5g ON LUMINOUS ANIMALS. 



t^e ordinary forms t)f matter. But the highly in^enJou? 

 researches of Count Rumford, on the hiws of what have 

 been caUed subtile fluids ; and the extraordinary advance* 

 lately made by Mr. Davy, on the decomposition of sub- 

 stances, that were hitherto looked upon as elementary ; 

 give us reason to hope, that future investigations may un- 

 fold views of the material world, of which we can at pre- 

 sent have only an indistinct conception; that new modes 

 of analysis may enable us to see things, not ** through a 

 glass darkly," but more nearly as they are; and that the 

 boundaries of physical and metaphysical science, now so 

 f^X asunder, may be made to approach each other. 



In the present state of our knowledge, our business 

 should be, to collect, arrange, and compare phenomena, 

 ^iitthephe- rather than to speculate upon their nature. Nevertheless, 

 nomena oflu- j ^jjj^j,qj refrain from observinsT, that the circumstances at- 

 aals are rather tembng the luminous appearance of living animals are 

 roorefavoiu- muclj ^pre favourable to the supposition of light beinff a 

 able to the , , mi c • t • i 



supposition of property, than a substance. The quantity or light emitted 



Its b^inga ^y j^„ animal in a certain time (admitting it to be matter) 

 far expeeds that which could be possibly supplied by the 

 fQVjr^es, whence it is usually supposed to be derived. Thus 

 ^1^ luminous appearance of some medoste itiay be conti- 

 nued i^'ith the intermission of short intervals for an indefinite 

 ;ime, notwithstanding the creature be kept in darkness, and 

 without any other food than what a small quantity of filter- 

 ti\ seawater would afford. The uninterrupted and long 

 continued light, that is sometimes evolved by the luminous 

 sacs and the ova of the glow-worm, is also inconsistent 



^ V. ith the notion of an accumulation and subsequest dispersion 



^r a material substance, 



I shall terminate this paper by an enumeration of the^ 

 several conclusions, that are the result of the observations 

 I have been able to make upon the phenomena of animal 



Ofneral con- The pToperty pf emitting light is confined to animals of 

 cftjsions. the simplest organization, the greater number of which are 



inhabitants of the sea. — The luminous pro|>erty is not con- 

 stant, bu^;, in general, exists only at. certain periods, and 

 in particular states of the animal's body,— The power of 



showing 



