326 Broughton on the Nerves. 



between them, a plan always adopted (says Dr. Philip,) by Dr. 

 Hastings, who made all Dr. Wilson Philip's experiments for 

 him. In all the rabbits so treated, and some, in which a piece 

 of the nerve was cut out, including two rabbits sent by Dr. 

 Hastings from Worcester after being killed, it was much to my 

 surprise, that though in all there was more or less digested 

 parsley to be found, yet in none had digestion gone on so com- 

 pletely, as in my own experiments, and in the two first rabbits 

 mentioned a1x)ve. 



The difference indeed was very striking, so much so as to 

 afford strong grounds for supposing that Dr. Wilson Philip was 

 correct in believing that in the different modes of dividing the 

 nerves was to be found the cause of the different results ; and 

 there is to be attributed a power in the nerves, to carry on the 

 influence of the brain, after they are divided simply, without 

 any obstruction to their subsequently coming into contact. 



At the suggestion of Mr. Andrew Knight, who has taken 

 much interest in these experiments, and afforded us the advan- 

 tages of his ingenious and philosophic mind, Dr. Wilson 

 Philip once again resorted to his usual experiment with gal- 

 vanism, having two other rabbits simply operated upon (after 

 the manner of Dr. Hastings,) as a comparative experiment. 



The galvanised rabbit had remained singularly quiet the 

 whole time, breathing freely, and with no more apparent 

 distress than the twitches usually produced by the galvanic 

 influence, which in this case was uninterruptedly kept up. The 

 other rabbits laboured strongly in their breathing. They were 

 all three killed at the same period, and their stomachs succes- 

 sively opened. In the two non-galvanised rabbits, digestion 

 had scarcely made any progress, but in that galvanised, it was 

 perfect, in the manner, to all appearance, avowed by Dr. Wilson 

 Philip and his supporters. However we may differ in opinion, 

 as to the real state of the food in the non-galvanised rabbits, 

 as to Dr. Wilson Philip's theory, or, as to the cause of the 

 formation of chyme and chyle being found under the influence 

 of a galvanic battery, Dr. Wilson Philip cannot be denied the 

 merit of correctness in his assertions, (hitherto al,ni03t univ«r- 



