132 Mr. henly’s 'Experiments and 
This thought, I confefs, remained fo ftrongly im* 
preffed upon my mind, that I requefted fome of my 
friends, who had a better opportunity than myfelf, 
to make the trial. For this purpofe fome pieces of 
wood were baked in an oven, in order to expel the moif- 
ture, and prepare them for the experiment. When they 
were cooled, a fridtion was begun, which, as I expedted, 
fioon produced electricity ; one piece of the wood being 
excited pofitively, the other negatively, as I have fince 
myfelf feveral times experienced. Had the fridtion been 
continued, the produdtion of adtual fire might perhaps 
'have been the confequence. May not, therefore, the 
produdtion of adtual fire be the ultimum of electricity ? 
or, in other words, eledtricity the firlt effedt of latent fire 
thus roufed into adtion ; adtual fire, the fecond ; and in- 
flammation and diffolution, its third and greateft effort? 
like fermentation, producing firft, wine; fecondly, vine- 
gar; laftly, putrefadtion. To give fome countenance to 
this fuppofition, let fome of the effedts of eledtricity and 
fire be placed in a comparative view. Firft, a fmall iron 
wire, held in the flame of a candle till it acquires a white 
heat, will frequently burft into little balls, flying off in 
•all diredtions. The fame effedt is produced by a flint and 
iteel ; and in a fuperior manner, by a ftrong charge of 
eledtricity, or a flafh of lightning paffing through fuch 
% 3 . fmall 
