judges’ this fea-light to lsê a kind of ph6fph<^s, for-medrlrom the
the fun,: knd'evènbf the mobii, impregnated
-Bÿ Wâxe?'5fiâ^ îsslhe riïfe in the Lapis Bónohiénfié;1 Und Baldwin’s
phoïphörus. But inftead of refting in-thefe,^ hr other conjectures,
I am much ihore incline^ to decWe my opinion, that this other-
wife inexplicable phænomîèhpn in the fea, has been beft illuftrated
ftno> with ifröm îbr mâh^aadiEonsj7 Hwa #ittle^ië^: Mtel^ Jpub^
lifhed at Vènice,' ” with the; 'title bf -Ntiovo' Scoperto Mfornb di
luci Notturne dell’’ Aqua Marina. Having no opportunity'bf feeing
the briginal, I am thö iWóre bfrliged* tothé diligfeht arid ingenious
âuthors ' of fHe New! CopériHagdh : Liter afy Journal,;; who
have given us the fubftance oft it m thé xxxixth part, of the 24th
of Sept, ijjjö, in the’ following'words, “ Ourarfthoris the firft
who has expl^hed1 the true eahfe of thi|?1 lofüfeÿlibiï is ! Hé * Hës
obferVed, that' rwâtéf ^ 5uimln^&
only from dié beginning of ftmmer till the étitL df hhrvèil, ànd
that this light is moft copious in places abounding1 With rèk-gràfs;;
and ftill mbre when the water is put in riibtfefl, either by the
winds, fhips, or oafs. In 1 746, the author filled; a nafk with this
fcintillating Water, and carried ft. horde; but it emitted iio light,
ekeept only when ftirred id the dark, it immediatdyfparklfed. He
clofely iiftjfeâëcLft in fhê'ââjriTÉhë|t'in:‘öiid^ï^Ö-p^em'W^éthbr
die water had ariÿ thing heterogeneous in. it,from Whence , thefe
emanations of light proceeded ; but notfringof tM^hirid'appéâfed
tb fhfe naked eye1: he therefore ftrained thb Watèr through a elbfe
•fine cloth, the cqnfcquence of which was, that the ' cloth fhone
in the 'dark, bütnöt the WhS, nbwe^î&ftîâkëh''4M;ïffiréd.f‘ This
inclined him to judge, that the lucid fubftance in the water Was
lomething diftinót from the water ftfelf, eipecially as he perceived
the light, which the c^qth, emitted, to confift of'innumerable lucid
particles br pbifrts ; ' but not hàvin'g a rriicrofcbpe at hand, he
could take no minute view bf them. Having'"feme time after procured
a micfólcöpe, he gathered fome fea-grâfs, which is mpftfpt
‘fo glitter in the night, and tipon examining it .in‘à dark plape, he
difcemed above thirty of thefe lucid particles ofi bne' Tingle leaf.
He (hook this grafs oVcr a fheet of paper, When one? of thefe particles
fell off ; it Was as fubtileas an èye-lafh, and'âbbüt'as long,
ànd the cBlour a black Vdlów : he now made life óf the niicro- • 3 , 1 ipiliil I . fig I fcope,
fcope,' and plainly favV to be a living,wprm, or annular maggot,
CQnfifting o f eleven wings, like moll o f the larvse, with as many
mamillse on the fides inftead o f feet, and bofli-aft the head and
rump, four trunks or
fecution b f bis refearches, h e found that'affi thefe tabid appearances
in the water, arbfe from thefe minute and almoft invifible fhag-
gots ; their whole bodies -Werfe lucid, and not feme particular
partonly, which is the cafe o f loiffe kinds 8f reptiles j'k h o ’^ when
at reft, them effulgence wasTBrifiderably fainter. In fpring thefe
^lumiribus animalcula confine thertddTOsf'''tb‘ 'tKe’ fea-i‘gihB,'i%ut: Si
-tarhmer they 'aretdifperfed alPover theffek^; and Hibftl^’dftWe fur-
-face. When thefe ribdturnaF fcihtillations ate niinffially :ftfong'and
-frequent,- the fifhertnen deCb'uftt-it a find prognbftic o f ;a ftorrif,
or- foul -weather; and this TfbCfeeds’‘from the ‘gtaMtar'dgjta&bn cif
the worms, already fe&fiblebftHe apprbaehihgJcKang&1 TfiiS-experiment
puts it beyond all queftion, that the filter in g o f thefe
-in a-fhiptatbtafe,Ts oebafibnedby thefe worms; and-ft is nhlefs
-certain, ihatethoy' are the ciufetaf the light in th e ; Perina-inariiia1,
(a-large mufefe); Jof which Dr. Shaw Writes,1' tfiict they- afb frequently
caught by the Algerine fifhermen; and in the night thefr
Radiations' are fo ffrong, that the- fifti neareft to them in the
net are difcernible without afty other light. It wdre to be wifhedf,
'that the author had been more precife in?his ddcfiptibh o f thefe
•animalcula; - i f his-'eyes may!be relied on v * one' 'cannot :bUt judged
that they-are bnly1 alpecies”o f tfru%enul 'A^fdodi&!’s>T T h u l 'M
this aUthbr j- to which all my-'prefent1 addition fhalrtfe^this ; 'th e '
Ignes lambentes, or lambent flames,
their hovering about the fhips rigging,' and often"' fettling on the
mails, thb^ withbUt doing any-damage;- ftrikb’ a^td,fbf ;'fhto/fr^
feamen; and likewife thofe Ignes
deceive the traveller byiland, mufl, according IrbSty p tifr^fe,:*bb
n o more than worms, bred in the above-mentioned fulphufeous
oil, with which both land and fea is filjed,’ but >whicffis tooTuhi
tile to be difcemed by-day, ’when even the light bfrthe flars is
feemingly inyifible. - |
Bart I. X S E C T ,