30 MccJianical Philosoph}/, [Chap, L 



supposed, from their indefinite and mysterious 

 character, least of all susceptible of being explored 

 in this manner *. It is believed by many, that this 

 hypotliesis, to the uncpiestionable claim of inge- 

 nuity adds that of being foimded in truth ; and 

 that it will probably lead to the solution of many 

 diificulties hitherto deemed insolvable. However 

 this may be, it must be confessed the ingenious 

 Russian has enabled us, by his mathematical prin- 

 ciples, to class many of the phenomena of which 

 he treats, with a plausible precision, and to pre- 

 dict the result of proposed experiments with very 

 pleasing success f. 



During the last thirty years of the eighteenth 

 century, though it cannot be said that so much has 

 been done in electricity as in the like period im- 

 mediately preceding; yet several important disco- 

 veries, within that time, have been announced. 

 The inventions of the clecfropJioruSy and the con- 

 ikniscr, by professor \^olta, and of the douhler of 

 electricity, by the rev. JSIr. Bennet, of Great 

 Britain ; the discovery of the effects produced by 

 the electric matter on permanently elastic fluids, 

 and on water, by Mr. Cavendish, and others ; and 

 the new results of experiments, with respect to 

 the influence of electricity on vegetables, by Dr. 

 Ingenhousz, and Messrs. Ilouiand, d'Ormoy, Car^ 

 moy, and others, of France, may be considered 

 among tiie most interesting of recent improve- 



.* See AdiUtiomil Notes— CF). 



f See 'Ihcoriu Elcctricitutis ct Ma^netlsmiy 175f), Petersburg, 

 4to. See also a good abst' .ici of tiu- v-.uetrines ot >i:i^piuus, m the 

 SuppUmc/it to the J'JLj/iidpiLilui, pubu.:.iied by Dr. Giei^. 



