[ 7 6 4 ] „ 
point appears more and mpre luminous, the nearer 
that it approaches the prime-conduCfor, the electrical 
atm.oiphere may have different degrees of denfity, 
being perhaps denier near the prime-conduCtor, and 
rarer at a greater diftance from it. If a phial is charg- 
ed on the prime-conduCtor, when this experiment is 
made, the light upon the fharp point will be much 
greater, and continue longer. 
Query 3. Did you make any trial, at what diftance 
you could kill an animal with a difcharge of the 
eleCtrical fluid from the key or the bottle fufpended 
to it ? 
Anfwer. I have not hitherto had an opportunity 
of making any fuch experiments with the kite. But 
as to the firft, I apprehend, that no animal could be 
killed by the difcharge of any quantity of electricity 
accumulated on the key ; as the key in that experi- 
ment anfwers the fame end as the prime-conduCtor, 
and, like it, is capable of receiving only a certain 
charge of electricity, except the lightning flows down 
the line too faft, or the kite be fo near the cloud 
that it may explode, when one handing on the 
ground approaches the key to draw fparks from it : 
but fuch an explofion would probably be fatal to the 
operator. 
When a phial is fufpended to the key, after it has 
received its charge, if you let it continue hanging on 
the key, the furcharge will fly off from the hook of 
the phial, and the phial, when charged in that man- 
ner, will not give a greater fhock than if it had been 
charged in the common way with the globe. 
j. L. 
LXXXIX. 
