The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-09

Tho PhosphOresceuce of the Sea.
Forster, in 1873, wrote an account Of his voyage
around the world. and in it he gave out, as the
result Of bis observation, thai there were three
sources Of light -. Electricity evolved by the
friction Of the ship on the water 2. True phos.
phorescence from dead animal matter in the sea-
8. Living animals with light-bcarin apparatus.
Various other theories, more or less true, were
started and received, bot the question was so far
Of a satisfactory solution in 1906 that the Society
Of Savants at Haarlem resolved to offer prize
for the best essay on "The Cause Of the PhOs-
phoresCence Of the sea-" On this occasion, the
different explanations were thoroughly gone
into and the subject was pu' well in train for
further and more definite handling. This hand
ling It had from Banks, Mccartney, Gilbert, and
Pilcsius; and ia 1914, when tho account Of Hum
boldt's travels appeared, such Hood Of hight was
shed on the subject as enabled Ehrenbrrg TO
bring the results Of his close observation to bear
upon the information supplied in ch q manner
as 20 establish upon irm ground doctrine
which fully accounts for this wonderful pnc-
nomcuon.
II seems that free electricity has nothing what
ever to do with il. The passage of stream Of
electricity through luminous water has not been
found to increase the light, nor has the electro
meter become at all unsettled in It's neghborhODd
The theories founded on the agency OF electricity,
science were of necessity allowed TO pass unChal-
leuged, and which were indeed exceedingly
plausible, have now TO be abandoned
Tie phoe pAoresCence of the sea is due 20 two
kindred causes, one being the light emitted by
certain living creatures which have the faculty
of becoming luminOus-a faculty incidental 70
the discharge of their vital functions the other
being the light given out by the bodies # the
same creatures whilst undergoing tne process Of
decomposition. Which of these exercises the
larger share in Illuminating the ocean is yet un.
certain, and the point is not, perhaps, very ma.
terial but what is more to the purpose IL, that
among the former are TO be found three distinct
genera, subdiyded, in the case of infusorll, iuto
almost infinite species. These three genera are
the AcalephC (Medusp and CyanW familie,)
among zoophytes, certain mollusca and intusora.
OF the AcalephU, or Sea nettes, Mammqria
scjRtiianS is the most remarkable IL is, when
fully grown, no larger than pins head and yet
has ustre which makes il almost as brilliant as
the brightest star. 1t is more especially an in
habitant Of the tropics, and is great contributor
to the glory which the sea in those latirudes has
over the waters of colder zones.
In 1914, TieSius distinguished as many as
twenty eight sorts of medustW, mOlusCa and in
fu oria which were bodybuilding, besides enume-
rating nineteen crustacea which had the same
property. But this Is far from being o correct
estimate of the usirous creatures. lt is not
known how many they are aud though more
accurate ideas can be formed of the numerical
strength Of the TWO kinds first mentioned, II
seems TO be no eXaggeration to say that the light
giving iniusOria are innumerable.
Ehrenberg managed To keep two luminous in
fusOra, taken from the Baltic, alive ut Berlin for
two months, and he was enabled to make very
close observations upon the conditions most
favorable to the manifestation Of their powers.
He found that when they were exhausted, and
ceased to emit sparks, they renewed their flash
ing on the addition of acids or of alcohol TO the
sea-water in which they were living. In the pho.
toCharis he discovered cellular structure Of a
gelatinous character internally, which showed
some resemblance TO the electric organ of the
gymnOtus and torpedo; and of IL he says
"When the phOtochars is rritated in each cirrus
o kndlng and cleaning of separate sparks may
be observed, which gradually increase, and at
length illuminate the whole cirrus, until the iv-
ing flame runs also over the back OF the nereid-
like animalcule, making 1t appear under q micro
scope like a burning thread of sulphur with a
grcenish.yellow light In the Ocednid hemis-
phd1jcd, the number and position of the sparks
correspond accurately, at the thickenod base,
with the larger cirri or organs which alternate
with them, circumstance that merits special
attention. The manifestation of this wealth of
fire is an act Of vitality, and the whole Develop
| ment of light an organic vital process which
| exhibits itself in infusorial animals as a mo-
mentary spark of light and is repeated after short
| intervals of rest
| From this Humboldt deduces the existence Of
a magnetic. electric and ght-generating vital pro-
! cess in other classes Of animals, fishes insects,
mOllusses, and acalephp, &C.; he contrasts the
| conditions necessary 10 the development of lumi-
! mostly in the glow-worm and other insects sur
| rounded by air with those accompanying the eX-
| hibiton of light by sea animals, and considers
that the former may be due to the chemical com
! position of the luminous fluid effused, while the
| latter is due TO a magnetic. electric agency. How
/ far these spCcuaiions may be borne out by facts
| it is not our intention to inquire Suffice it t.
/ say that living creatures OF intnitesimay small
dimensions are, in the exercise of their vital func-
| tions, very large contributors to the beautiful
| phenomenon under consideration.
/ Ilpf ttnng nNnn wi htnh
| power, it is not possible to discover any animal
! cules in the glowing water; and yet, where a
| wave breaks ia foam against rock or the side o
a ship, flashes Of light become visible. This ap
! pears to be due to the decomposug ibres of the
dead creatures, especially of the mollusca, which
are difiused in great abundance through th'