Oct. 1849. FIRE- WOOD. PHOSPHORESCENT WOOD. 151 



fuel ; alder is also good. Chestnut is invariably used for 

 blacksmith's charcoal. Magnolia has a disagreeable odour, 

 and laurel burns very badly. 



The phenomenon of phosphorescence is most conspicuous 

 on stacks of fire-wood. At Dorjiling, during the damp, 

 warm, summer months (May to October), at elevations of 

 5000 to 8000 feet, it may be witnessed every night by 

 penetrating a few yards into the forest — at least it was so 

 in 1848 and 1849 ; and during my stay there billets of 

 decayed wood were repeatedly sent to me by residents, 

 with inquiries as to the cause of their luminosity. It is 

 no exaggeration to say that one does not need to move 

 from the fireside to see this phenomenon, for if there is 

 a partially decayed log amongst the fire-wood, it is almost 

 sure to glow with a pale phosphoric light. A stack of 

 lire-wood, collected near my host's (Mr. Hodgson) cottage, 

 presented a beautiful spectacle for two months (in July and 

 August), and on passing it at night, I had to quiet my 

 pony, who was always alarmed by it. The phenomenon 

 invariably accompanies decay, and is common on oak, 

 laurel {Tetr anther a), birch, and probably other timbers ; it 

 equally appears on cut wood and on stumps, but is most 

 frequent on branches lying close to the ground in the wet 

 forests. I have reason to believe that it spreads with great 

 rapidity from old surfaces to freshly cut ones. That it is a 

 vital phenomenon, and due to the mycelium of a fungus, 

 I do not in the least doubt, for I have observed it occa- 

 sionally circumscribed by those black lines which are often 

 seen to bound mycelia on dead wood, and to precede a 

 more rapid decay. I have often tried, but always in vain, 

 to coax these mycelia into developing some fungus, by 

 placing them in damp rooms, &c. When camping in 

 the mountains, I frequently caused the natives to bring 



