

7^6 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [ANNO 1800. 



pie paper, or any imperfect conducting substance. But the best expedient for 

 forming the instrument of a great number of plates, as of 60, 80, 100, is to divide 

 the pile into 2 or more, as in the figures 3 and 4 ; where the pieces have all their 

 respective positions or communications, as if it was one pile only, plied and turned. 

 In all these figures, the different metal plates are denoted by the letters a and z, 

 the initials of argent and zinc, and of the wet discs of card, or leather, &c. interposed 

 at each pair of those metals, by a layer or band shaded black. The dotted lines 

 show the contact of each couple of the metal plates a and z, where they may be 

 conveniently soldered together, cc, cc, cc, are metal plates forming the communi- 

 cation between one column, or section of a column, and another ; and b, b, b, b, 

 b, are basins of water, in communication with the bottoms or extremities of 

 the piles. 



Mr. Volta concludes with various remarks and cautions in using this instrument; 

 showing that it is perpetual in its virtue, renewing its charge spontaneously, and 

 serving most of the purposes of the ordinary electrical machines, and even affecting 

 and manifesting its power by most of the human senses, viz. feeling, tasting, hear- 

 ing, and seeing. (See a Note at the end of this Fblume.J 



XVllh Some Observations on the Head of the Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. By 

 Everard Home, Esq. F. R. S. p. 432. 



The specimens of this extraordinary animal which have been sent to Europe, 

 have been deprived of the internal parts, and the skins are mostly dried, and but 

 badly preserved. Such imperfect specimens have raised the curiosity of the natu- 

 ralist, and excited the ardor of the anatomist, without satisfying their inquiries. It 

 was natural, under these circumstances, to reserve any observations which had been 

 made on this newly discovered quadruped, till the entire animal should be brought 

 home preserved in spirit, and enable us to examine the structure of its different 

 organs ; but finding that Professor Blumenbach has been led to believe that it was 

 an animal without teeth, an opinion which must have arisen from the imperfect 

 state of the specimen he examined, it appeared highly proper to do away the mis- 

 take, and lay before the r. s. such observations respecting the head of this extraor- 

 dinary animal, as I have been enabled to make. My opportunities of examining 

 the Ornithorhynchus were procured through Sir Jos. Banks ; who permitted me to 

 have drawings made from the skin of one of a very large size, and which, from hav- 

 ing been preserved in spirit, was more perfect than any of the dried specimens. 

 Any general description of the beak of this animal, which is its most conspicuous 

 peculiarity, becomes unnecessary, as the accompanying drawings will give a suf- 

 ficiently correct idea of the outward appearances, to answer the present purpose. 

 It was not permitted to examine the head anatomically ; but a smaller dried spe- 

 cimen, received from Sir Jos. Banks, furnished me with the following observations. 



The beak of the Ornithorhynchus, when cursorily examined, appears so strongly 

 to resemble that of the duck, as to lead to the belief of its being calculated for 



