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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 t 2 3 4 5 6 iCtbrarg KINGSTON, ONTARIO "v^;;: *■• ■[ -J 1 /' ; ; i • •• . ; l\'>"> ••'" ? ' r ( - -4'* ii(' ;i ' ,i f , ' J ! iB; H II I I ,' .■n:'5V: A-- 'ON TBC OPERATION OF PHYSICAL AGENCIES IN THE FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZED BODIES, "WITH suMEsninz jusTOTiEHATniii or enuiA. By Dr. G, RUSSELL. • / « -■■■ ^ h ■< ' ■ [From the Britiah Amer. Jour, of Me4. §• Phys, Sciene*.] MONTREAL : rRIl«T£D BY 3. €. BBCKKT, 5AINT PAVL RMUIT* 1849. L 1/ iaiai^Hyiv J. fit T %\n i- ■gl^OlTDVia'l \> 83T(T0a[aaST7J.OtO art -I lie fli|g1l:M*iHl:iiiM..i, .;t;t. iaHB^"3>? ^> .^t^i .»v ;»i>'?» ♦k^lft 'tfj^ -V4« ■»•■ .AlHTMOM .T#»4i'3 .;^ii: i-Aj«'r5«' .L'-YtBI r4 .'if4.:i' PREFACE The following treatise was published in three numbers of the <* British American Journal of Medical and Phy- flical Science." I got one hundred copies printed in pamphlet form, which I distributed amongst some of my scientific acquaintances. Finding that the essay has excited more interest and approbation than I antici- pated, and applications having been made to me for copies after my hundred had yanished, I have been in- duced to publish another edition. I am of opinion, that a review o( the facts which I have stated in the following pages, will suficiently remunerate the reader ibr the consideration he may bestow upon the theory, to which I beg leave to eall his attention. G. BUSSELL. Montrtalf Jum 1, 1849. 59684 '■:unui > \ ill , .,{ ^v, :»*■ lU^'? ^-t?:*.-^ .^'.ni'iiut i a;iMn^*;h '^,,«v? ,rf^T»>: • *h'r . j^:^.)).n- •n ium .f^tn'.ii ' :jir;s:3 ».-iJ;j;<*i «'« «jf'i ^;r ^"" VH "i 4 'lei!. i I A^< -Ui 1 »■ *.•,-. .. I r-*'. d^ Mi'.. >.=iiC!rO I .•*'1!t-. *-'•■. '-'x it l»S,-f( - M fV U-i*u:^^ -.''JJ^: ;>:;» . ' ' >• i..-.-^.»K )', , i. iK' >l ^tU .2:?i^mu-^'iA viWM'M ■ 4 -rv ^' ,. Hf I^.C '(.■iM, !oJ .>:» ;"''-ij'/u'(; ^(/' . jfc^ ".^ '' .r,..! ■Uv'^ il&^ '^ '^Vi^i E'^' J rr ^ftvf iAt 4-.VfJ> ■■u ^/ •• .I'i i,..) Hi- Or 7 «N THC I .(re.: "j" '. 'tAivfuiz OPERATION OF PHYSICAL AeENOIES IN TMC .'"''"n' FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZED BODIES kv' -'.It 7 tijr.'"''n'i'5; i'{ i-i:m Believing that there is nothing so obscure in the phenomena of organization, which a thorough knowledge of the physical laws of matter would not tend to illuminate, I beg leave to solicit attention to certain facts and experiments, the importance of which does not seem to be generally appreciated, in reference to the great objects of our profession. The data upon which I have endeavoured to trace out a theory, are not of my own observation ; they are abridged from several respectable authorities, — and combined in the hope of directing the attention of others, bcUer circumstanced than the writer for observation and experiment, to that chain of relations which connects the physical, physiological, and pathological sciences. The brilliant modern discoveries in geology, chemistry, and physiology, all tend to dissolve those barriers which have so long separated and kept distinct the various de- partments of natural philosophy. Human knowledge has always been divided into two kinds of facts, — namely, those which c «• My that the form of ibo blood eorpiMolea nwj bo otungad by endounoM*, we exprew in a oonoiae way the fact, that if thoy be placed in pure water, ur in dilated wram, there will be a pasaago of fluids townrds their interior, whiah will dlatend| and even bunt ilMm, whilst^ if they be planed in • aolaiion of aak or aufar uf graalor danaity than their own oontenta, the «^hief earreoi of fluid will take place in the oppoaite direction—and (he blood corpua* elea wi!l be emptiedi With the nltimate cauaei the phyaiologist haa Roibinc te do, until (4iyai«al inveatiffation ahall have deter< mined liiBni, which, we have the authority of PnrfNaor Matteuod for aaaertiiiff, haa not ^at been eflbotad. For, although it nught nut peem difficult to give a general explanation of the fact, that When two iiqui''J8 of different denaitiea are aeparated from each other, by a perooa membrane, tha mora rapid currant should be that of dba mrer duid luwarda the