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Art. IX. — Account of' an extraordinary appearance of the Sea , 
observed til st July 1785, in a voyage from Johanna, to Bom- 
bay, Long. 61 ° W E. Lait. 6 0? 32' N. Bv Phaxcis Bu- 
chan ax, M. D. Communicated by the Author. 
About a quarter past seven p. m. the sea was observed 
to be remarkably white. The sky was every where clear, ex- 
cept around the horizon, where, for about 15°, it was covered 
with a dark haze, as is usual in such latitudes. The whiteness 
gradually increased till past eight. The sea then was as high 
coloured as milk, very much resembling the milky-way in the 
heavens ; the luminous appearance of the sea resembling the 
brighter stars in that constellation. It continued in this situa- 
tion till past midnight, and only disappeared as day-light ad- 
vanced. The whiteness prevented us from being able to see 
either the break or the swell of the sea, although both were con- 
siderable, as we knew from the motion of the ship, and the noise. 
There was much light upon deck, as we could discern all the 
ropes much more distinctly than usual. We drew several 
buckets of water, in which, even when at rest, there appeared a 
great number of luminous bodies. The bulk of them did not 
appear to be more than Jth of an inch in length, and nearly as 
much in breadth. Some, however, were 1J inch long, and of 
the same breadth as the others. These were seen to move 
in the same manner as a worm does in water. AVhen taken 
lip on the finger, they retained their shining faculty even when 
dry. AVhen brought near to a candle, their light disappeared ; 
but, by minute attention, an extremely fine white filament could 
be observed, and lifted upon the point of a pin. It was of an 
uniform shining colour and form, and about the thickness of a 
spider’s thread. In a gallon of the water, there might be about 
400 of these animals emitting light. The water itself, when in 
the bucket, had a natural appearance. The atmosphere was 
seemingly free from fog. The stars were bright, and there was 
nomoon-iight. 
The night before, the same appearance was observed at ten 
p. my It lasted only 20 minutes; but, as I was below, I did 
not hear of it till it was over. The chief mate and other officers 
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