some observations about shining flesh, made by the honourable robert boyle; febr. 15. 1671/72 and by...

Some Observations about Shining Flesh, Made by the Honourable Robert Boyle; Febr. 15.1671/72 and by Way of Letter Addressed to the Publisher, and Presented to the R. SocietyAuthor(s): Robert BoyleSource: Philosophical Transactions (1665-1678), Vol. 7 (1672), pp. 5108-5116Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/100967 .

Accessed: 11/06/2014 12:24

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

The Royal Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to PhilosophicalTransactions (1665-1678).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.140 on Wed, 11 Jun 2014 12:24:35 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=rsl

http://www.jstor.org/stable/100967?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


( 5ioS. )

Some 0/jervations about Shining Flefl, made by the otionu. table Robert Boyle 5 fek. 15. 4 6 - and by ivj ofLetter addreJJed to the Publ:jber, and prefented to the R, So. ciety.

XfEfternight when I was about to go to bed, an Ama. nueleJfis ofmine, accufiom'd to make Obfervations,

informed me, that one of the Servants of tle lioufe,going upon fome occafioni into the Larder,was frighted by fome. thing ofLuminous that ffie faw (notwithti:anding the dark. iefs of the place,) where the meat had been hung up be. fore: Whereupon fufpendiDg, for a while my going to reft, I prefently fent for the meat into my Chamber, and caufed it to he placed in a corner of the room capable of being made confiderably dark, and then I plainly faw, both with wonder and delight, that the joint of meat did in divers places fhine like rotten Wood or ftinking Fifh; which was fo uncommon a light, that I had prefently thoughts of inviting you to be a fharer in the pleafure of it. But the late hour of the night did not only make me fear to give you too utnfeafonable a trouble, but being joyrj-d with a great Cold I had got that day by making Tryal of a new Telefcope (you faw,) in a windy place, I durft not fitup long enough to make all the tryals that I thought of and j udg'd the occafion worthy of. But yet, be. caufe I effei&ually refolved to imploy the little time I had to fp-re, in making: fuch Obfervations and tryals, as the accn-mrxodations, I could procure at fo inconvenient an hour, would enable me, I fhall here give you a brief ac. eou lr of the ch ief cjrcurnftances and Phbnomena,that I had opportunity to take notice of.

i. Then I muft tell you, that the fubje&t., we difcourfe of, w.-as a Neck of Veal, which, as I learned by inquiry, had been bought of a Country-butcher on the Tuefday prceein gI

24 In



5C gC 2, In this one piece of meat I reckoned diftin&'y a"ov

?roent'y feveral places that did all of the.m (hine,, th,-igh nor all of them alike,. fome of them doing it but very faintly.

3. 'The bi'gnefs of thefe Lucid parts was differici e c

nough, foume of themn being as big as thle rn,ail of a 5airs middle finger, fome few bigger, and nioft of :ir-m ~e Nor were there figures at a1l more uniftorm,, fame b~i, inclined to a round, others aimoftA oval but th'- greateft part of them very irregularly fl-iap'd.

4. The parts that (hone moft,, which 'cwas no- -fo eafiz- to determine in the dark, were foame gr-iftly or foft parts of the bones, where the Butcher's Cleaver had paffed;- but thefe were not the only p3arts that were luminous ; for by drawinig to and fro the, Muedulla fPinah1t, we founid, that a part of that alfo did not (hine ill: Anid I perceived one. place in a Tendlon to) afford fome light ; and laftly three or four fpots in t'he flefhy parts at a good diftance from the bones were plainly difcovered by their own light, though that were fainter than in the parts above muento-10 tied.

5. Whien all thefe- Lucid parts were furvey'd together, they-I mnade a very fplendid mbew - but 'twas not lo eafie, becauife of the rmoifttnefs and groffniefs of the lump of matter, to examine the degree of thelir Luminoufhiefs, as it is to eftimate that ofGloworms, which being ml n r bodies may be conveniently laid in a book, and made to ,move fromi one le-tter or word to another. l3ut by gond' fortune having by me.. the curious TranfaFIzons of thi; month, I was -able fo to apply that flexible paper to fm of the more r-eiplendenut fpots,, that I -could plainly read d ive3r s c o nfe c utIve let te-rs of the Tit-le.