draaer. There are OMiny varia. tion^, and axeetttional phenomena* for which ncr such f eneral ex planation is aaequate to account :— for inktanoe, when alcohol and water are emploved, the principal current or endosmose ia fhm) the water towards tha aloaltol, although the latter ia the leaa donaaof lihe two« A fact slill more difficult of explanation tM the agency uf anlphuretted hydrogen io immediately cheoliing the proeeai/* , Kow it will be my endeavor to prove j— Iwt, That mdotmostj exosmote, secretion, alnorption, imbibition) &c., are no other than modifications of capillary attrac tioR. 2nd, That capiliarfty, cohesive attraction or affi* nity, are modificationa of eleerrical attraction. 3rd, That electricity it a single element. 4>th, That the Asiatic cholera is produced by a deficiency of dectri- city in the locality where the disease prevails, causing powerful currents from the sanguiferous system, towards the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal. And if 1 can satisfy the reader that those positions are sound, I shall likewise remove much of the difficulty referred to by the fieviewer; as well as assist in plac^ ing the treatment of cholera on a scientific basis. For many of the facts and experiments to which I will refer, I am indebted to Professor Draper's work, on the Phy- siology of Plants. Ist, It is well known, that when a solid body is part- *Endosmosis— The property by which a fluid pasBes through a membrane into a cavity. . Eiosmoais— The fluid passing out. 'wards. These were formerly considered exclusively vital pbeno. mana. d ly immersed in a liquid, the liquid it elevated or de- pressed aroucd the sides of the solidt according to the liability of the latter to be, or not to be motsteoed by the former. Thus, if a glass rod be dipped in water, the liqu:d will be elevated immediately around it, whereas, if it be dipped into mercury the latter will be depressed. In the same manner, if a small tube, open at both ends, be plunged into a liquid, the latter will be raised or de- pressed to a degree proportioned to the smallness of the diameter of the tube ; but if the tube exceed a quarter of an inch in diameter, the smallest possible elevation or depression of the liquid will take place. These phe- nomena will not be affected by the rarification or con- densation of the atmosphere, out l^ will be modified by temperature, the variations dimk«..ahiiig with an in- crease of heat. There is one important fact to be borne in mind, which may thus be illustrated :«-Water will be raised in a tube to a certain height, but if you take a tube of the same diameter, but shorter than the height indicated, then the water will be raised to the ton, but it will not flow over unless meafiS be adopted to remove the liquid as it rises to the upper extremity, with this latter condition, however, the water v:\\\ continue to rise through the tube, as long as there is a supply. In the wick uf a lamp this condition ia provided by combustion, which carries o0 the oil which is raised to the flame by capillary attraction. So also in a spirit lamp, as long as the extinguisher is on, no evaporation can take place, but when removed, evaporation immediately commen- ces, and by this all the alcohol may be dissipated. Again, if you take two Vessels, one containing water, and the other alcohol, and passing between them a capillary tube filled with water, the water, as soon as it comes in contact with the alcohol, will be taken up and dissolved by the latter, so that there will be a constant flow of the water towards the alcohol. From these facts it will be understood how combustion^ evaporation or solution, may produce a flow of liquid through a capillary tube, proportioned in rapidity to the diseolviog power. Set'Mal other subttanceB, such as unglazed porcelaio, alumina, date, &c., as well as vegetable and animal tissues m^Y "^ ^ considered as congeries of capillary tubes, seeing that tliey all imbibe liquids in the manner above described. Bladder is easier moistened by water than by alcohol. Now, if you 'fin a bladder with alcohol and immerse it in water, it will be found, on the principle before stated, that tfae water will pass through the