Galvanism. 285 



in which the author gives the following account of the pre- 

 sent state of that capital and of its trade : — The city con- 

 tains 712-i houses, many of them of considerable size; and 

 209,000 inhabitants. The increase of its trade is remarka- 

 ble. The amount of the exports was : 



In the year 1743 - 2,479,656 roubles. 



1752 - 4,353,694 



1762 - 5,217,006 



1772 - 6,451,494 



1782 - 11,467,347 



1792 - 22,224,331 



1802 - 30,498,663 



GALVANISM. 



To Mr. Tilloch. 



SIR, 



Upon turning over the Transactions of the Academy of 

 Sciences at Parts for the year 1 700, I found the following 

 article, which, as it throws some light upon the discovery 

 of Galvanism, I hope you will think worthy of a place in 

 your work. I am, &c. 



G. H. Browne. 



Westminster Fire-Office, 

 , April 25, 1804. 



« Of the TremlUng of the Nerves of a Frog after Death. 



" M. Du Vemey showed a frog just dead, which, in 

 taking the nerves of the belly of this animal which go to the 

 thighs and legs, and irritating them a little with a scalpel, 

 trembled, and suffered a sort of convulsion. Afterwards 

 he cut these nerves in the belly, and holding them a little 

 stretched with his hand, he made them do so again by the 

 same motion of the scalpel. If the frog had been longer 

 dead, this would not have happened : in all probability 

 there yet remained some liquor in these nerves, the undula- 

 tion of which caused the trembling of the parts where they 

 corresponded ; and consequently the nerves are onlv pipes, 

 the effect whereof depends upon the liquor which they 

 contain." 



The above is the most remote instance we have seen ad- 

 duced of effects to which we now apply the term Galvanic. 

 Gardiner, in his Observations on the Animal Economy, 

 maintains that there is in animals a vital principle, distri- 

 buted in the brain, cerebellum, and medullary substance, 

 of which principle the nerves are the conductors. Lughi 

 i> a.nd 