6. The Colour that accomnpanied the liight' I"as niot lin all the famie, Vb i thofe which (hn 'iei ,f.it feemed to have.- fuich a fir-e Greeni(h blew, as I have dlivers timeso ob: lerved in the.. tails of GliowoDrms.

NLlnnun n -7 . U t



( 510o ) 7. But norwithftanding the vividnefs of this Light, I

could not by the touch difcern the leaft degree of Heat in the parts whence it proceedediand having put fome marks on one or two of the more fhining places, that I might know them again when brought to the light, I applied a feal'd Weather glafs) furnilfed with tin6ted fririt ofwine, for a pretty while, aid c:;uld not fatisfie my felf7 that the fllining parts did at all finfibly warm the liquor: But the Thermofcope,though good in its kind,being not fitted for fuLch nice Experiments, I d not build much upon that tryal.

8. Notwithftandingthe great number of lucid parts in this Neck of Veal, yet neither I, nor any of thofethat were about me,could perceive by the fmell the leaft degree of ftink, whence to infer any Putrefiation the meat being judged very frefli and well condition'd and fit to be dreffed.

9. The floar of the Larder, where this meat was kept,is almoft a ftory lower then the level of the ftreer, and 'tis divided from the Kitchen but by a partition of boards and is furniftied but with one window, which is not great, and looks toward the ftreer, which lyes North ward from

Io. The wind, as far as we could obferve ir, was then at Southweft, and bluftering enough4 The Air by the eal'd Thermofcope appeared hot for the feafon.The Moon

was paf ics laft Quar:er. The Mlercury in the Barometer fiood at 29^i inches.

Ir. We cut off w;h a knife one of the luminou; parts, which proved to be a tender bone, and being of about the thicknefs of a halfCrown piece, appeared co fliine on tGoh .fidls though not equally ; and that part of the bone, whei.ce this had been cut off, continued joiled to the reft of the Neck of Veal,and was feen to lhine, but nothing near fo vividly as the part, we had taken off, did before.

i:. To



( 51rI ) 2. Tio try, whether I could obta;i any juice or moit

fubfta:ice from this, as I have feveral times done from the tails of Gloworms I rub'd fome of the fofter and more lucid parts, ( .which I caufed to be purpofely cut otf,) as dextroufly as I coutld upon my hand) but I did not at all pzrceive any luminous moifture was thereby imparted though the flefh feemed by that operation to have loft fome of its light.

i3, 1 cauFed a!fo a piece offhining flefih to be ccmpref. fed betwixt two pieces of glafs, to try, how well the con- texture of it would refift that external force - but I did not rind tha !'ght to b: thereby exzinguificd duringt th' fbh rt t:mt i could allo to the Experiment.

14. Buct luppcfi,g, tlig t high retificd Spirit of wine might fo alter the cc rt:xturc of tihe body it permeated, as to dcfcroy its f ,^hcui5 cf Shiii;, I put a luminous piece of

Veal i!no Crfalie pg on a Cra e pa,atite pure Sjitir of wlie that wc, ud [ve burned ai away, after I 'adihadaken :hem tcg:the ihmId by th te glafs) and in abcut a quarter of an ihou7 or lefs I fcu:d that the light was va- niihed.

15. Btc w;at::r would rot t,o caiy q uench cur emi nI fires fo h^vi:g -ruc o na'V , '. itm iZt(o a C/i,a CutD. and

!:ncft ileie,d it /:ch C(c, w'er, tt'he .ohr cid Iot o,iy Sp. ar rha .- t d m i:;i'nld t; iiinougl that I. ;qt:cl, but a-

botve a;,. h. r afcer w s vigorous enoull not. : to b: c'cljfed bov b', i;tdi L n Ciat grat f rnc >o:n at , rat c*t (CL.i:;ne, tut wat nt:ne c.t. i.mi na, i. - ar- prob-ably tie.

