84 ‘ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES Tif. 
mal, accumulates on. the fides of the veffels; /e-, 
condly, That the air has loft a certain degree of 
its elafticity. Thefe phenomena have produced. 
different opinions. One afcribes the death of 
animals. to thefe exhalations, which, being confin- 
ed in the veffels, are refpired by the animals, and: 
thus become fatal. Another opinion maintains, 
that the exhalations cannot be mortal; but the 
elafticity of the air being diminifhed by them, or 
‘a portion of the air being deftroyed by — 
tion, becomes fatal:. 
The experiment of Piftorini of Bologna, Se. 
tuted to-appreciate the force of both opinions, is. 
fpecious. Suppofing they are equally juft, he 
argues, it fhould neceflarily enfue that two ani- 
mals, confined in the fame veflel, die fooner than. 
ene alone, provided the veffel is the fame, and. 
the animals of the fame fize and fpecies. We 
mutt, therefore, recur to the exhalations from the: 
animal, or to-diminifhed elafticity of the air occa 
fioned by: the effluvia or the refpiration ; and as. 
it is always certain, that doubling the number: 
of animals, the exhalations and refpirations are 
doubled, the diminution of elafticity fhould con- 
fequently be doubled.. But Piftorini found it 
otherwife. Two animals died as foon as one, 
though he ufed the fame veffel, and animals of 
the fame fize and fpecies (1). 
(1); AG. Bon. tom. 2). part. re 
