238 EXP E RIME NTS relating to 



6. As an animal does not feel nor ad by the medium of 

 a nerve which has been divided tranfverfely, although its 

 divided parts are placed contiguous, or tied together ; as the 

 mufcles fupplied by nerves above the place coated are not 

 thrown into action ; the above experiments, or thofe of Gal- 

 vani and Valli, inftead of proving, as they have fuppofed, 

 that the matter which is excited is electrical, and the fluid of 

 the nerves the fame with it, appear to (how, that the electrical 

 fluid, or matter put in motion by the different metals, is quite 

 different in its nature from the nervous fluid, as the courfe of 

 the nervous fluid, but not that of the electrical, can be inter- 

 cepted by ligature or incifion of the nerve. 



7. As the action of the mufcles, in the above experiments, is 

 not produced, nor even increafed, by connecting the coating of 

 the nerve with the mufcle by means of a wire, there is no 

 foundation for the opinion of Galvani and Valli, that the 

 nerve is electrified plus, and the mufcle minus, or that the e- 

 lectricity of the one is pofitive, and that of the other ne- 

 gative. 



8. We feem therefore to be led to the conclufion, that the 

 matter or fluid which is excited or put in motion by the ap- 

 plication of the different metals to each other, and to the nerve, 

 ferves merely as a powerful flimulus to that energy or fluid 

 which is lodged in the nerves. 



To fupport this way of reafoning, we may obferve, that in 

 a warm blooded animal, the rabbit, although convulfions were 

 repeated for a confiderable length of time when the nerve was 

 entire, yet, after dividing the nerve and intercepting the fur- 

 ther fupply of nervous energy from the brain, the action of 

 the mufcles ceafed in a few feconds, by keeping the two metals 

 contiguous, which is readily explained on the fuppofition, that 

 the nervous energy or fluid, lodged in the nerve beyond the 



3 place 