bladder more rapid- ly than the alcohol can escape, and by this means the bladder may be extended until it bursts. ** If fitmui iratvr be pkeed on one side of a piece of bladder, and aAoohol on tin oSber, tbe water will feraake the colouring matter, to paa thraogfc the bladder and unite with the alcohol. '*ir feirotgrinlde m potanabe tied op in a fseotion of inteitine, and imqienwd in a eolation of proto.iulphate of iron,— ProMian I bine wiU be depoiiled on flie one side oi tbe ioteetine, but not on th6 ^ther. * If a aolttlkm of osriie acid be plaeed on one nide of a mem- I brane,4nd Hme water on the otiMr, olouda of inMlnble oxalate of lime will form y any other theory, have been satisfactorily accounted for. 10 2nd, Assuoiiflg, then, thiit emUtsmote^ aecretion, ab- sorption, imbibition, &c., are nothing but modificttions of the phenomenon of c^ipllleiy attrtction, we will now enquire whether such phenomena can be explained by reference to general principle!. It ia bjr an anawer to this question that we must establish the validity of our iirst position, What is the caute ^ amillary atttMti&n f " If a eireuiar diM of glui be pUeeoon Um •nrbde ci merennr, it will adhere with a oertain foiee, whMi maj be ineiMdmd by nieans of a balance; bnt the |^a«niay he laiatd inm the meraii* rjr, without briDf ing any parUelet of the latter along with it. If a djte of the eame kind oe plaued on the mirfiice of wster, it will aiao adhere, and y6u cannot raise it agahi without nUdnr some of the water likewiee, <.«., the glaia will be welted. Now there cannot be the leaet doubt that ue same eaw» ia in operatknihere, ai that which producea pore-action, or capiUary attractkm ; and from a leries of experiments the fttUowmg laws have bsm de. •duoed :» ** 1 . If the force of attrsAtioD of the particles of a solid for the' particles of a fluid, bo not equal to half the coherive foree of the latter for each other, the fluide will refose to pass throufh a pore of that solid tubttance, and in capillary n ms l s osnsisling of it, tlie fluid will be deprened bekw its hydrestatio level. " 2. If the force of attraction of the particlee of a solid for those of a litpiid exceeds half the fiirce of the latter for each TthSrjbm is iM)t equal to the whole force; the fluid will pamthrbiigh p<«es formed of that wlid aubotance, and in capiUmry tesiels pjmsisting of it, will rise above its hydroetatio leveL . t . ^*3. If theforoeofattractionoftheparticlesofasolidibrthoseof| a liquid exceed the whole eoheskm of the kttsr, ekemUMl uimn \ tnnut. By tracing coheaiTe and capillary attraetiou to tbs eame j ~ much advantage is gained, beoauM it amplifies phyitolo- eauee. gical inveitigatione. • ' -^ ^ • ' ' '*^ ' ' ^i^ ** Let us soppoee a plane of gfesi eapaUe of befaig islevatsd by an inauiating handle, to be resting on the anrfrce of mercury, contained in an insulating veesel. JLet the mercury be connected with an electrometer, by means of a wire. Now, as long as the girss plane and the mereury are in contact, the eleStrosBeter evinc s no disturbance ; but as soon as the plane is raised by the t^and i, electricity ie instantly developed, and the gold leaves di- verge. Bv empli^iog another eketroseope, it will be found, tliat the glsM IS ^tively, and the mereury negativelv, deeuifled, whieh, I thinh, should be praof peeitive that electncitv wu the «aoee of their adhesion. A cause of attraction being thus deve- ioped, it would be very unphilosophical to seek for otiier afsncies, especially where one so competent to produce all the euects ii ceen to exist "IfUiesame experiment is performed, substituting water fur n nroieury, m eJoetrielty will b* dmrdoped. and the nmoq is ob- f ioiM— no feptnlion hM taken pleee eetif ee^i the flue end the weter ; the gla« ii wetted, therefore the pertielee of the water have only been Jeperated irom eeeh other. «• Thie diiBeultjr beinf diimnaed, it would aeem to follow, ae. eordiag to the h^pothesia indioated by the fon^oiuff experiminta, •^that if two ioiida adheie to a eeitain ||nid, with roreea diSbring in amount, they ahonld de?eIope, opon rupture, qnantitiea of dee- trioity, in the aame ratio. As a general resplt, the balanee and eleetrometer prove