“ 
Obfervations on Animal Elefricity. 3 
Iing noife, to the great terror of his whole family. Fortu- 
nius Licetus was a witnefs of this phenomenon *. 
X. “ Among us,” fays Gefner, ‘* where heated ehatinens 
are ufual, it aften happens that many perfons, when they 
have warmed themfelves at a ftove, and then pull off their 
fhirt in a cold bed-chamber, or move or fhake it after it is 
pulled off, obferve crackling flames to burft from it ¢.”” 
_ XI. Bartholinus fays, that a rope-dancer at Turin, ac- 
cording to the teftimony of a refpeCtable man, Caffiano a 
Paro emitted a like phenomenon of light from his body f. 
XII. The fame author fays, that oe proceed from the 
fkins of cats, and particularly from the back; which can be 
clearly perceived by ftroking the hair backwards even with 
the leaft preflure, and Eipecially after they have been warmed 
at the fire §. 
XIII. Scaliger fpeaks of a white Calabrian horfe, which, 
when combed in the dark, emitted {parks of fire |j. 
XIV. Ezekiel de Caftro fays{, of another horfe of the 
_ fame kind, that real {parks were obferved when his neck was 
ftroked upwards with the hand or a currycomb, 
XV. Simpfon treats of the light emitted by the bodies of 
animals when rubbed; and quotes inftances of fuch pheno- 
mena on combing the hair of a woman, curry ing a horfe, 
and. ftroking a cat with the hand **, 
XVI. The following circumftance refpe@ting himfelf was 
told by Vaudania to the celebrated Beccaria :—** For ten or 
twelve days paft, fince the cold fet in, I wear, between two 
fhirts, a piece of beaver’s fkin. Always when I pull off my 
upper fhirt at night, I obferve that it adheres, in fome de- 
gree, to the piece of fkin; and when I draw my fhirt from 
it, I fee {parks which have a ftriking refemblance to thofe of 
electricity. Scarcely do I begin to pull off the piece of fkin 
* Licetus de cauffis monftyorum, Lib. II. cap, xxviii. 
+ Lib. de lunariis, 
+ De luce animali, p. 123. 
§ Ibid, p. 189. 
|| Exercitat. 174, 
qj Liber de igne Jamb, 
** Diff. Phyf, de fermentatione, 1676, 
B2 when 
