76 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



gentle force the resistance of the muscles, by firmly placing the hand 

 upon its back. During the slow and measured suppression one often 

 perceives an extremely remarkable position of the head and neck, 

 which are left entirely free. The head remains as if held by an invis- 

 ible hand in its proper place, while the neck is stretched out of pro- 

 portion, and the body by degrees is pushed downward. 



If the animal is left thus entirely free, it remains for a minute or 

 so in this peculiar condition, with wide-open, staring eyes. (The lect- 

 urer here caused a hen to be brought, which he placed in this remark- 

 able position by simply stretching out the neck and pressing down 

 the head ; the bird, having awakened, gave signs of returning to the 

 same state when it was placed in a squatting position, without moving 

 head or neck.) Here the actual circumstance is only the consequence 

 of the emotion which the nerves of the skin excite, and the gentle force 

 which overcomes the animal's resistance. Certainly, the creature a 

 short time before had been in this condition of immobility, and might 

 have retained some special inclination to fall back into the same, al- 

 though the awakening, flight, and recapture, together with the refresh- 

 ment given to the nervous system, are intermediate circumstances. 

 Similar experiments, where the influence and effect of the pressure 

 which is placed on the animal's muscles are manifested upon the cuta- 

 neous nerves, are best made upon small birds. 



To bird-fanciers, it has been a long-known fact that one can rob 

 gold-finches, canary-birds, etc., of the powers of their nervous systems, 

 so that they remain motionless for a short time, by simply holding 

 them firmly for a moment, and then letting them go. 



These experiments, which I will endeavor to perform before you, 

 are particularly striking, on account of the vivacity of the timid ani- 

 mals. Yet I must remind you of a possible failure, due to the unusual 

 circumstances of noise and numbers which may have a disturbing in- 

 fluence on these excitable little creatures. 



Here in my hand is a timid bird, just brought from market. If I 

 place it on its back, and hold its head with my left hand, keeping it 

 still for a few seconds, it will lie perfectly motionless after I have re- 

 moved my hands, as if charmed, breathing heavily, and without making 

 any attempt to change its position or to fly away. (Two of the birds 

 were treated in this manner, without effect, but the third, a siskin, fell 

 into a sleeping condition, and remained completely immovable on 

 its back, until pushed with a glass tube, when it awoke and flew ac- 

 tively around the room.) 



Also, in a sitting position, with the head held a little to the back, 

 the birds fall into this sleeping condition, in spite of their open eyes ; 

 indeed, I have often noticed that the birds under these circumstances 

 close their eyes for a few minutes, and even a quarter of an hour, and 

 are more or less fast asleep. 



I cannot omit to notice, with many thanks, that our assiduous nat- 



