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TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 33 
through the breast. The shock is pungent and painful, even when scarcely the 
slightest spark can be obtained by bringing the two wires nearly in contact. Such 
experiments are unsafe when the electric cloud is near. If, during the passage of a 
thunder-shower, the telegraph apparatus is left in communication with the long tele- 
graph wires, the fine wires of the electro-magnets are almost sure to be melted, and 
the magnets thereby rendered useless. Sometimes, in telegraphic offices, there occurs 
an explosion, which melts large wires and is dangerous to human life. The effect 
of a feeble current of atmospheric electricity on the telegraph wires is the same as 
of a current from a galvanic battery. It makes a dot on the telegraph register; and 
when a thunder-storm passes in the neighbourhood of a telegraph line, those dots are 
of constant occurrence; and being interposed between the dots of the telegraph 
operators, they render the writing confused and often illegible. The operators are 
therefore commonly compelled to abandon their work when a thunder-shower pre- 
vails in the vicinity of any part of the line. 
The aurora borealis is very common in the United States, even in summer ; but, 
on account of the long-continued twilight, it is seldom witnessed with such brilliancy 
in summer as in winter. During winter, thunder-storms in the United States are of 
very rare occurrence; but even at this season they are not entirely unknown. Some- 
times in mid-winter, after a series of unusually warm days, a strong wind suddenly 
springs up from the west, attended by a shower, during which several flashes of 
lightning, accompanied by thunder, are noticed. Such a shower is invariably 
followed by a great and sudden fall of the thermometer. But while electrical dis- 
charges in the form of lightning are rarely witnessed in winter, other electrical phe- 
nomena of great interest are of almost daily occurrence. Those phenomena consist 
of free electricity residing upon almost all bodies resting on the earth, but sufficiently 
insulated. This free electricity is particularly noticeable on the clothes and hair of 
the human body. During the cold months of winter, the human hair is commonly 
electrical, and especially when it is brushed with a fine comb. Often at such times 
the fine hairs are seen to stand erect ; and the more you comb to make them smooth, 
the more obstinately they refuse to keep their proper place. If you present your 
fingers to those electrified hairs, they fly to meet you, like a lock of dry hair attached 
to the prime conductor of an electric machine. In such cases there is but one 
remedy; the hair must be thoroughly moistened, after which it lies quietly in its 
place. During the same season of the year, all woollen articles of clothing become 
highly charged with free electricity. The pantaloons in particular are found to 
attract light floating particles of dust, down, &c., especially near the feet; and it is 
impossible to cleanse them by brushing. The longer you brush, the more your 
clothes are covered with dust and lint. Nothing less than a wet sponge is efficient 
to cleanse them. At night, when you take off your pantaloons, you hear a distinct 
crackling noise, and in a dark room perceive a succession of flashes. You draw 
' your fingers down over them, especially near the lower extremities, and you perceive 
a repetition of the crackling noise, accompanied by distinct flashes of light. As you 
take off your flannel drawers, the crackling is again heard, louder than before, and 
the flashes of light are more vivid. If you take a woollen blanket from your bed, 
hold it suspended in your left-hand, and draw the fingers of your right-hand over 
it, the crackling is equally loud and longer continued. Your fingers seem enveloped 
in a blaze of light, and the flashes can be several times renewed. Brute animals do 
not escape the general electrical influence, In a cold frosty night, you draw your 
hand gently over a cat’s back, and you hear a distinct crackling noise, while the cat 
‘shows unmistakeable signs of bad temper, and refuses her consent to play the philo- 
sopher with you. Persons riding on horseback during a snow-storm in the night 
have frequently noticed the extremities of their horse’s ears tipped with light, like 
that of a pale, steady flame. The preceding phenomena are either unknown in sum- 
mer or are only noticed occasionally, and in an inferior degree; but the aurora 
borealis is often witnessed in the United States during winter, and frequently attains 
a splendour such as is surpassed in but few portions of the globe. During the seve- 
_rity of winter, and especially in houses which are furnished with heavy carpets and 
kept thoroughly warmed, even more remarkable electrical phenomena are often wit- 
messed. If you walk across such a carpet with a slight shuffling motion, and then 
oy your knuckle to some metallic object, as the knob of a door, you perceive a 
1857. 3 
