90' French National Injlitutc. 



pofitive fide of the pile, produces oxygen gas, and with that 

 emanating from the negative fide, hydrogen. 



The two firft opinions have been advanced in the clafs by 

 Monge, and the other in a memoir by Fourcroy ; the third 

 belongs to fome foreigners, and particularly profeffof Richter 

 of Jena. It appears to be fo much in contradiction with the 

 whole of the other chemical phenomena, that it would have 

 been impoflible to admit it, even if the experiment in queftion 

 could not have been fatisfactorily explained in another manner. 



The memoir of Fourcroy is the refill t of very numerous ex- 

 periments made by Vauquelin and Thenard ; and he adds to 

 a very ingenious explanation of the principal fa£t, a multitude 

 of circumftances before unknown. Thefe authors admit the 

 exiftence of a peculiar fluid which they call the galvanic, 

 and which circulates from the pofitive fide of the pile towards 

 the negative. According to them, this fluid, on ifluing from 

 the pofitive fide, decompofes the water, and fuffers the oxygen 

 to efcape in bubbles; but it combines with the hydrogen to 

 form a liquid which traverfes the water, or the fulphuric acid, 

 or the human body, in order to reach the extremity of the 

 negative wire, where the galvanilm abandons its hydrogen, 

 and, in its turn, fuffers it to efcape in the form of gas, while 

 it itfelf penetrates the wire. 



The following is the experiment by which the authors 

 prove that fuch is the fecret progrefs of the phsenomenon : — • 

 If well warned oxide of filver be interpofed between the two 

 waters, the negative wire, near which the hydrogen gas ought 

 to manifeft itfelf, produces no effervefcence, and the oxide is 

 in part reduced on the pofitive fide : the reafon of this, fay 

 thefe authors, is, becaufe the galvanic fluid charged with hy- 

 drogen lofes it in traverfing the oxide, the oxygen of which 

 takes it up to re-form water. 



C. Cuvier lately read in the Inftitute an interefiing paper 

 on foffil bones, from which the following is an extract : — • 

 Bones which have belonged to fome animal different from 

 any of thofe no>v exiliing on the fur face of the globe have 

 been found under the earth, in great abundance, in all coun- 

 tries; The foil of Siberia is full of fuch bones; and there is 

 fcarcely a difiriel: in Germany, Italy, France, England, Ire- 

 land, and Spain, in which fome of them have not been dug 

 up. The foflil bones found on the banks of the Ohio have 

 been long known. Some of them 'were found by Dombey 

 in Peru, and the Spaniards brought a whole fkeleton from 

 Paraguay. It is even probable that hich remains of the ante- 

 diluvian world are to be found iu Africa and New Holland, 



Such 



