5350 
ed to have experienced only a fudden faint- 
nefs, attended with a tingling at the 
temples. 
Ancther perfon, befides the faccharine 
and ftyptic tafte, experienced a fenfe of 
great dilatation, accompanied with heat 
in the breait; his veins fwelled, and his 
pulfe was quickened: furrcunding objedts 
feemed to revolve abouthim. A third per- 
fon appeared very comfortable, but could 
not refrain from violents burits of Jlaugh- 
ter: but a fourth experienced vertigoes, 
and his legs trembled under him during 
the remainder of the day. A fimilar et- 
fect was produced on other perfens who 
fubjected themfelves tothe expeviment. 
In order to afcertain what influence the 
mode of breathing from a bladder might 
have on the feveral refults, the parties 
were requefed to infpire common and cxy- 
gen gas, who all felt mechanically ia- 
tigued with it, and nothing more. 
M. Dispan, who gave an account of 
thefe experiments, tried the eficct of the 
gas on himfelf, and he fays, ‘* At the 
firft infpivation, I emptied the bladder, 
and my mouth was inftantly filled with a 
faccharine flavour, which extended into 
my lungs and inflated them. I emptied 
and filled them again; but on the third 
attempt my ears were filed with a ting- 
ling noife, and I dropped the bladder. 
I did not, however, become aitogether in- 
fenfible, bat remained ina kind of be- 
numbed aftonifliment, rolling my eyes 
about withou: fixing them on any parti- 
cular objeét: I was then fuddenly teized 
with convulfive laughicg fis, fuch as I 
never before experienced. Ina few fe- 
conds this propenfity to laugh ftopped 
fuddenly, and I no ionger feit any un- 
pleafant fymptom.” 
Fwo others on whom the gas was tried 
experienced only a coavuliive movement 
of fome mufcles of the face, but were in 
the ccurfe of the day attacked with vio- 
Jemt diarrhcea. From this accvunt of the 
effects of gafeous oxyd of azote, it fhould 
feem difficult to «duce any theory from 
it, becaufe the effe€ts aie d ffeient upon 
different individuals, and even upon the 
fame perfon. 
A greenfinch was, in the courfe of 
thefe experiments, put in a veffel of fufii- 
cient dimeoficns, filled with this gas. At 
fir the bird feemed to fuffer no inconve- 
nience; but he foon gradually clofed his 
eyes, and dropped gently on his fide, as 
if afleep. On being reftored to the pure 
air, he refumed his feet, without attempt- 
ing to fly away. About an hour after- 
wards he was {ubjeéted to a fecond trial, 
alter which he was taken out quite dead. 
Proceedings of Learned Societies. 
[May 1, 
The moft remarkable cireumftances are, 
that the bird made no effort. to efcape, 
and manifefted no convulfive fymptoms, 
fuch as take place in experiments with 
the other gafes. 
GALVANIC SOCIETY AT PARIS, 
As foon as M. Paccuiant had an- 
nounced to the world that he had obtained 
muriatic acid by taking from water a part 
of its oxygen, this Society undertook to 
repeat his experiments, in order to afcer- 
tain the reality cf the difcovery, In their 
feverail operations they employed the fame 
agent as that made ule ef by M. Pacchi- 
ani, and in a manner that appeared to 
them the moft convenient and proper; 
and, above all, which might give refults 
the leaft tuiceprible of obje&tions. 
They tock a piece of new glafs tube of 
o.031 parts of a mere in length, and 
0,000 parts of a metre of interior dia- 
meter. Oneof the ends of this tube was 
clofed by the lamp; to the other a capil- 
lary tube was joined (by fufion), bent fo 
as to come under a beli glafs. At the up- 
per part of this tube, and at an equal 
dittance from the junction of the capillary 
tube, two holes were puniured at the 
lamp through the folid glafs, by means of 
which apertures there were inferted into 
the interior of the tube, at a very little 
diftance from its lower extremity, two bits 
of gold wire of tne ftandard 0.976 purity, 
and atout 0.0005 parts of a meire in dia- 
meter, difpofed fo as not to touch each 
other, and not to bear «gainft the infice 
of the tube. Thefe openings were afier- 
waids clofed by the lamp. The tube and 
its capillary addition was filled with pure 
diftilled water. The whole was fixed 
with bees” wax upen a pieee of gials 
piaced upon the middle of a horizontal 
Galvanic pile of fifty-two pairs of {quare 
plaies of 0.108 parts of a metre each fide. 
Thefe plates were feparated by bits of 
leather, the interftices among which were 
filled up with very pore fand moiftened 
with a folution of muriate of feda. 
The capillary tube being plunged in a 
tub of water, its extremity entered below 
a bell glafs filled with the fame fluid. The 
two gold wires being then placed in com. 
munication with the two.poles of the pile, 
its activity was immediately manifefted by 
the difengagement of gas in a ftrieg of 
very perceptible bubbles coming from the 
inferior extremity of each of the gold 
wires, but in a much greater quantity 
from that conneéted with the copper pole. 
The pile was kept in aétion, with very 
little interruption, for more than a month. 
After any interruption whatever, the aéti- 
vily $: 