thia (o be the eaee. fieei^ wax, whieh adheres to roereury, with mueh leM foiee than gum lae, deyelopea liker wiae much ]e« eleetrieity. Gum bus, which adberea leaa atrpngly than glaai, likewise developee much lese electricity — much de- pends, however, on the conducting power and oUier eondhimw of the substances employed. Oreat variability in the reamUt U often ohtined^ even when the tame mmteriaU are ueied at Jifer- ant timee. Gay Lnssae found that it required a weight some. ! times of 158, and sometimes 296 grammes to detach a certain disc of glsM from mercury, depending on eaueee for lohieh he cpuld net eatiefeetorily eeeount.** Does not such variabiliU in. dicate the influence over such phenomena of that insidious, mighty, and all-pervading agent, with the general laws of whieh I we have yet so mueh to learn t ** The best method of idiowing that the voltaie battery baa I entire control over eapUlary attraetion, is t^ take a shallow vessel containii^ a quantity of mercury, and place upon it a drop of water. On roajcing the drop ^mmunieate wiUi the positive else, trode of a battery, and the mercury with the negative, in a mo- ment the drop loses its rounded form, and spreads eat in a tbi^ biheet on the metallic surface, completely wetting it, and a* the ^teneion of the battery inerea^ee^ the drop expondt nun;e and More in proportion to the n^mber offlatee employed. ** Again — water will pass with great rapiditj throngh a ohink, the width of which is not more than half a millionth part of an ich, provided it can wet both sides of thai chhak,T<-B|ot if that Bondition is not fulfilled, it fails to pass, even though the width lottld be increased to upwards of one hundred and forty ^foor limes its former dimensionB. ** If von take a glass tube, half an inch in diameter, and frina M end of it very eiaot, — |riace it on the surface of pure meitwry, ind poni^ater into the upper end, the water will not eseape at he chink between iihe mercury and glasf, because it does not ret the former; but if a platina wire be inserted into the tube and Connected with the positive electrode of a battery, while the nter- means of another wire, is cooneeted with the negative then the water will b^in to flow through Uie onink, id rpread on the mercury, until it gets below the wire which is liserted in the tube. *!* In a tube small enough to exhibit capillary attraction, the ime [phenomena wilt take place, which proves that, under snob 12 |M' circumitaneefl, the water is driven out by an aetive force, fur, by breaking the galvanie oirele, and by raising the tube a litUe from the mercury, tha water will again riae by the force of capillary attraction. '* If two quanritiet of water are separaled from each other by a membranooa partition, and one of them made poaitive and the other negative, all the water in contact with the positive pole will escape into the negative side, passing thronh the membrane by capillary attraction.** In those facts, I think, we have ahundant evidence of the identity of the capillary and electrical forces, which will receive further confirmation in the consideration of the positions yet to be examined. 3rd, I believe electricity to be a single fluid. ; There are three facts which form the basis, and must be taken into consideration, in all reasoning upon the nature of the electric fluid : — First, — Two bodies positively electrified repel each other. Second, — One body positively and anotlier negatively electrified, attract each other. Third, — Two bodies negatively electrified repel each other. The theory of Dufay is, that there are two fluids, — the one positive, or vitreous ; the other negative, or resi- nous. The particles of either fluid repel particles of the same kind, but they have a powerful attraction for those of the opposite electricity, and matter. By this hypothesis, the facts stated may be explained. "The Frankfm theory asserts, that there is but one fluid, the particles of which repel each other, and pos- sess a powerful attraction for matter. This doctrine ex- plained the two first facts, but failed to afford a satis- factory reason for the third, — namely, how two balls de- prived of electricity, could have a repelling