Some Jfccount of Electrical Experiments. 259 



relating to wlieel carriages, of which the United Kingdom is at 

 present in so much want. 



I have not the lionour of heing a meml)er of either the Duhlin 

 Society, or the Farming Society of Ireland; but I feel the strongest 

 assurance, from the large portion of scientific and of agricultural 

 experience in both these bodies, that a very little caution will be 

 sufficient to guard against such injudicious arrangements as ren- 

 der experiments unsatisfactory. 



However praiseworthy it is to offer instruction to the public, 

 yet, if the booii be garbed in mystery, the advantage may be 

 lost — nay perhaps worse, by inducing prejudiced and ignorant 

 persons to exclaim against innovations upon old practice. 'Tis 

 therefore insufficient to give instruction, unless it be offered in 

 such a manner as to insure its reception in the minds of the 

 public, who will then no doubt gratefully feel the extent of their 

 obligations to the gentleman, whose recent exertions have been 

 so conspicuous in calling fortii pointed and general attention to 

 a subject of the highest national importance. 



June 8, 1815. ToWNLEY RiCHARDSON. 



43, Hardivicke-street, Dublin. 



XLVIII. Some Account of the Electrical Experiments of 

 M. De Nelis, of Malines in the Netherlands. Communicated 

 lij Mr. Singer. 



1 HE experiments on the singular effects of the electric charge 

 on metallic cylinders which have been already described, were 

 continued by M. D'e Nelis for many years, and have been varied 

 by him with much ingenuity, and witb a degree of j)atience and 

 perseverance rarely equalled ; several of the cylinders employed 

 in his experiments are now in my possession, and evince the ac- 

 tion of very considerable power, but the number of explosions 

 employed is only stated for two of them ; and I have therefore 

 preferred to detail the more systematic series of experiments iu 

 which I have l)een so ably assisted by Mr. Crosse ; especially aa 

 these latter apjoear to exhibit the |>h:enomena more obviously 

 than any of the results transmitted by M. De Nelis: yet it may 

 be proper to notice, that amongst tliose received from this ac- 

 tive experimentalist there is a part of the breach of a pistol bar- 

 rel, and also an iron cylinder near an inch thick and of small 

 bore, each of them very distinctly cracked by repeated explo- 

 sions. 



It has been already mentioned that M. De Nelis did not find 

 in his experiments any relation between the resistance of the 

 different cylinders, and their comparative tenacity as expressed 



11 2 in 



