CORAL REEFS
DARWIN'S TBEOBYSUPPQttTISD
BY PROFESSOR DAVIS
Aji interesting research., concerning the origin and l'of-mation of the coral reefs in tho Pacific is being conducted l*.y Professor W. Si. Davis, re-tired professor of geology at Harvard tlnivoi'Bity. Iβ Use course of liis liiu-o Months' trip ho will visit three .groups of islands—the tfiji Islands, where "• lie lias already spent seven weeks; Mew Oak' cioiiiii; and the New Hebrides, whew ho will be for the greater part of Jmift and July; and the Society Islands, where on his return voj-ago he iiopcs to spend afemt a month in ' September or Octo» her. Fortunately, h© is able to interrupt this jflurne'y. of research to attend the meetings of the British Association in Australia in August, ami the supplementary meeting arranged to be k'ltl early ia September in jfew Zealand. At these meetings Prftfcssof Daris will lie received at: im kvited Rittst, :ui honour conferred wpan him previously in South Africa, thero tho association met in 1S03; The expenses of this voyage of Professor Davin nfe bftinß .provided out >:rf tlio income fftnn -a Memorial j'nnd of 30,000 dollars, subscribed b,v former students of Professor Shaler, of Harvard University, and placed at the disposal of the Gcofogkrti Department flf thai University to promoio research in geology and geography.
"It is, of course, early yet to fipsak of tho results fff mj- re-sefU'c-lh for it is only just begun," said Pfofessnr (Jnvis, to a Dominion renorter yesterday. "I' have sew) ody tho coral roeis of the .Fiji Group, kit- in nt,f'stay woclcs tlwre I visited eighteen ojfferont islands β-f-tho β-rftiip. ' Ttto tJfflWem of the origin of -t-licso coral reefs lias been vmder tHsotisston. ever sineo tlio mejnoraWe voyage of Cl-mrlos Darwin., in the surveying ship Beagle, Ho first nniK'Unced tlio long popular iheory that ttio islands hod subsided while the reefs ga-ew upwards. I'Jvis theory, lohg accepted, was m tlie minds of iftauv fi«ologiste sjipnjantcd by mmv tireorfes in the last-89 years. The object of my visit was to tost Wio- various theories on tlw grouiid, a.;id IJlip rws-ute of my research is tineqtrivocally iu favour of Darwin's original tliedry ? rticlt accounts for tho facts vastly better tlmii my of tho other theories jet pi>t forward. I should , ®a,v that this sintijmwt, «-Mcli the frndtogs of a iiumbcr of lvorkers .in Australia and Nft\v 'Zealand, ■ will; Rive a.certain pleasure to older reader* of scientific works, vh& must recall from then; boyhood days the interest tljst BaTWin's famous theory arous-ed,---Dotibtlcsg these -eld&r studeMa-f elt 6om.o.regret at tb.s loss of favoiir which Darwiai'fi theory for sofoe 30 .years past has suffered." , '
Professor Davis during. the ten days ho has been k ]S T ew Zealand has ai : ready been to tho J3av of Islands, and: ffon-i there inland to Kijwi&awa. After returning to Auckland, he wait bv •steamer to- Thames, and' then fey tail and W-ac-ii to Taurattgil, by coach to Rotorsia, and by rail.- to Wellington. Tonight ho loaves for.the south. Hβ will 6pt>.nd about ten day's jit tho Sontli, IβJaiid, reinrriing -to Wellington ia iinic to lecture before iho Philosophical Society en Juno 4- Tho following day Tie will leave hi Sydney,-whence .'lie will catch the .Ftcne'h steamer for New Caledonia on Juno 10. '
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2150, 16 May 1914, Page 6
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540CORAL REEFS Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2150, 16 May 1914, Page 6
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