8a Mr. Bennet's Experiments on a new 
needle, by means of a spider's thread, in the cylindrical glass of 
my gold-leaf electrometer ; and having satisfactorily proved its 
magnetic sensibility, I now venture to propose this kind of 
suspension, as being well adapted to experiments requiring 
the needle to move with the least resistance. 
EXPERIMENT I. 
From the astonishing tenuity of a spider's thread (see Baker's 
Microscope made easy, Part II. Ch. xxv.), it might be expected 
that it would bear very much twisting, without causing the 
needle to be sensibly drawn from its magnetic meridian : but to 
prove it more fully by direct experiments, I first fastened a small 
hair to the side of the glass in which the needle was suspended, 
and placed it so that the point of the needle stood exactly op- 
posite to the point of the hair. Then I turned the needle round, 
by means of a magnet, about 800 times, and on removing the 
magnet, I found that the needle rested exactly opposite to the 
hair : thus a spider's thread only two inches long, by twisting 
800 times, did not cause any sensible deviation. 
EXPERIMENT II. 
A fine harpsichord wire, three inches long, was suspended 
in a larger glass. This wire was previously rendered mag- 
netic by making it red hot in the flame of a candle, and sufier- 
ing it to cool in the direction of the magnetic meridian : 
whereby it acquired polarity by the influence of the earth's 
magnetic atmosphere alone, and being soft, it possessed (as 
might be expected) but a weak directive power. The spider's 
thread was three inches long, and a small hair was fastened 
