*52 N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y
horfes we obferved; it, but almoft extinguifhed, only afefpdrk here
and there. At Newton, two miles thence, we viewed it by candlelight,
as alfo the next day, and found, it coarfe, fpiiy: grafs, df an
inch or little more in Iengjth, fuch as Ordinarily grows feri dowhs^"1;”
The caufe of this luminous appearance haijheen;Varioufly afligned;
feme have thought it owing to a certain biéuïnincfös' matter thrown
up by a fermentation, or fteams afcending from the bdttoM öf the
fea° : But thfeisftoo limited a "caufe,' and will rib means ac-
count for like appearances by land ; indeed nothing of a bitumen
appears, neither do waters of any kind becoriae luminous Unlefs firft
ftirred and agitated, neither does kindled bitumen make fo harmlefs
afire, nor continue fhining fp long, nor expire fo gradually; Others
have thought it part of that ele<aric fire, .which (as every one is
now convinced) . is diffufed throughout the riniverfe; but this electrical
' fife becomes only vifible byfiafhes, palling in inftantane-
ous Mies from one body to another,'and ïmmediatél^ expiring;
and a learned gentleman* /(as I am inftmnedVwho had fo&rierly
efpoufed this caufe, concludes ingenuoufly from farther' experiment, ■
that this luminous appearance is not owing tö elëSric fire produced
between the particles óf water and thofe of fait, as hé had-firft
imagined, but to feme other caufe. ' ' ' .. .
Dr. Plot (Staffordfhire, page 116) hints, that the fhmirig o f
the mire and miry water, may be owing to a kind of glow-worm ;
thus the clammy moifture of oyfter-fhells which fhines in thè night
o f a violet colour, comes from luciferous worms that have them
holes in the fhellsp; and this hint has been adopted* and farther
purfued by feme modern authors of reputation V who arè of opinion,
that this fhining light is Owing to a multitude of animalcules riling
to the furface of the fea in the night, and ^blowing forth their
light (like glow-worms) when they are agitated. _ This hypothefis
is confirmed by the late experiments of a learned Italian^ Dr. Vi-
anelli of Chioggia, who carrying home a veffel full of the luminous
water of the lake of Chioggia, and ftirring it' fit -a dark
clofet with his hand, found that it glittered much; but after
filtrating it through a piece of coarfe linen, that it fhorie no
more: the piece of linen however was covered with lucid particles,
which in a microfcope he difcovered to be animalcules entirely
luminous ’ . In all the forementioned cafes of mire, lake, ,and fea,
there is none of this fhinirig without water ftirred: it is therefore
an aquatic glow-worm’ of a different element from that o f the
n Dr. Birch’s Hill, of the R. S. voL I. pa. 431.
0 Natural Hiftory of Waterford, page 290.
* Mr. Franklyn,
p Ibid, from Mr. Auzout.
* Mr. l’Abbe de Nollet, and others.
r Since Vianelli another Italian author» Dr.
Grifelin, has purfued and farther elucidated the.
lame fubje&.
* It is called Nereis phofphorans; alias, Sco-
lopendra marina lucida.
land,
o f g o r n w a l L. § h
i%ndj|no,t dif^fifed eaually- ir^'all wafers^ bu| more.qr lefs in parti-,^
cufejjj^arts' oM|nd aijd. fe^water f £|afetheyf do hot ftifee without
bekjvigtat!.xh «hoJrfes^Fmen, ’ tor byilie t force of
opsjr^Qks or ihm u s becauj^* whefi^at^reftl they’
the lj^in(|us|to^s"o/Meir body*-jufees \Vhich 'ffiirie inThe dtr1t,hufc
cannot make’thwftynmg VififelM^ll th^hrofig isfome|ihat difperfecL;
and the difturbM'drif^s^tiaV^^^m^ tp texer^and^difgla#'^pir luftrel’f
)Yhy none o&gifefe fwq|ers flmjfe .iff .the' da^®mi'll-|©hvi©m,1 the
lig h ^ f .Jthefe j lil|3 Vcreatur^sript to make^tfelf!
perceivable arriorig vthQ^ Mar.T rav ^ perhaps too, _ thefej mfcfch rife to
the ^furface-V^*^e,wateri by. mghfy’jand^riipre^ gatfe?*
gether as thejpleberfeaionlm^ffemblm&^Laftly, that this harmlefs
fire Tafiife, ■'■andferatlually expires 'in aAjfeur, is owing^'to the death®’
of thefe-* animalcules^ fot want, qf -theiffown fel©meri|;JjHe^ fhine
not after,' "deatTL <«
- If then this Ijucid appearance^ owing to lfifedtsp we ’cannot buf
admire the immenfity ofthis YOrafe. off Tcreature-s, *ahd«W®fet That
infiniteiTefiMe powey .yhieh g to ‘fay‘nothing of what'Swe' find 'by;
land) g has ^fpread S qfdr- the furfaegf o f tire- fea- fu e n a 'prqfufidn of.
anirri'al life,, coifehed. in fuch <^ntfacted' aria yet^hplendiahodies, mat
in one -bay or^creek there are infedtsrmCfe. in liumbei^J^ely^ tHan
all the quadrupeds..upon thejfapepX" the whole earthi
But from • the number'Ijetyxis come to fbme'of themoft remarvk'VfiiCT. nft
able and larger ferts, among which phe Tea polype may challenge
our neXfifriotice. Folypes. age^found in ^eat^ numberhnd .vaEeraMyfiK. ^ ^
ipplp'f^hjin'* alcyohiums^^^(cbrajflinestsmals, -.(»Phifofbphical Trarife .
.anions, of~ i'7 and vol.'XLVII. pageTtpi) ^marbles,
other ftones‘, and, if I miftakemot, mfonie[bfapchy jUcus k<: rop
wifen^they are fixed to the rock on which they grow, thcyTiiKe W?m'oft
beautiful - blueifh purple at the extremity of the branches, ^ but taken
out of the water, appear of the’ brown common fea-wrack coloufvj;
which alteration for* the wqrfe, I attribute tdhne polypes’,J' or.lofne
other animalcules contracting themfelves into their own cells asTooria»^
they are taken from their proper plpmqnt, and refer to further enquiry.
In fhort, there is icaree any plant or fqft ftone in the fea
without feme polype or other(in it, nature having; provided thofe
creatures.yyhich have lefs, of thei'lqcomotive faculty, wifn'longer and
more flexible tubes, and numerous feelers'to reach aftpfiand apprehend
their preyjfethan thofe which.o&n ken,-^Urfee, andr'pvereQpiig^
I fhall next take notice of feme zoophytes (whether •. {^Sly)>es or
not, perhaps rriay be queftionelpj. which have reacjhed my notice iri
• Ibidem u£ fuprai page 68;
— I ' ' tftf -