lig,t woj a hra e b ee. f:;:. much lo;ger, ii we could have aitl rded o w:ttci ouV is durti.on,

i5, Wi:!l t.ciLL thi g wee: doing, I caufed the Pneu. r ,cjl: : ;cic :;z b: prepa ard in a room wiclouc fire (that :i Xxn'. mnt n:':' : bt n rryed in a greater degree cf cdaeknaes a:.<i h-v:ip c: vcyed one cf the ]argeti lume-

nous p;ices into a fmTali Receiver, we caue.d ,e 3 CatiL-3

', Vs p;t ourt and hn, pump to b plicd in tlie dark -t * | · r



( 5112 ) thec dimi'nuti'on of i'ght, after the pump feemed to have, beeti imployed for a competent while, appeared fo incon- fiderable, (whiether becaulfe our eyes had leafure to be fit[ted to that dark place, or for what other caufe fLoever,D) that I began to fufpet,.t hatr thie initrument, havilng been manage-d in the dark,hadkahked all the while. Wher-efore cating the c,' 'ligts to he brouight in, and a Mlercurial Ga~ge to be put" ilnto the]' Keceivers whLeni we were f'ure that this glafs was well -cemented on to the Engcine, the Candles beinig remove d,thc pump was fet a work again ;and then opening my eyes, whiLch II had kept clos'd againfi the ligzht of the Candles, I /Could perc'eive'~_" uponL the1- gradual with:

dirawing of the Air, a difueernible and gradual leffe-,ninor of the light ;which yetLwas never brought quite to difappear (as I long fince told you the light of Rotten Wood and

Gloorm ha doe.j or to be fo near vanifhing as one would have expeded 5 thoughi upon the -brinin ino the Candles again it appeared by the Gae thattePm Liad bel--en diligently applied. BuIt the room beinlg once a

gain darkened; by the hafty irncreafe of light, that had difelIofed it felf in the Veal upon this letting in of the Air to the Exhauffted Recei-ver, it appeared more manilfeftly than be-.fore,, that the- decrcmenr, thotigh but flowly made,had' been conifiderable. This tryal we onice more repeated with a not unilike fuccefs ; which thiough it convinced us thlat the Luminous matter of our inicluded body was more v.'g orous or tenaCious thani that of moft other mliniing bo- d'ies ; yet it left us fome doubts, thiat the1- light would have beeni much,- more impaired, if notLquite made to vanifh i ifl f

the- fubje6t of it could have beeni kept long enough in our Exhauited Recei-ver : But the unfeafonable t-ime of the night redlucing me.- at length to go to bed, I coulid niot flay to profecurle this cr an'y other tryal.

1 7- Oinly, whiift I was undreffing-~ th's further Obfer- vation occur'd, that fuppofirg here mgh be In th.-e fame Larde-r more joints of the f^ame Veal thlao onei, inanobled

w it h



( 51 3 ) with this ffhinng faculry, it was fund, that a Legg of Veal, which was caulfd .to be brougth: into my Chamber, had fome fihhing places in it; though they were but very few and faint in comparifon of:hoife that were confpicuous il the above-mentioned Neck.

I8. What further Phenomena this morniing might have afforded me, I cannot tell, having been haftily called up before day for a Niece, that I am very juftly and exceed- ingly concerned for,who was thought to be upon the point of death, and whof2 almooft gafping condition had too much affe&ted and imployed me, to leave me any time for Philofophical entertainments) that require a calm, if not a pleafed, mind. Only this I took notice of, becaufe the oblervation could not coft me a minute of an hour, that whilft they were bringing me Candles for to rife by, I looked upon a clean phial, that I had laid upon the bed by me after a piece of out luminous Veal had been included in irt and found it to fhine vividly at that time, which was be- tween four and five of clock this morning) fince when I have made no one obfervation or tryal,

POSTS C JP1T.

5i. Near two days after I had made t'ie rre-meins::ed Obferva ton; thofe h6rrid fimptomr otfmyN ice's difcafe, ti:at had fo nmch al armed the Ph'.fia ns and m being tbrough Gcds goodnes confid erably abated, I be an to refame the th toughs of our Sh'iing Vea!, and though ha. ving in the ;urry I was in forgotten to take any order a- bout it, I found it was already difpofed of 5 yet the piece, I lately mentioned to have been included in a phial, being prefer ved in it, I looked upon it the third day (inclufively) after we had fir, obferved the meat,'twas cut offfrom. to be luminous; and I found it to fhinie in the dark as vigo, roufy as ever. The fourth day its light was alfo confpicu. cu.iof that I was able in a dark Corner ofthe room to ihew



