M. Nuesch records, in a recent number of the _Journal de Pharmacie_,
some curious observations regarding luminous bacteria in fresh meat.
Some pork cutlets, he found, illuminated his kitchen so that he could
read the time on his watch. The butcher who sent the meat told him the
phosphorescence was first observed in a cellar, where he kept scraps
for making sausages. By degrees all his meat became phosphorescent,
and fresh meat from distant towns got into the same state. On
scratching the surface or wiping it vigorously, the phosphorescence
disappears for a time; and the butcher wiped carefully the meat he
sent out. All parts of the animal, except the blood, acquired the
phenomenon over their whole surface. The meat must be fresh; when it
ceases to be so, the phosphorescence ceases, and _Bacterium termo_
appear. None of the customers had been incommoded. It was remarked
that if a small trace of the phosphorescent matter were put at any
point on the flesh of cats, rabbits, etc., the phosphorescence
gradually spread out from the center, and in three or four days
covered the piece; it disappeared generally on the sixth or seventh
day. Cooked meat did not present the phenomenon but it could be had in
a weak manner, from cooked albumen or potatoes. No other butcher's
shop in the place was affected. The author is uncertain whether to
attribute the complete disappearance of the phenomenon to the higher
temperature of the season, or to phenic acid, or to fumigation with
chlorine.
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