36 Things not generally Known. 



Euphorbiura, very remarkable for the light which it yields when 

 cut. It contains a milky juice, which exudes as soon as the 

 plant is wounded, and appears luminous for several seconds. 



LIGHT FROM FUNGUS. 



Phosphorescent funguses have been found in Brazil by Mr. 

 Gardner, growing on the decaying leaves of a dwarf palm. They 

 vary from one to two inches across, and the whole plant gives 

 out at night a bright phosphorescent light, of a pale greenish 

 hue, similar to that emitted by fire-flies and phosphorescent 

 marine animals. The light given out by a few of these fungi 

 in a dark room is sufficient to read by. A very large phospho- 

 rescent species is occasionally found in the Swan River colony. 



LIGHT FEOM BUTTONS. 



Upon highly polished gilt buttons no figure whatever can 

 be seen by the most careful examination; yet, when they are 

 made to reflect the light of the sun or of a candle upon a piece 

 of paper held close to them, they give a beautiful geometrical 

 figure, with ten rays issuing from the centre, and terminating 

 in a luminous rim. 



COLOURS OF SCRATCHES. 



An extremely fine scratch on a well-polished surface may 

 be regarded as having a concave, cylindrical, or at least a 

 curved surface, capable of reflecting light in all directions; this 

 is evident, for it is visible in all directions. Hence a single 

 scratch or furrow in a surface may produce colours by the inter- 

 ference of the rays reflected from its opposite edges. Examine 

 a spider's thread in the sunshine, and it will gleam with vivid 

 colours. These may arise from a similar cause ; or from the 

 thread itself, as spun by the animal, consisting of several 

 threads agglutinated together, and thus presenting, not a cy- 

 lindrical, but a furrowed surface. 



MAGIC BUST. 



Sir David Brewster has shown how the rigid features of a 

 white bust may be made to move and vary their expression, 

 sometimes smiling and sometimes frowning, by moving rapidly 

 in front of the bust a bright light, so as to make the lights and 

 shadows take every possible direction and various degrees of 

 intensity ; and if the bust be placed before a concave mirror, 

 its image may be made to do still more when it is cast upon 

 wreaths of smoke. 



COLOURS HIT MOST FREQUENTLY DURING BATTLE. 



Jt would appear from numerous observations that soldiers 



