5g8 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, [aNNO 1775. 



presently turned away, without offering any violence. After some time he re- 

 turned ; when, seeming to view it for a few seconds, he gave it a shock, by 

 which it instantly turned up its belly, and continued motionless ; at that very 

 instant Dr. W. felt such a sensation in the joints of his fingers as in experiment 

 4. 8. A third cat-fish was thrown into the water, to which the eel gave such a 

 shock, that it turned on its side, but continued to give signs of life. The eel 

 seeming to observe this, as it was turning away, immediately returned, and 

 struck it quite motionless. It could easily be perceived that the last shock was 

 more severe than the former. The eel never attempted to swallow any of those 

 fish after the first, though he killed many of them ; and whenever he was going 

 to kill one, he swam directly up to it, as if he was going to bite it ; when he 

 came up, he sometimes paused before he gave the shock, at other times he 

 gave the shock immediately. On removing any of those cat-fish, though 

 apparently dead, into water in another vessel, they presently recovered. Fish 

 that are stunned by a small electrical shock were found to recover in the same 

 manner. Q. Touching the eel, so as to provoke it, with one hand, and at the 

 same time holding the other hand in the water, at a small distance, a shock 

 passed through both arms, as in the case of the Leyden experiment. 10. Dr. 

 W. put the end of a wet stick into the water, and holding it with one hand, he 

 touched the eel with the other ; a shock passed through both arms as before. 

 11. Taking another gentleman in company by the hand, he touched the eel, 

 while Dr. W. held one of his hands in the water ; the shock passed through them' 

 both. 12. Instead of putting his hand into the water, at a distance from the 

 eel, as in the last experiment, he touched its tail, so as not to ofiend it, while 

 an assistant touched its head more roughly ; they both received a severe shock. 

 13. Eight or 10 persons, taking hands, stood in a circular form ; the first in the 

 series touched the eel, while the last put his hand into the water, at some dis- 

 tance from it ; they all received a gentle shock. 14. The above experiment was 

 repeated with no other variation than that the last person touched the eel's tail, 

 while the first touched its head ; they all received a severe shock. 15. Another 

 gentleman and Dr. W. holding the extremities of a brass chain, the one put his 

 hand into the water while the other touched the eel, so as to offend it ; the shock 

 passed through both. l6. Dr. W. wrapped a silk handkerchief round his hand, 

 and touched the eel with it, but received no shock ; though another gentleman 

 felt the shock, who, at the same time, put his hand into the water, at some 

 distance from the eel. 17. A great variety of other experiments were made by 

 1 persons, one touching the eel near its head, the other putting his hand into 

 the water, or touching it near the tail, forming a communication at the same 

 time between their hands, which were out of the water, by pieces of charcoal, 

 rods of iron or brass, a piece of dry wood, glass, silk, &c. The uniform result 



