416 ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES  ITh. 
death, when, inftead of wounding the brain, the 
| origin of the fpinal marrow was wounded. If a. 
pin was introduced where it united with the brain, 
the frog in a moment died convulfed. Animals, 
as tenacious of life as frogs, die equally fuddenly,, 
by injuring the fpinal marrow. Therefore it is. 
not very extraordinary, that death fo immediate 
is occafioned by quantities of the peftilential ex- 
halations infinuating themfelves into animated 
bodies, and not affecting one part of the nerves 
or another, attack the whole fyftem, and momen- 
taneoufly deprive it of fenfation. 
But what can we fay of the death of bate ani- 
mals in which there is found no veftige of nerves, 
as the eels of vinegar and the hoft of infufion 
animalcula? As thefe animals aCtually perifh, the _ 
analogy of fo many others:dying from the fame 
caufe renders it plaufible that'the exhalations de-- 
{troy them by. conta&. Confequently we muft 
adinit, that, acting on their organs, they produce 
an effect fimilar to that which they operate on the 
nervous fubftance of other animals, notwithftand- 
ing their organic {tructure may: be without nerves, 
at leaft fo far, that we cannot difcover them by the 
microfcope. Therefore they cannot evite the fa- 
tal influence of the exhalations; nor do J fee 
how they thould efcape, while unable to refift the 
effects of the electric vapour and odorous effluvia. 
I befeech the reader to confider this hypothefis- 
