EXPERIMENT VIII.
Having repeated the same experiments on live chickens, I found, to my great surprise, notwithstanding the weakness of their organization, that they sustained with firmness the
strongest shocks, communicated several times, with a pile composed of fifty plates of silver and zinc. Though apparently dejected, and almost on the point of expiring,—as soon as I interrupted the action of the pile, they fluttered their wings, and seemed to congratulate themselves on their escape from danger.
The curiosity natural to a philosopher induced me to subject these birds to anatomical dissection, that I might examine what effects had been produced on the animal machine by these convulsions. The principal phænomena which I observed were extravasated blood in the muscles; a derangement of the humours in different parts; the intestines removed from their usual seat, and thrown towards the pelvis. At some future period, I purpose to examine how long these animals are capable of living under the continued action of Galvanism, applied to them in different ways.
EXPERIMENT IX.
I applied the Galvanic action to a pullet just killed, forming an arc from one of the ears to the other. When this arrangement was made, I observed contractions not only in the feet, but also in the wings and the whole animal machine. The same phænomena were produced by the same means in two other pullets. I then combined the different parts of these three pullets in such a manner, that the head of the second was joined to the foot of the first, and
the head of the third to the head of the second. An arc being then formed to the two extremities of this chain of animal parts, I was much pleased to see the three pullets move their wings and their feet at the same time.
EXPERIMENT X.
The results of the preceding experiments led me to examine the power of an arc formed by animal moisture. For this purpose, having connected the heads of two oxen, (Plate II. fig. 3.) by bringing near each other the sections of the neck, I established an arc from the summit of the pile to one of the ears of one head, and another from the base of the pile to one of the ears of the other. When this arrangement was made, I observed that both the heads exhibited evident signs of muscular contractions.
EXPERIMENT XI.