440 Additional Notes, 



riments and discoveries of Dr. Franklin, in Electricity, I 

 have scarcely done justice to his friends and coadjutors in this 

 inquiry, particularly Mr. Ebenezpjr Kinnersley, who 

 made several valuable discoveries, and inany new experi- 

 ments. This remark appears to be so just, that I cannot 

 avoid taking some notice of it. 'I'he reader who is desirous of 

 seeing what is due to Mr. Kinnersley, for the important 

 aid which he afforded to Dr.. Franklin in his investigations, 

 will do well to peruse the Experiments and Observations on 

 Eleetrieitij, &c. by Benjamin Franklin, LL. D. and 

 F. R. S. London. 4to. 1769. In this work tiie Doctor makes 

 many acknowledgments to Mr. Kinnersley, as also to his 

 friends, Mr. Thomas Hopkinson, Mr. Philip Sync, and 

 others. 



The following account of experiments on the influence of 

 electricity in forwarding the germination and growth of plants, 

 is extracted from the Botanie Garden, part ] . canto i. note. 



" The influence of electricity in forwarding the germination 

 of plants, and their growth, seems to be pretty well established, 

 though M. Ingenhouz did not succeed in his experiments, 

 and thence doubts the success of those of others; and though 

 M. RouLAND, from his new experiments, believes that 

 neither positive nor negative electricity increases vegetation, 

 both which philosophers had previously been supporters of the 

 contrary doctrine ; for many other naturalists have since re- 

 peated their experiments relative to this object, and their new 

 results have confirmed their former ones. M. D'Ormoy, 

 and the tv^'o Roziers, have found the same success in numer- 

 ous experiments which they have made in the last two years; 

 and NI. Carmoy has shown, in a convincing manner, that 

 electricity accelerates germination. 



" i\I. D'Ormoy not only found various seeds to vegetate 

 sooner, and to grow taller, which were put upon his insulated 

 table, and supplied with electricity, but also, that silk-worms 

 began to spin miich sooner which were kept electrified, than 

 those of the same hatch which were kept in the same place 

 and manner, except that they were not electrifi-ed. These ex- 

 jxTiments of M. D'Ormoy are detailed at length in the Jour- 

 nal de Physique of Rozier, torn. xxxv. p. 270. 



" M. Bartholon, who had before written a tract on this 

 subject, and proposed ingenious methods for applying elec- 

 tricity to agriculture and gardening, has also repeated a numer- 

 ous set of experiments; and shows both that natural electri- 



