Shining Fish, Flesh, and Wood 473 



1. Both of them are Luminaries, that is, give Light, as having it (if 

 I may so speak) residing in them; and not like Looking-glasses, or xvhite 

 Bodies, which are conspicuous only by the incident Beams of the Sun, or 

 some other luminous Body, which they reflect. . . . 



2. Both shining Wood and a burning Coal need the Presence of the 

 Air (and that too of such a Density to make them continue shining. . . . 



3. Both shining Wood and a burning Coal, having been deprived, for 

 a Time, of their Light, by the withdrawing of the contiguous Air, may 

 presently recover it by letting in fresh Air upon them. . . . 



Both a quick Coal and shining Wood will be easily quenched by Water 

 and many other Liquors. . . . 



5. As a quick Coal is not to be extinguished by the Coldness of the 

 Air, when it is greater than ordinary; so neither is a Piece of shining 

 Wood to be deprived of its Light by the same Quality of the Air. . . . 



Differences: 



1. The first Difference I observed betwixt a live Coal and a shining 

 Wood is, that whereas the Light of the former is readily extinguishable 

 by Compression (as is obvious in the Practice of suddenly extinguishing 

 a piece of Coal by treading upon it) , I could not find that such a Com- 

 pression as I could conveniently give without losing sight of its opera- 

 tion, would put out, or much injure the Light, even of small Fragments 

 of shining Wood. . . . 



2. The next Unlikeness to be taken notice of betwixt rotten Wood 

 and a kindled Coal is, that the latter will, in a very few Minutes, be 

 totally extinguished by the withdrawing of the Air; whereas a Piece of 

 shining Wood, being eclipsed by the Absence of the Air, and kept so for 

 a Time, will immediately recover its Light if the Air be let in upon it 

 again within half an hour after it was first withdrawn. . . . 



3. The next Difference to be mentioned is, that a live Coal, being 

 put into a small close Glass, will not continue to burn for very many 

 Minutes; but a Piece of shining^ Wood will continue to shine for some 

 whole Days. . . . 



4. A fourth Difference may be this: that whereas a Coal, as it burns, 

 sends forth Store of Smoke or Exhalations, luminous Wood does not so. 



5. A fifth, flowing from the former, is, that whereas a Coal in shining 

 wastes itself at a great Rate, shiniyig Wood does not. . . . 



6. The last Difference I shall take notice of betwixt the bodies hereto 

 compared is, that a quick Coal is actually and vehemently hot; whereas I 

 have not observed shining Wood to be so much as sensibly lukewarm. 



Although Boyle did not know that luminous bacteria were re- 

 sponsible for the light of shining fish and flesh or that the mycelium 

 of a luminous fungus caused the wood to shine, we may credit him 

 with recognizing the fundamental similarity of the two lumines- 

 cences and with showing the necessity of air (oxygen) to maintain 

 the luminescence. He tested the effect of spirits and salt on the 

 wood, and found that the light disappeared. 



