8 PHOSPHORESCENCE. 



nomenon was ascertained. The names of the au- 

 thors of this discovery, and the dates of their in- 

 vestigations, are given in this work, in their pro- 

 per places. The same observation will apply to 

 those singular cases of phosphorescence which 

 have been observed in the vegetable kingdom, 

 upon flesh, decayed wood, etc. 



It will be easily understood what is meant by 

 the term Phosphorescence, when we remind our 

 readers that phosphorus, which shines so curiously 

 in the dark, and which enters into the composition 

 of our common lucifer matches, is the most re- 

 markable of all phosphorescent bodies. The word 

 ' ' phosphorus," which signifies a substance that 

 bears or emits a light, has frequently been applied 

 to various other substances besides the non-me- 

 tallic element termed phosphorus in chemistry, on 

 account of the property these substances possess 

 likewise of shining in the dark. 



