. Phosphorescence; or, The emission of light by minerals, plants, and animals. rs were observed by M. Hag-gern, to emit flashes more or less vivid, in thisorder : 1. The marigold {Calendula officinalis,fig. 7). 2. Monkshood, or garden nasturtium {Tro-pceolum majus). o. The orange lily {Lilium btdbi-ferum, fig. 8). 4, The French and African mari-golds [Tagetes patula and T. erecta). To discover whether some little insects orphosphoric worms might not be the cause of thisemission of light, M. Haggern carefully examinedthe flowers with the microscope, but no animalorganisms were found. The rapidi
. Phosphorescence; or, The emission of light by minerals, plants, and animals. rs were observed by M. Hag-gern, to emit flashes more or less vivid, in thisorder : 1. The marigold {Calendula officinalis,fig. 7). 2. Monkshood, or garden nasturtium {Tro-pceolum majus). o. The orange lily {Lilium btdbi-ferum, fig. 8). 4, The French and African mari-golds [Tagetes patula and T. erecta). To discover whether some little insects orphosphoric worms might not be the cause of thisemission of light, M. Haggern carefully examinedthe flowers with the microscope, but no animalorganisms were found. The rapidity of the flashseems to indicate that electricity has something todo with the phenomenon. The same philosopher,after having observed the flash from the orangelily, the anthers of which are a considerable dis-tance from the petals, assured himself that the 84^ PHOSPHORESCENCE IN liglit proceeded from the petals. But as it is wellknown that when the pistil of a flower is impreg-nated, the pollen bursts away by the elasticity ofthe anthers, and may be to a certain extent elec-. Fiir. 8. trifled, M. Haggern thinks that this emission oflight by flowers is electrical, and that it is causedby the pollen which, in flying off, is scatteredupon the petals. Whatever we may be inclinedto think of this theory, the observations of are exceedingly interesting. The latest, and at the same time most authentic PHANEROGAMIC PLANTS. 85 observation of luminous flowers tliat lias beenmade^ is the following :— On the 18th of June^ 1857^ about ten o^clockin the evening, M. Th. Fries, the well-knownSwedish botanist, whilst walking alone in theBotanic garden of Upsal, remarked a group ofpoppies (Papaver orientale), in which tJnre orfour flowers emitted little flashes of liyJtt. Fore-warned as he was by a knowledge that suchthings had been observed by others, he could nothelp believing he was suffering from an opticalillusion. However, the flashes continued showingthemselves from time to time
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