subsidence_. Starting
from the well-known premise that reef-building species of corals do not
flourish in a greater depth of water than 20 fathoms, Darwin argued that
all coral islands must have a rocky base, and that it was inconceivable
that, in such large tracts of sea as occur in the Pacific and Indian
oceans, there should be a vast number of submarine peaks or banks all
rising to within 20 or 30 fathoms of the surface and none emerging above
it. But on the supposition that the atolls and encircling reefs were
formed round land which was undergoing a slow movement of subsidence,
their structure could easily be explained. Take the case of an island
consisting of a single high peak. At first the coral growth would form a
fringing reef clinging to its shores. As the island slowly subsided into
the ocean the upward growth of coral would keep the outer rim of the
reef level with or within a few fathoms of the surface, so that, as
subsidence proceeded, the distance between the outer rim of the reef and
the sinking land would continually increase, with the result that a
barrier-reef would be formed separated by a wide channel from the
central peak. As corals and other organisms with calcareous skeletons
live in the channel, their remains, as well as the accumulation of coral
and other debris thrown over the outer edge of the reef, would maintain
the channel at a shallower depth than that of the ocean outside.
Finally, if the subsidence continued, the central peak would disappear
beneath the surface, and an atoll would be left consisting of a raised
margin of reef surrounding a central lagoon, and any pause during the
movement of subsidence would result in the formation of raised islets or
a strip of dry land along the margin of the reef. Darwin's theory was
published in 1842, and found almost universal acceptance, both because
of its simplicity and its applicability to every known type of
coral-reef formation, including such difficult cases as the Great Chagos
Bank, a huge submerged atoll in the Indian Ocean.
Darwin's theory was adopted and strengthened by J. D. Dana, who had made
extensive observations among the Pacific coral reefs between 1838 and
1842, but it was not long before it was attacked by other observers. In
1851 Louis Agassiz produced evidence to show that the reefs off the
south coast of Florida were not formed during subsidence, and in 1863
Karl Semper showed that in the Pelew islands there is abundant evidence
of recent upheaval in a region where both atolls and barrier-reefs
exist. Latterly, many instances of recently upraised coral formations
have been described by H. B. Guppy, J. S. Gardiner and others, and
Alexander Agassiz and Sir J. Murray have brought forward a mass of
evidence tending to shake the subsidence theory to its foundations.
Murray has pointed out that the deep-sea soundings of the "Tuscarora"
and "Challenger" have proved the existence of a large number of
submarine elevations rising out of a depth of 2000 fathoms or more to
within a few hundred fathoms of the surface. The existence of such banks
was unknown to Darwin, and removes his objections to Chamisso's theory.
For although they may at first be too far below the surface for
reef-building corals, they afford a habitat for numerous echinoderms,
molluscs, crustacea and deep-sea corals, whose skeletons accumulate on
their summits, and they further receive a constant rain of the
calcareous and silicious skeletons of minute organisms which teem in the
waters above. By these agencies the banks are gradually raised to the
lowest depth at which reef-building corals can flourish, and once these
establish themselves they will grow more rapidly on the periphery of the
bank, because they are more favourably situated as regards food-supply.
Thus the reef will rise to the surface as an atoll, and the nearer it
approaches the surface the more will the corals on the exterior faces be
favoured, and the more will those in the centre of the reef decrease,
for experiment has shown that the minute pelagic organisms on which
corals feed are far less abundant in a lagoon than in the sea outside.
Eventually, as the margin of the reef rises to the surface and material
is accumulated upon it to form islets or continuous land, the coral
growth in the lagoon will be feeble, and the solvent action of sea-water
and the scour of the tide will tend to deepen the lagoon. Thus the
considerable depth of some lagoons, amounting to 40 or 50 fathoms, may
be accounted for. The observations of Guppy in the Solomon islands have
gone far to confirm Murray's conclusions, since he found in the islands
of Ugi, Santa Anna and Treasury and Stirling islands unmistakable
evidences of a nucleus of volcanic rock, covered with soft earthy bedded
deposits several hundred feet thick. These deposits are highly
fossiliferous in parts, and contain the remains of pteropods,
lamellibranchs and echinoderms, embedded in a foraminiferous deposit
mixed with volcanic debris, like the deep-sea muds brought up by the
"Challenger." The flanks of these elevated beds are covered with
coralline limestone rocks varying from 100 to 16 ft. in thickness. One
of the islands, Santa Anna, has the form of an upraised atoll, with a
mass of coral limestone 80 ft. in vertical thickness, resting on a
friable and sparingly argillaceous rock resembling a deep-sea deposit.
