G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 175 



and the corresponding movement of the muscle is greater in 

 winter than in summer. 



IS THE BRAIN A GALVANIC BATTERY ? 



Among the supposed facts relied upon to prove that the 

 animal brain is a battery, which can send currents of electric- 

 ity through the nerves so as to act upon the muscles, is an 

 experiment referred to by Mr. C. F.Varley, which consists in 

 connecting the two terminals of a very sensitive galvanome- 

 ter with separate basins of water. If a hand be placed in 

 each basin, and one be squeezed violently, a positive current 

 is said generally to flow from that hand through the galva- 

 nometer to the other hand, which is not compressed. Mr. 

 Varley, however, after various experiments, has come to the 

 conclusion that the phenomenon is due to chemical action 

 alone, the act of squeezing the hand violently forcing some 

 of the perspiration out of the pores. This is proved by the 

 fact that when both hands were placed in the water, and a 

 little acid was dropped on one of them, a current was gener- 

 ated without any muscular exertion. Mr. Varley found noth- 

 ing to show that electricity exists in the human body, either 

 as a source of motive power or otherwise, and he considers 

 the feeble electricity obtained from the muscles to be due to 

 the dhTerent chemical conditions of different portions of the 

 muscles themselves. As the force transmitted by the nerves 

 is at a rate about 200,000 times slower than an electric cur- 

 rent, he infers that it can not be an electric current itself. 



13^4, March 1,161. 







HALFORD CURE FOR SNAKE-BITES. 



The much -talked -of method adopted by Dr. Halford, of 

 Melbourne, for curing the bite of poisonous serpents, by in- 

 jecting under the skin about 30 drops of liquor ammonia?, 

 has not succeeded very well in experiments in India and 

 some other parts of the world. In a recent communication 

 Dr. Halford remarks that as the power of the ammonia inject- 

 ed is expended, fresh supplies must be used, and that the 

 greatest care must be taken that none of the ammonia be 

 spilled, or sloughing will follow. He has changed his views 

 in regard to the physiological action of the poison and of the 

 remedy, to the extent that whereas formerly he thought that, 