( 5114 ) ic even in the day time to three or four very ingeniou; Phylitians, all of them (fave one) members of the R, So- .ie :; and I prefume 1 need not re-mind you, that the following night I invited you to be atektator of it, though before that time the light had begun to decay and the of: fenrfive fiell to grow fcmivwhat ftrong: which feems to ar- .gue, that the dirpofi:ion, uton whoie account oar Veal was luminous, may very well confift both with its being and not beirlg in a ftate of pntrefadion, and confequently is not likely to be derived meerly from the one or the o. ther. The fifth day) in the morningglooking upon it when I awaked, and before the curtairs were opened, it feemed to fhine better than it hard done the day preceding. The fLrim: night alfo it was manifeft encugh, though not vivid, n thedark. When I awaked, the fixth day in the morn:

ing after t.he Sun was riifn, I could within the Curtain per: ceire a glimmering ighti But the feventh day, which was yef,erday, I could not Iate at night difcern any light at all.

You faw too much in what a condition I was, when you did mr the favi'our :c vizm , to expect tlhat I fkhu'Cu! pre- sume to cnrertain . ou t whi any Specularios about the caufe ofthefe uiufu;.:l ap ari ons of light. 'Tis true in-

ced,thati in fmc' rorts, I ftormerly mentioned to you, I e,deav\oured to ma i:: it prcbable that whether Light de- pc-d ulpon a particular kind of fmpulfe propagated through a trarpr iret Medun, m or upo: a Diffufion of ex-

t;eim:y 1ttle parts frcmrn the Luminous body ; or upon the At`i'on offo le. other corporeal agent; what ever the Effi- cient cbe, the Effc'th i3 produced in a Alechanica way. But though I had thefe papers by me 5 yet ro determine what peculiar Kiid of m:;tiors or oi .r operatfions Nature real- ly imployed in the prcducti:n of a light, whichC ftemrcd not c,eaily (by what I Thflll prefeDty no:e referable either to the p2 rticular anid f etLd conrufttuion of the A,im^.r,whofe .fl-hcfl' i1 nled.as iL cur GIoworms and fume CAmri,n fities;)

or



( 5115 ) or to that inteftine anid urufual motion of the parts, that- caufes or accompanies PutrefaCtion in Rotten wood ot Fifhes- fiice upon the firft and Iivelieft appearance of tw· Light) there was not any (at leaft that could be t-ken nom t:ce of by the fenfes:) To determine this, I lay., it feem'd to me fo difificult a task, that I fhial williugly leave the So. uiUofn of fuch abftrufe Pbenomnen4as fome of ours, It r ·t tempted; efpecially fitce I may, God permit-uing, Make i:i Hiftorical mention of them the day aft-er to morrow at the Meeting of the I_oy4l Society ; where I doubt nor muc- more and more to the purpofe will be faid and confiddr'd- than I have vanity to think my feif capable of offering. On- ly, for the prevention of fomne needlefs conjc6ltures. to which without this previous Advertifemenit one mnght upoti

iaufible grounds indulgejI fhall in t'ti mean while add at,d cuOrc:ude with one Obtervation more, which may poffibly

k-,ke off our thoughts from ftriving to deduce the Shtniig of cur Veal from th- e peculiar nourifhment, or conftitution, or roor cties of thliat individual Calf, whofe flefh, &4*c,.was <5!nc!nou:. For,having few-ral nights fentpurpolely into th- Larder, to obferve, whether any Veal, fince brought thither, or any other meat, did afford any light, a ncgative ;a,*,wter was alwaies brouight me back ; fave at one time, which. happened to be within leis than 48 hours of that, at which tho Lurninou f-es of rhk Veal had been firit taken notice of; for at this tim.e there was in the farm Lrcier a cI -fpicu:us :i ht fvenP i! a P u!kit,that hung uptrhere,w hic hving aus'd to bL Uroulgt u? ifltO a darKted place in my c>iamber in the nlight time, I perceived four or five lumi. nous places, which were not indeed near fo large as thofe of the Veal, but were little lefs vivid than they. All of thefe I took notice to be either upon or near the Rump,and thar,which appear'd moft like a Spark of Fire, fhone at the very tip of that part. Yet was not this Foul mort:fied, nor at all ill-fented, but fo frefh, that the. next day I founid it very good meat. But whether this may reafonably lead to

