92 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Experiments by Dr. Ingenhouz and Mr. Walsh. 



his hands, and pressing it on each side of the 

 head, a sudden tremor, which lasted for two or 

 three seconds, passed into his fingers, but ex- 

 tended no further. After a few seconds the same 

 trembling was felt again ; and again several times, 

 after different intervals. The sensation was, he 

 says, the same that he should have felt by the 

 discharge of several very small electrical bottles, 

 one after another, into his hand. The shocks 

 sometimes followed each other very quickly, and 

 increased in strength towards the last. Proba- 

 bly, from the weakness of the fish, the shock 

 could not be communicated through a brass 

 chain, though the usual contortion was evidently 

 made. A coated vial was applied to it, but could 

 not be charged. 



It appears, from some experiments that were 

 made by Mr. Walsh on a very stout and healthy 

 fish, that, although it seemed to possess many 

 electric properties, yet, no spark whatever could 

 be discovered to proceed from it, nor were pith- 

 balls ever found to be affected by it. When it 

 was insulated, it gave a shock to persons likewise 

 insulated, and even to several that took hold of 

 each other's hands : this it did forty or fifty times 

 successively, and with very little diminution of 

 force. If touched only with one finger, the 

 shock was so great as to be felt in both hands. 

 Each effort was accompanied by a depression of 

 the eyes, which plainly indicated the attempts 

 that were made upon non-conductors. Although 



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