Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-01-15
LIGHT FROM PLANTS.
ONCE BELIEVED TO BE PURE FANCY,
BUT NOW KNOWN AS REAL.

ONCE BELIEVED TO BE PURE FANCY,
BUT NOW KNOWN AS REAL.
Trees and Bushes Which Produce Won
derful Luminous Enects-Soane Expert
ences Of Naturalist In Different Psrts
Of the World.
One Of the early naturalists, Mime.
Merriam, I think, describes an extraor-
binary spectacle which she observed in
Asia Her party was moving through
a forest at night when without warn
ing large light appeared. At first dim,
it increased in size, growing larger and
larger until finally tree was outlined
in soft pulsating light.
The natives were demoralized and re-
fused to approach it. saying it was the
sacred tree Of fire. But the naturalist
had little faith in trees Of fire and in
vestigated it, finding that the light was
due to certain insects, which, by the
way. has never been observed since.
That n tree or plant could give light
was deemed figure of the imagination,
yet today it is known that light giving
plants are not uncommon and among the
most striking and remarkable of nat
ural phenomena. Once in returning from
a days hunt through a deep forest in
the heart of the Adirondack region /
stumbled against q dead limb Of a tree,
when to my amazement l was at once
surrounded by silvery light that flew
in all directions, like darts and arrows
of fire, each piece burning where it lay.
This was an unusually brilliant display
Of the best known of luminous plants,
the ''fox fire." or witches glow" Of
childhood days.
To the layman it is often mysterious,
as investigation shows nothing but the
decayed wood, and sometimes a soft,
pulpy mass. The botanist will soon
point out the light giver in the myce-
ium of some fungus that has permeated
the old branch and fairly taken possess
sion of 1t, converting it into q glorious
spectacle when disturbed. The vivid
ness of the light may be estimated when
it is known that print can often be read
by it, and the light of some has been
known to penetrate through several
thicknesses of paper.
Singular to say, the smallest plant is
often the means of producing the greatest
luminous effects. This is the diatom,
which the naturalists of the Challenger
found floating in the ocean in vast num-
bers, and as the nucleus of the diatom
is often brilliantly phosphorescent some
Of the most remarkable displays of light
observed by the naturalists were occa-
stoned by these little plants. But what
shall We say to q sight observed by q
Norwegian bark in the bay of Funchal?
The waters here are fairly alive with
these little luminous plants the year
round, and on the occasion referred to
| a waterspout formed among them. Dur
ing the day it would have attracted lit
tie attention, as the phenomenon is a
common one, but the crew of the ship
were suddenly confronted at night by a
literal pillar of fire or light that extend
ed upward to a distance seemingly of
1000 feet and moved along with q de-
| cided bend.
1t emitted a pale yellow light that
stood ont in strong relief against the
black night, weird and formidable
spectacle, rushing ON before the wind.
An English naturalist, wishing to as
tonish some natives in a wild part of
Asia in which he was travelling and
impress them with his supernatural
powers, secured a certain vine known as
Euphorbia phosphorea, and rubbing it
upon q big rock caused the latter to
CLEAN with fame and present SO re-
markable spectacle that the natives
ran, believing that he had set the rock
afire by simply touching it. The natu-
ralist was aware that tho milky juice of
this plant, that resembled the dandeli-
on, was brilliantly phosphorescent.
In the HarZ mountains there has been
| for ages a cave known as the haunted
cavern. An Englishman, travelling in
the vicinity and hearing Of it, deter
mined to investigate the mystery. After
| 4 long climb he reached the cave. No
| sooner did complete darkness set in than
the phantom of the cave appeared-a
| remarkable semblance to a human form,
with arms outspread, outlined against
the gloom. Making his way to the fig
| ure that had alarmed SO many wayfar-
| ers, he found that it was plant that
1 gre" uDOu the wall. IL WIS luo we'll
known phosphorescent fungus. Rhizo-
mospha subterranea, frequently found
in caves and familiar to miners. Its
light is often so vivid that people have
read by it.
| These curious lights are not found in
the tropics alone. Some years ago Mr..
Morrell, editor of the Gardiner (Me.
Journal, wrote me that he had observed
q brilliant steady light in his garden at
times, totally unaccounted for by me-
chanical continuance, and which, upon
investigation, proved to be the phos-
phorescent light emitted by the young
| Of the plant Tianus stydticus.
Perhaps the most startling exhibition
was observed several years ago by an
English traveller in Borneo. Belated, he
was overtaken by night, and there be-
ing no moon he was fearful of losing
his way, when, as the darkness came
on, singular lights appeared here and
there in the bushes and by the roadside.
Some were yellow; others burned, OF