14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



was constantly used by celebrated French physicians. One 

 had stated that in 744 cases in which he had employed it, he 

 had been unsuccessful in only 72 instances. These could not 

 be referred to the influence of the imagination. 



Dr. Workman thought that Hypnotism had a very bad 

 effect on the nervous system. 



SIXTH MEETING. 



Sixth Meeting, loth December, 1887, the President in the 

 chair. 



Donations and exchanges since last meeting, 40. 

 J. J. MacKenzie, B.A., was elected a member. 



Dr. A. M. Rosebriigli read a paper on " Electro-Therapeutic 

 Apparatus," and some new instruments were exhibited and described. 

 The paper was introduced by a brief sketch of the history of medical 

 electricity, showing that electro-therapeutics has been very much 

 retarded in its development by the slow progress of electi-o-physics. 

 One of the earliest treatises on this subject was written abnit the 

 middle of the last century, and strangely enough by a clergyman, 

 namely, the Rev. John Wesley. In this treatise Wesley anticipates 

 much that has since been accomplished. He also suggests the 

 probable electrical origin of the " northern lights," and, independently 

 of Franklin, recommends the use of lightning rods. This was forty 

 years before the discovery of galvanism, and seventy years before the 

 discovery of the faradic or induced current. Static electricity from 

 frictional machines was the only foim of electricity then known. 

 Galvanism was discovered in 1786 and the voltaic pile in 1800 ; but 

 verv little progress was made in the use of the galvanic current until 

 after the discovery of the firadic ciu'i'ent and not until after the dis- 

 covery of better battery cells by Daniel, Grove and Bunsen, about 

 30 years ago. Electro-therapeutics has made gi-eat progress during 

 the last 10 or 15 years, and this is largely due to greatly improved 

 apparatus. As important impi-ovements have been made quite lately 



