148 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
always proceeded up the branches, from the 
base towards the extremities.” 
Some of the sea anemones are luminous, 
and the little boring-shell, the Piddock ( Pholas ), 
also displays a light of a bluish tint. Pliny, 
who was the first to notice the phenomenon 
in the latter, states: “ Those who eat the 
Pholades in an uncooked state . . . would 
appear in the dark as if they had swallowed 
phosphorus; and the fisherman who, in a 
spirit of economy, supped on this mollusc in 
the dark would give to his little ones the 
spectacle of a fire-eater on a small scale.” Mr. 
Holder also tells us that “ a single pholas has 
been found to render seven ounces of milk 
so luminous that faces of persons could be 
distinguished by it. . . . 
“ The best result was obtained by placing the 
dead mollusc in honey, by which its property 
of emitting light lasted more than a year. . . .” 
Several species of worms, both terrestrial 
and marine, are capable of giving forth fight. 
The remarkable-looking Chcetopterus , some of 
which are found off the coast of Normandy 
and in the Mediterranean, are light-bearers, 
the phosphoric matter, according to Mr. 
Lydekker, “ spreading like a cloud in the 
water.” 
The worm known as Polycirrus also emits 
