2/6 ROMANCE OF LOW LIFE AMONGST PLANTS. 



had penetrated more deeply, and where it was so 

 intense that the roughest treatment scarcely seemed 

 to check it. If any attempt was made to rub off the 

 luminous matter it only shone the more brightly, 

 and when wrapped up in five folds of paper the light 

 penetrated through all the folds on either side, as 

 brightly as if the specimen was exposed ; when 

 again the specimens were placed in the pocket, the 

 pocket when opened was a mass of light. The 

 luminosity had now been going on for three days. 

 Unfortunately we did not see it ourselves until the 

 third day, when it had, possibly from a change in the 

 state of electricity, been somewhat impaired ; but it 

 was still most interesting, and we have merely re- 

 corded what we observed ourselves. It was almost 

 possible to read the time on the face of a watch, even 

 in its less luminous condition. We do not for a 

 moment suppose that the mycelium is essentially 

 luminous, but are rather inclined to believe that a 

 peculiar concurrence of climatic conditions is neces- 

 sary for the production of the phenomenon, which is 

 certainly one of great rarity. Observers, as we have 

 been of fungi in their native haunts for fifty years, it 

 has never fallen to our lot to witness a similar case 

 before, though Professor Churchill Babington once 

 sent us specimens of luminous wood, which had, 

 however, lost their luminosity before they arrived. 

 It should be observed that the parts of the wood 

 which were most luminous were not only deeply 

 penetrated by the more delicate parts of the my- 

 celium, but were those which were most decomposed. 

 It is probable, therefore, that this fact is an element 



