98 POLARIZED CONDITION OF THE CHAP. IX. 



portion of the nerve, and at some distance (an 

 inch or more) from the other portion, it very 

 rarely happened that I could obtain any effect 

 upon the nerve current. When the electrodes 

 of the galvanometer comprised half-an-inch of the 

 nerve, and the electrodes of the battery also the 

 same extent, and -were not far from those con- 

 nected vyith the galvanometer, then an effect was 

 frequently produced upon the nerve current; the 

 effect, however, was, generally speaking, that of a 

 decrease in the nerve current, and this took place, 

 whatever might be the direction of the current from 

 the battery, whether coinciding with, or in opposition 

 to, the direction of the nerve current. It very 

 seldom happened that an increase in the nerve 

 current was obtained; and, as these results were 

 chiefly observed to occur when more than one cell 

 was employed, the effects— ^the apparent increase, 

 and perhaps the decrease, of the nerve currrent — 

 may be more correctly referred to some disturbance 

 in the position of that portion of the nerve between 

 the electrodes of the galvanometer, arising diu-ing 

 the passage of the current in the other portion ; an 

 increase occurring when the nerve pressed against 

 the electrodes, and a decrease when it sepai'ated from 

 them. It may be just remarked, that tlie nerves 

 soon became dry in these experiments. 



The nerves were taken from the frog, guinea-pig, 

 and rabbit. 



Similar results were obtained when muscles 