A. Agassiz, in a number of important researches on the Florida reefs,
the Bahamas, the Bermudas, the Fiji islands and the Great Barrier Reef
of Australia, has further shown that many of the peculiar features of
these coral formations cannot be explained on the theory of subsidence,
but are rather attributable to the natural growth of corals on banks
formed by prevailing currents, or on extensive shore platforms or
submarine flats formed by the erosion of pre-existing land surfaces.
In face of this accumulated evidence, it must be admitted that the
subsidence theory of Darwin is inapplicable to a large number of coral
reefs and islands, but it is hardly possible to assert, as Murray does,
that no atolls or barrier reefs have ever been developed after the
manner indicated by Darwin. The most recent research on the structure of
coral reefs has also been the most thorough and most convincing. It is
obvious that, if Murray's theory were correct, a bore hole sunk deep
into an atoll would pass through some 100 ft. of coral rock, then
through a greater or less thickness of argillaceous rock, and finally
would penetrate the volcanic rock on which the other materials were
deposited. If Darwin's theory is correct, the boring would pass through
a great thickness of coral rock, and finally, if it went deep enough,
would pass into the original rock which subsided below the waters. An
expedition sent out by the Royal Society of London started in 1896 for
the island of Funafuti, a typical atoll of the Ellice group in the
Pacific Ocean, with the purpose of making a deep boring to test this
question. The first attempt was not successful, for at a depth of 105
ft. the refractory nature of the rock stopped further progress. But a
second attempt, under the management of Professor Edgeworth David of
Sydney, proved a complete success. With improved apparatus, the boring
was carried down to a depth of 697 ft. (116 fathoms), and a third
attempt carried it down to 1114 ft. (185 fathoms). The boring proves the
existence of a mass of pure limestone of organic origin to the depth of
1114 ft., and there is no trace of any other rock. The organic remains
found in the core brought up by the drill consist of corals,
foraminifera, calcareous algae and other organisms. A boring was also
made from the deck of a ship into the floor of the lagoon, which shows
that under 100 ft. of water there exists at the bottom of the lagoon a
deposit more than 100 ft. thick, consisting of the remains of a
calcareous alga, _Halimeda opuntia_, mixed with abundant foraminifera.
At greater depths, down to 245 ft., the same materials, mixed with the
remains of branching madrepores, were met with, and further progress was
stopped by the existence of solid masses of coral, fragments of porites,
madrepora and heliopora having been brought up in the core. These are
shallow-water corals, and their existence at a depth of nearly 46
fathoms, buried beneath a mass of _Halimeda_ and foraminifera, is clear
evidence of recent subsidence. _Halimeda_ grows abundantly over the
floor of the lagoon of Funafuti, and has been observed in many other
lagoons. The writer collected a quantity of it in the lagoon of Diego
Garcia in the Chagos group. The boring demonstrates that the lagoon of
Funafuti has been filled up to an extent of at least 245 ft. (nearly 41
fathoms), and this fact accords well with Darwin's theory, but is
incompatible with that of Murray. In the present state of our knowledge
it seems reasonable to conclude that coral reefs are formed wherever the
conditions suitable for growth exist, whether in areas of subsidence,
elevation or rest. A considerable number of reefs, at all events, have
not been formed in areas of subsidence, and of these the Florida reefs,
the Bermudas, the Solomon islands, and possibly the Great Barrier Reef
of Australia are examples. Funafuti would appear to have been formed in
an area of subsidence, and it is quite probable that the large groups of
low-lying islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans have been formed
under the same conditions. At the same time, it must be remembered that
the atoll or barrier reef shape is not necessarily evidence of
formation during subsidence, for the observations of Karl Semper, A.
Agassiz, and Guppy are sufficient to prove that these forms of reefs may
be produced by the natural growth of coral, modified by the action of
waves and currents in regions in which subsidence has certainly not
taken place.
See A. Agassiz, many publications in the _Mem. Amer. Acad._ (1883) and
_Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool._ (Harvard, 1889-1899); J. D. Dana, _Corals and
Coral Islands_ (1853; 2nd ed., 1872; 3rd ed., 1890); C. Darwin, _The
Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs_ (3rd ed., 1889); H. B.
