[ 84 ] 
was ftruck; but the body was quite motionlefs, for 
about twenty minutes; after that it recovered very 
faft, and, in about ten minutes more, was able to 
ftand, and walk a little. After this, I put a wire 
round its neck, in the fame manner as on the 
turkey ; the effedt was exactly the fame ; for, on 
difcharging the battery through it, it died in- 
fiantly. The wire, that conducted the eledtrical 
ftroke which killed the turkey and cock, was _l s th 
of an inch in diameter. 
The next experiment I tried was on fome 
plants. I dilcharged the battery through a branch 
of a balfam, and examined it very attentively im- 
mediately after it was ftruck, but could not per- 
ceive, that there was the leaft alteration in the 
branch, till about ten or fifteen minutes after; and 
then the upper part of the branch began to droop 
its head, and continued drooping it, till it hung 
quite ftrait down, and in two or three days en- 
tirely withered, though the other part of the plant 
was very vigorous, and did not appear to be in 
the lead: affected ; this experiment I repeated, fe- 
veral times, on feveral baliams, and always found 
the fame appearances. I next tried the effect of 
the battery on a privet tree : what led me to try 
it, was the appearance, that I had often obferved in 
trees, more particularly this fummer, that lome 
of their branches were deprived of all their leaves, 
while the reft of the tree was in a very flourifh- 
ing ftate, and that many trees had loft all their 
leaves before the ufual time ; it ftruck me, that 
this might poflibly be caufed by lightning ; I 
therefore refolved to try, whether I could pro- 
% ducc 