Ooooo a



( 5x6 ) a fafpicion,that the peculiar conftitution of the Air in that Larder, and at that time, may as well deferve to be taken into confideration, as the peculiar nature of the Animals whofe flefh did fhine, is a queftion, that I, who have fcarce time to name it, muft not orefume to do any more than name. And therefore as foon as I have begg'd your par- don for this tedious though hafty fcrible, I fhall without Ceremony fubfcribe my felf, &c.

A Defcription of an odd kind of Muffirom yeliding a Mlilkv juice, much hotter upon the tongue than Pepper, &c. Obferved by Mr. Lifter, and by him communicatedto the Publzher,No. vemb. 15. 1672.

T He 8.of Augufl laft I paffed through Marton. woods, under Pinno-moor in Craven: In thefe Woods I then

found an infinite number of u/bjroms , fome wilher'd, and others new.fprung and flourifliing. They were of a large fize, fomething bigger than the Ordinary red-gilled eatable Mufihrom or Champignon, and very much of their flape, that is. with a perfettly round Cap,or Stool (as we vulgar- ly call it, ) thickin flefli and with open Gills underneath; having a thick, flefly, nor-hollow, and round Foot ftalk, of about 6 fingers breadch high above ground, and ordi. narily as thick as my thumb. If you cut any part of this Mu4ffrom, it will bleed exceeding freely aMilk-white Juice, concerning which note; .That this Milky Juice tafts much hotter upon the tongue than Pepper. 2.That it is not clam-

my to the touch. g.That the Air does not much difcolour it, r the blade of a knife; a3 is ufual with moft Vegetable Juice.s.4,That it became in the glafs-viol,Idrew it into, fud.

denly concret and ftiff, and did in ofme daies dry into a firm Cake. 5.That i; then alf,wheni well dried, retain'd its fierce biting taft and white colour,

Further, I obferv'd thefe Mufhroms full of Juice, not to be endured upon our tongues,to abound withFly-maggots.

'A.fo

( 5x6 ) a fafpicion,that the peculiar conftitution of the Air in that Larder, and at that time, may as well deferve to be taken into confideration, as the peculiar nature of the Animals whofe flefh did fhine, is a queftion, that I, who have fcarce time to name it, muft not orefume to do any more than name. And therefore as foon as I have begg'd your par- don for this tedious though hafty fcrible, I fhall without Ceremony fubfcribe my felf, &c.

A Defcription of an odd kind of Muffirom yeliding a Mlilkv juice, much hotter upon the tongue than Pepper, &c. Obferved by Mr. Lifter, and by him communicatedto the Publzher,No. vemb. 15. 1672.

T He 8.of Augufl laft I paffed through Marton. woods, under Pinno-moor in Craven: In thefe Woods I then

found an infinite number of u/bjroms , fome wilher'd, and others new.fprung and flourifliing. They were of a large fize, fomething bigger than the Ordinary red-gilled eatable Mufihrom or Champignon, and very much of their flape, that is. with a perfettly round Cap,or Stool (as we vulgar- ly call it, ) thickin flefli and with open Gills underneath; having a thick, flefly, nor-hollow, and round Foot ftalk, of about 6 fingers breadch high above ground, and ordi. narily as thick as my thumb. If you cut any part of this Mu4ffrom, it will bleed exceeding freely aMilk-white Juice, concerning which note; .That this Milky Juice tafts much hotter upon the tongue than Pepper. 2.That it is not clam-

my to the touch. g.That the Air does not much difcolour it, r the blade of a knife; a3 is ufual with moft Vegetable Juice.s.4,That it became in the glafs-viol,Idrew it into, fud.

denly concret and ftiff, and did in ofme daies dry into a firm Cake. 5.That i; then alf,wheni well dried, retain'd its fierce biting taft and white colour,

Further, I obferv'd thefe Mufhroms full of Juice, not to be endured upon our tongues,to abound withFly-maggots.

'A.fo



some observations about shining flesh, made by the honourable robert boyle; febr. 15. 1671/72 and by...

Documents