367 



shocks. Though this fish had been examined 

 by a great number of natural philosophers, I 

 found all that had been published on it's elec- 

 trical effects extremely vague. It has been very 

 arbitrarily supposed, that this fish acts like a 

 Leyden vial, which may be discharged at will, by 

 touching it with both hands ; and this supposition 

 appears to have led observers into error, who have 

 devoted themselves to researches of this kind. 

 Mr. Gay-Lussac and myself, during our journey 

 to Italy, made a great number of experiments 

 on torpedoes taken in the Gulf of Naples. These 

 experiments furnish many results somewhat dif- 

 ferent from those I collected 011 the gymnoti. 

 It is probable, that the cause of these anomalies 

 proceeds rather from the inequality of electric 

 power in the two fishes, than the different dis- 

 position of their organs *. 



Though the power of the torpedo cannot be 

 compared with that of the ' gymnoti, it is suffi- 

 cient to cause very painful sensations/ A person 

 accustomed to^electric shocks can with difficulty 

 hold in his hands a torpedo of twelve or fourteen 

 inches, and in possession of all it's vigour. When 

 the animal no longer gives any but very feeble 

 strokes under water, the shocks become more 

 sensible if it be raised above the surface. I have 



* Geoffroy de St. Hilaire, in the Ann. du Museum, vol. i, 

 p, 392—407. 



