PSYCHIC FORCE AND PSYCHIC MEDIA. 
39 
which he wants certain experiments to be tried, and not even 
stating what those conditions are ; it is really too bad. The 
only condition which apparently seems to us to be absolutely 
necessary, is extreme credulity on the part of the experimenter. 
It had been objected to the first series of Psychic Force 
experiments, that, according to their author’s showing, there 
must have been a direct creation of force, as apparently no 
form of energy was expended in giving the additional weight, 
&c., to the bodies experimented on. Now, however, we are told 
how this is effected ; it had been anxiously looked for, and the 
application of the principle of the conservation of energy to 
Psychic Force is the latest phase in this strange history. After 
these experiments the gifted Mr. Home is to be seen 66 lying in 
an almost fainting condition on the floor, pale and speechless, 
so that the evolution of Psychic Force is accompanied by a 
corresponding drain on vital force.” Now there is something 
about this which is a little suspicious. How was it that such 
marked physiological features were not recorded in the first 
set of experiments, which professed to be a scientific, and there- 
fore of necessity a full and complete, account of them ? Was it 
only when the necessity for some origin for the force expended 
was pointed out, that Mr. Home’s fainting condition was 
noticed ? Are we to imagine that Mr. Home could, without 
any sign of exhaustion, add 61bs. to the weight of a heavy 
mahogany board, and on another occasion be reduced to a state 
of absolute prostration by doing one-ninth of the same work ? 
Eeally there is something in this too much for our credulity, 
the thing is too preposterous. We would, however, in the most 
friendly spirit suggest to the believers in Psychic Force, that 
Mr. Home should be tenderly dealt with — he must not be 
allowed to over-exert himself ; for what would happen were he 
to expend all his 66 vital force” in a moment of undue en- 
thusiasm? Notwithstanding all the numerous “psychics” 
supposed to exist, we are much of opinion that Psychic Force 
itself would cease contemporaneously with the decease of Mr. 
Home ; and on his epitaph would be written : “ a martyr to 
science, died of over-exertion of Psychic Force ! ” 
If we now calmly consider the whole of this second set of 
experiments, there are many anomalies that strike us. In the 
first place one feature common to all Mr. Crookes’ apparatus is 
the wonderful degree of stability with which they are endowed. 
We have touched on this point already in our discussion of the 
second experiment, but it deserves a word or two more. He 
says the experiments were performed in his own dining-room, 
and with apparatus which was more or less improvised from 
material lying about the house ; and yet instruments thus 
constructed, fitted with indices of extraordinary sensibility, fail 
