The water rose in the vessels eight lines during the life of the first; four during the life of the second; and the third produced no absorption.
| Second.—In vital air or oxygen, | HOURS | MIN. |
|---|---|---|
| The first sparrow lived | 5 | 23 |
| The second | 2 | 10 |
| The third | 1 | 30 |
| The fourth | 1 | 10 |
| The fifth | 0 | 30 |
| The sixth | 0 | 47 |
| The seventh | 0 | 27 |
| The eighth | 0 | 30 |
| The ninth | 0 | 22 |
| The tenth | 0 | 21 |
The above experiments elicit the following conclusions:—1. That an animal will live longer in vital than in atmospheric air.—2. That one animal can live in air, in which another has died.—3. That, independently of air, some respect must be had to the constitution of the animal; for the sixth lived 47 minutes, the fifth only thirty.—4. That there is either an absorption of air, or the production of a new kind of air, which is absorbed by the water as it rises.
AMUSING EXPERIMENTS IN ELECTRICITY.
The Animated Feather.
Electrify a smooth glass tube with a rubber, and hold a small feather at a short distance from it. The feather will instantly fly to the tube, and adhere to it for a short time; it will then fly off, and the tube can never be brought close to the feather till it has touched the side of the room, or some other body that communicates with the ground. If, therefore, you take care to keep the tube between the feather and the side of the room, you may drive it round to all parts of the room without touching it; and, what is very remarkable, the same side of the feather will be constantly opposite the tube.
While the feather is flying before the smooth tube, it will be immediately attracted by an excited rough tube or a stick of wax, and fly continually from one tube to the other, till the electricity of both is discharged.
The Candle lighted by Electricity.
Charge a small coated phial, whose knob is bent outwards so as to hang a little over the body of the phial; then wrap some loose cotton over the extremity of a long brass pin or wire, so as to stick moderately fast to its substance. Next roll this extremity of the pin, which is wrapped up in cotton, in some fine powdered resin; then apply the extremity of the pin or wire to the external coating of the charged phial, and bring, as quickly as possible, the other extremity, that is wrapped round with cotton, to the knob; the powdered resin takes fire, and communicates its flame to the cotton, and both together burn long enough to light a candle. Dipping the cotton in oil of turpentine will do as well, if you use a larger sized jar.