HISTORY OF GALVANISM. 19 



the means which may be employed for varying, 

 diminishing, or restoring the sensibility of the 

 animal to the galvanic influence. In this part, 

 they mention the effects of immersing the animal 

 in a fluid, or in an unrespirable gas, so as to pro- 

 duce suffocation, when the susceptibility to the 

 galvanic influence was either destroyed or much 

 impaired ; but the effects were very various, and 

 difficult to account for in many cases. The 5th 

 head consists of a comparison between electricity 

 and galvanism ; and the 6th contains a detail of 

 some experiments which were performed by Hum- 

 boldt, and subjected to the inspection of the com- - 

 mittee. These appear to have been substantially 

 the same experiments of which I have already 

 given an account.* 



An ingenious paper was about this time published 

 by Fabroni, of Florence, in which he discusses the 

 question, whether the galvanic phenomena are im- 

 mediately referable to electricity, or whether they 

 ought not rather to be attributed to chemical 

 affinity ? He relates many observations, that he 

 made upon the chemical action of different metals 

 on each other, when placed in contact, and shows, 

 that they were then disposed to oxidate under the 

 same circumstances, except that of being in con- 

 tact, where, if separate, no effect would have 

 been produced. He argues, that the facts stated 

 by Galvani, Volta, and others, which were con- 



* Journal de Physique, xlvii. 392, 441. 

 C 2 



