The botanic garden. A poem in two parts. Part I. Containing the Economy of vegetation. Part II. the Loves of the plants. With philosophical notes / [Erasmus Darwin].
- Erasmus Darwin
- Date:
- 1791
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The botanic garden. A poem in two parts. Part I. Containing the Economy of vegetation. Part II. the Loves of the plants. With philosophical notes / [Erasmus Darwin]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![[ ] to be aflured that It was no deception of the eye, he placed a man near him, with orders to make a fignal at the moment when he obferved the light. They both faw it con- ftantly at the fame moment. The light was moft brilliant on Marigolds, of an orange or flame colour j but fcarcely vifible on pale ones. The flafli was frequently feen on the fame flower two or three times in quick fuccelTion, but more commonly at intervals of feverals minutes j and when feveral flowers in the fame place emitted their light together, it could be obferved at a confiderable diftance. This phsenomenon was remarked in the months of July and Auguft, at fun-fet, and for half an hour after, when the atmofphere was clears but after a rainy day, or when the air was loaded with vapours, nothing of it was feen. The following flowers emitted flafhes, more or lefs vivid, in this order ; 1. The Marigold, {Calendula Officinalis). 2. Garden Naflurtion, (Tropaolum majus). 3. Orange Lily, {Lilium bulbiferum). 4. African Marigold. (Tagetes patula et ereSia). Sometimes it was alfo obferved on the Sun-flowers, (Helianthus annum). But bright yellow, or flame colour, feemed in general neceflary for the production of this light; for it was never feen on the flowers of any other colour. To difcover whether fome little infeCts, or phofphoric worms, might not be the caufe of it, the flowers were carefully examined even with a microfcope, without any fuch being found. From the rapidity of the flafh, and other circumftances, it might be conjeCtured, that there is fomething of eleCtricity in this phaenomenon. It is well known, that when the pijiil of a flower is impregnated, the pollen burfts away by its elafticity, with which elec- tricity may be combined. But M. Haggren, after having obferved the flafli from the Orange-lily, the anthers of which are a confiderable fpace diftant from the petals^ found that the light proceded from the petals only ; whence he concludes, that this eleClric light is caufed by the pollen^ which in flying off is fcattered upon the petals. Obfer. Physique par M. Rozier, Vol. XXXIII. p. iii. Defcription of the Poifon-Tree in the Ijland of Java. Tranfated from the original Dutch of N. P. Foerfch. THIS deflruCfive tree is called in the Malayan language Bohun-Upas., and has been defcribed by naturalifts; but their accounts have been fo tinCtured with the mar- vellous., that the whole narration has been fuppofed to be an ingenious fiCIion by the ge- nerality of readers. Nor is this in the leaf! degree furprizing, when the circumftances which we fhall faithfully relate in this defcription are confidered. I muft acknowledge, that I long doubted the exiftence of this tree, until a ftriCIer enquiry convinced me of my error. I fhall now only relate Ample unadorned faCts, of B b](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28772970_0597.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
