126 LIVING LIGHTS 



also inclined to believe that the phenomenon observed by 

 liim was electric. The flame seen about the flower ignited, 

 by the daughter of Linnseus, was caused, as suggested by 

 Phipson, by the ignition of the inflammable atmosphere that 

 envelopes the essential oil-glands of certain Flaxinell^ie. 

 Electric light has been observed in a plant allied to the palm, 

 belonging to the genus Pandanus. When the spatha, or cov- 

 ering which envelopes the flowers, is ruptured, a crackling 

 sound is heard, and a spark of light emitted. It is not im- 

 possible that the light of certain flowers is in some way 

 attendant upon the escape of pollen. 



