Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/725

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erily ones that fhine. The light upon them is as bright as the ftrongeft moonfhine, and may be communicated to a perfon's hand, by rubbing the pieces on it; where it will continue to be bright a long time, without any fenftble heat. The face and hands of a perfon being rubbed over with one of thefe {hming pieces of the chitterling, not only appear bright and flaming, but are made to look confiderably larger than they really are; and a perfon who had a mind to raife (lories of ghofts and apparitions, might eafily do it by covering the whole body of a man with this flame, and making him ap- pear a fiery giant to all that faw him.

Mackrel in pickle will ufually become luminous in fome degree, a little before they ftink, but it is rarely, that the light is great ; and when it has once happened fo, it is not eaiy to hit the fame again on a fecond trial, tho' all the ingredients of the pickle are kept the fame in the niceft manner. Worms are often found luminous on their furfaces in oifter fhells, yet the fame worms are not always fo ; and what Pliny reports of the pholas, and Reaumur has fmce found to be true, perhaps may not always hold fo in future experiments. Philolbph. Tranf. N^. 1S4. See Pholas.

One of the moft fingular kinds of lambent fifti, is that dis- covered at certain times on the fea water, and on other water in which there are fifh, or other fea productions kept. We have in the Philofophical Tranfactions, an account of fome water in "which mackrel were boiled and afterwards kept, which be- came blackifh and thick after two or three days, and then would fparkie on the touch of a finger. The fifh al- fo were luminous, efpecially about the gills, and the water when flirr'd about with the hand, would appear fo bright over the whole furface, that the appearance was like that of water in motion, on which the moon fhines very ftrongly. In the fame manner, the fea water in many places will fparkie and fhine on the breaking its furface. Where a fhip makes a good way in the night, in many feas, the whole breaking of the water will appear behind it, as if on fire, fparkling and fhining all the way that it moves from the difturbance of the paflages of the fhip. Phil. Tranf. N '. 37. It is in this part as bright and glittering as if the moon fhone upon it; but as this happens moft of all, when there is no moon up, it is plainly to be attributed to another caufe. Some have fuppofed the ftars to brighten the water, or the lanthorns of the fhip to fhine upon it as the veflel moves; but it is al- ways found to be brighteft and ftrongeft when there is no other light any where, when the ftars are clouded, and there is no light in the lanthorns. This light is not equal at all times- fome nights, in the fame places, it is fcarce perceivable at all; fometimes it is very vivid and bright, fometimes it covers only the way that it isjuft in motion behind the fhip, and fome- times extends itfelf a great way on each fide it. Thirty or forty foot is a common extent fur it from the ftern of the fhip, but it is much more faint at a diftance than where the water is juft broken; and it is at the ftern of the fhip often fo bright, that a perfon on the deck may fee to read by it, tho' fo high above it. The luminous water that follows the road of the fhip, is fometimes very diftinct from the reft of the furface. Sometimes they are blended with it, and the luminous matter blending itfelf at the fides with the adjacent water, the ap- pearance is confuted : in the firft cafe it is very agreeable to fee a luminous river follow as it were the road of the fhip. The luminous matter of the water appears generally compofed of fmall fparkles, but fometimes thefe form themfelves into the figure of a ftar, as we fee it reprufented, and in fome places it forms globules without any radiations from them. Thefe are of different fize, from that of a large pin's head, to a foot in diameter ; and fometimes the luminous matter is feen in form of oblong fquares of three or four inches each. Thefe are at times diftinct, and at times confufed and feen all together. When the fhip goes very fwiftly, thefe figures all combine to form a fort of luminous whirlpools, but when it goes more flowly, the fingle fquares and globules appear and difappear momentarily like lightnings. It is not particular to a fhip to make this appearance on the water by putting it in motion, and breaking its furface, but any thing that moves in it does the fame thing. The large fifh as they fwim along near the fur- face, leave the fame fort of luminous road behind them, and that fo bright, that a perfon may often diftinguifh by it, what fifh it is that parted along there. A number of fifh playing thus on, or near the furface, as is very common in fome feas, break the water in a great many different directions, and make a fort of artificial fires, which afford an agreeable fight. Sometimes the throwing out a rope or any thing that breaks the furface of the water will render it luminous in the fame manner in that part. If fea water be taken up and fet on the the deck in a veflel of any kind, as foon as it is ftirr'd it will fparkie and give more or lefs of the like luminous appearance according to the darknefs of the night and other accidents ; and if a piece of linen rag be wetted in the fea water and hung up to dry, when it is thoroughly dried it will appear lumi- nous on being rubbed in the dark ; and when half dry it need only be (hook to fhew a great number of fparkles. When thefe fparkles of light are once form'd they will laft a confide- Suppl, Vol. I.