Guppy, "The Recent Calcareous Formations of the Solomon Group,"
_Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb._ xxxii. (1885); R. Langenbeck, "Die neueren
Forschungen uber die Korallenriffe," _Hettner geogr. Zeitsch._ iii.
(1897); J. Murray, "On the Structure and Origin of Coral Reefs and
Islands," _Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinb._ x. (1879-1880); J. Murray and
Irvine, "On Coral Reefs and other Carbonate of Lime Formations in
Modern Seas," _Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinb._ (1889); W. Savile Kent, _The
Great Barrier Reef of Australia_ (London, W. H. Allen & Co., 1893);
Karl Semper, _Animal Life_, "Internat. Sci. Series," vol. xxxi.
(1881); J. S. Gardiner, _Nature_, lxix. 371. (G. C. B.)
CORAM, THOMAS (1668-1751), English philanthropist, was born at Lyme
Regis, Dorset. He began life as a seaman, and rose to the position of
merchant captain. He settled at Taunton, Massachusetts, for several
years engaging there in farming and boat-building, and in 1703 returned
to England. His acquaintance with the destitute East End of London, and
the miserable condition of the children there, inspired him with the
idea of providing a refuge for such of them as had no legal protector;
and after seventeen years of unwearied exertion, he obtained in 1739 a
royal charter authorizing the establishment of his hospital for
foundling infants (see FOUNDLING HOSPITALS). It was opened in Hatton
Garden, on the 17th of October 1740, with twenty inmates. For fifteen
years it was supported by voluntary contributions; but in 1756 it was
endowed with a parliamentary grant of L10,000 for the support of all
that might be sent to it. Children were brought, however, in such
numbers, and so few (not one-third, it is said) survived infancy, that
the grant was stopped, and the charity, which had been removed to
Guilford Street, was from that time only administered under careful
restrictions. Coram's later years were spent in watching over the
interests of the hospital; he was also one of the promoters of the
settlement of Georgia and Nova Scotia; and his name is honourably
connected with various other charities. In carrying out his
philanthropic schemes he spent nearly all his private means; and an
annuity of L170 was raised for him by public subscription. He died on
the 29th of March 1751.
COR ANGLAIS, or ENGLISH HORN (Ger. _englisches Horn_ or _alt Hoboe_;
Ital. _corno inglese_), a wood-wind double-reed instrument of the oboe
family, of which it is the tenor. It is not a horn, but bears the same
relation to the oboe as the basset horn does to the clarinet. The cor
anglais differs slightly in construction from the oboe; the conical bore
of the wooden tube is wider and slightly longer, and there is a larger
globular bell and a bent metal crook to which the double reed mouthpiece
is attached. The fingering and method of producing the sound are so
similar in both instruments that the player of the one can in a short
time master the other, but as the cor anglais is pitched a fifth lower,
the music must be transposed for it into a key a fifth higher than the
real sounds produced. The compass of the cor anglais extends over two
octaves and a fifth:
[Illustration: Notation
Real sounds]
The true quality of the cor anglais is penetrating like that of the
oboe, but mellower and more melancholy.
The cor anglais is the alto Pommer (q.v.) or _haute-contre de hautbois_
(see OBOE), gradually developed, improved and provided with key-work. It
is not known exactly when the change took place, but it was probably
during the 17th century, after the Schalmey or Shawm had been
transformed into the oboe. In a 17th century MS. (Add. 30,342, f. 145)
in the British Museum, written in French, giving pen and ink sketches of
many instruments, is an "accord de hautbois" which comprises a _pedalle_
(bass oboe or Pommer), a _sacquebute_ (sackbut) as _basse-contre_, a
_taille_ (tenor) with a note that the _haute-contre_ (the cor anglais)
_est de mesme sinon plus petite_. The tubes of all the members of the
hautbois family are straight in this drawing. Before 1688 the French
hoboy, made in four parts and having two keys, was known in England.[1]
It is probable that in France, where the hautbois played such an
important part in court music, the cor anglais, under the name of
_haute-contre de hautbois_, was also provided with keys. At the end of
the 17th century there were two players of the _haute-contre de
hautbois_ among the musicians of the Grande Ecurie du Roi.[2]
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Modern Cor anglais. (Besson & Co.)]
[Illustration: From Richard Hofmann's _Katechismus der
Musikinstrumente_.