EABTHWOBM STUDIES. 807 



phosphorescence in connection with the Brandling. It was one 

 warm July night in 1881, when he was exploring a dung-heap. 

 (Naturalists do not usually work with kid gloves and diamond 

 rings.) Presently a spot of soft, bluish white light appeared, 

 which, however, was changeful and unsteady. Now it would 

 disappear, then return anew and shine forth over a larger space, 

 though never with a brilliant hue. He thereupon removed a 

 portion of the manure from the spot where he had observed the 

 luminosity, and found that the light appeared brighter, and shone 

 for a longer time without disappearing, or before it migrated to 

 another spot. By means of a lantern Vejdovsky was able to 

 secure a large number of specimens of the Brandling from the 

 dung-heap, which he placed in a vessel for the purpose of sub- 

 jecting them to careful observation. To his great surprise he 

 found that his finger soon glowed in the darkness with the 

 phosphorescence, which extended generally over the hand where 

 it came into contact with the worms. It was therefore apparent 

 that the luminosity was the product of a fluid secreted by the 

 cutaneous glands, which had attached itself to the hand of the 

 investigator, and now manifested itself in this curious way. 



We have an interesting observation on the same subject by 

 Prof. Von Stein, which was published at Leipzig in 1883. One 

 evening in the middle of September, the Professor was spending 

 some time with a circle of friends at a parsonage not far from 

 Potsdam, when the conversation turned upon phosphorescence 

 and the phenomena of light. Hereupon one of the younger 

 members of the family — who are usually the keenest and most 

 shrewd observers of Nature, and the best friends of the naturalist 

 —remarked that there were fountains in the adjoining gardens, 

 the water from which was frequently observed to be full of light- 

 bearing creatures when it was violently agitated. He regarded 

 the affair at first simply as a hoax, or an attempt to make a fool 

 of him,— as people are ever ready to do with a hobby rider, — but 

 ascertained eventually that the luminosity was due to the presence 

 of a species of Worm which possessed the property of shining 

 when disturbed. As with Vejdovsky, so with Prof. Von Stein, 

 the finger which had come into contact with the Worm continued 

 to glow for some time after. What species of Worm was under 

 observation is not recorded. 