rable time ; often many hours, if they chance to fall upon any folid body on the fides of the veflel, otherwife, if they remain on the water, they foon gb out,

There does not always need the motion of a foreign body in the fea to occafion this fort of phofphofus, but the waves beat- ing againft one another, will often occafion it in great plenty, and fometimes the waves wafhing againft the rocks or againft tbefhore, will yield a long courfe of light the whole night. This is no where fo remarkable as at the Brafils : the fhores there are often all on fire to appearance, from the vaft efrufion of this luminous matter, as the waves wafh and break upon the fhore.

This flaming and fparkling of the furface of the fea is wholly owing to the peculiar quality of the water ; and in general, the thicker and fouler the fea is, the more light it affords ori being ftirred in the night. A cloth dipped in the fea water will fometimes be ftickey as if dipt in a folution of glue ; in this cafe it will afford much brighter, and more luminous fparks in the drying, and this fat water will give much more: fire from the motion of the fhip than any other. In many places the furface of the fea is found covered with fiery matter of a reddifh or yellowifh colour, looking like faw-duft, and feetn- ing to be the ordure or recrement of fome fea animals. This matter always is of a vifcous nature, and the fea water is vif- cous and gluey wherever this is found, and gives more light on the moving, than any other water. In the Northern feas there are fometimes feen whole banks as it were of this mat- ter, the furface of the fea appearing wholly covered with it for feveral leagues; and this is often luminous all over in the night, tho' not ftirred by any fhip, or even by the motion of any fifh. Many of the fea fifh have a vifcous matter about their gills, efpecially when they have been fome time dead. Thefe when kept in fea water, have fo much of this luminous property, that all that part appears as foon as taken up, of the brightnefs of a flaming coal, and eives a light which it is eafy to read by. A piece of ftick rubbed on the gills of thefe fifh, will become luminous wherever it has touched them, and will continue fo, as long as it retains any of the moifture, but as; that dries, the light will fade and go off; and it may be re- vived again, on touching the fifh a fecond time. Obferv. fur l'Afie, p. 289.

Subterraneous Fire, that fire which rnanifefis itfelf upon the; earth in fiery eruptions from beneath, in vulcanos or burning mountains, and in other parts of the earth. The effects of this feem wholly the fame with thofe of the common culinary fires : for burnt coals, cinders and melted minerals are thrown out by the burning mountains ; and hot fprings, fleams, va- pours, &c. are found in feveral parts of the globe, riling near- ly in the fame manner, as if they were produced by the heat of a common furnace. Whence there is little room to doubt but that the fubterranean^rtj are not like theceleftial or folar, but the culinary. Shaw's Lectures, p. 29. Martin in his Atlas, tells us, that there are pits of natural fire in China, which are capable of dreffing meat, but will not confume wood ; but we have no authentic teftimony of any eye witnefs to this ftrange fact.

Extinguijhing of Fire. See the article Extinguishing.

Fire, in the manege. To give the fire to a horfe, is to apply the firing iron red hot to fome preternatural fwelling, in order to difcufs it ; which is oftentimes done, by clapping the firing iron upon the skin, without piercing through. We give the fire to farcy knots by running a pointed burning-iron into the ulcers. We likewife give the fire for wrenches of the pafterna. See FiRiNG-iYfltf.

FiRE-fo//, a compofition of meal-powder, fulphur, fait- pet fuod fine dilatione levari tjf reparari fac. ftgna & firebares, juper monies altiores in quolibet hundredo, ita quod tota patria, per ilia ftgna, quotiefcunque necejfe fuerit, pramunire pot eft. Ordin. Obfervand. Temp. Edw. 2.

Bone-FiRS. M. Mahudel has a differ tation on the origin of bone- fires, wherein he endeavours to make it appear, that they were unknown to the antients, and confequently muff, be a modern invention.

He does not deny that the antients had rejoicings on occafion of the conclufion of a peace or alliance, or the news of a victory's being obtained againft their enemies, on the birth- day, proclamation, or marriage of their prince; as a I fo when they recovered from a dangerous ficknefs ; but, according to himj the fire on all thefe occafions ferved only to burn the victims or the incenfe ; and as thefe facrifices were moftly offered in the night time, the illuminations were only intend- ed to give light to perform the ceremonies. Hift, Acad. In- fcirp. T, 2. p. 430. feqq.

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Fire-