iniuence upon each other. To obviate this difficulty, it has been supposed, that the simple particles of matter have as great an aversion to each, as the particles of eieotricity have for those of their own kind. I must confess, that the double theory seemed to me very unsatisfactory, And likewise lets simple and natural than that of a single 18 electric fluid. I have also found, that some of the ablest writers who have supported Dufay were oflen compelled to sp^ak, as if electricity was only one element. On the other hand, the repelling power, which was ascribed to inert matter, in order to render the single theory ad- missible, appeared to me still more objectionable ; be- cause I reflected, that if the particles of simple matter are capable of influencing each other at a sensible distance, it must be through some essential medium, and that me. dium might as well be considered another electricity as not, seeing that equal power was ascribed to it. Had it not been for this difficulty, in all probability, the dou- ble theorv would never have been mooted. (t may be deemed presumption in me to offer any thing like an original idea, upon a subject which has oc- cupied the attention of so many profound minds. Ne. vertheless, I cannot help being convinced, that truth will gain more by the independent thought of the hum- blest votary of science, than it will by the efforts of a superior intellect, who shelters himself within the pale of mere human authority — however exalted that author* ity may be. i^ I never could understand what some writers meant, when they spoke of electricity as being a mere '< condi- tion or property of matter.'' Therefore, I must presume that an agent capable of producing such wonderful results is something^ and that something may as readily be known by the name o( electric fluid, as by any other appella- tion. I will now state briefly my own ideas of this subtle agent. I believe in the theory of a single fluid. I believe that it exists in combination with all bodies in a conden- sed and latent state, and in this state, is the cause of all cohesive and chemical attraction. The quantity of elec- tricity evolved when a metal is under solution in an acid, being proportional to the dissolving process, is in perfect harmony with this idea. It exists also in a free state, having an attraction in different degrees, for every other kind of matter. In this state it may be the jdenticaL cause of gravitation. Bodi s in their natural state, ha ve B n a capacity for recqvvjng more or less of it upon their surfaces. A body with the greater capacity, will al- ways be positive to another body with an inferior capa- city, while in their natural state, and when their par- ticles can be brought within the sphere of each other's influence, they will unite. I believe matter, /7«r se, to be pjsrGectly inert. All this will be acknowledged to be in perfect harmony with the principles of electrical sd. ence, according to the Franklin theory. But how is the third fact to be accounted for ? Why do two balls ne- ^tively electnfied, fly from each other, vvhen brought together, suspended by silken threads 7 The answer is ^^because they have no muJtuai attraction, being denuded of free electficity, which gathers around al^ bodies jn their natural eltBit^.while there is an attraction (gravitation if yow will) for the free electricity of the atmpsphere and surtouwHng bodies f on all sides but that presented to, each og. 15 discharged. How do these bodies acquire their oppo- sitely excited state ? and why, if their condition resem. bles that of ordinary electricity^ do they remain combin- ed when their opposite fluids might unite,— ^and nf^tra- lization being produced, all combination cease 1 These two questions have not yet been answered." So says Dr. Kane, and in my humble judgment they never can be answered by the double theory, under which be la- bours. By the more simple method his questions are not difficult to solve ; but it is quite possible that my con6dence in the matter may arise from the want of more extended acquaintance with the subject. But this same author, in page 199, gives me some encour- agement in bringing forward the leading idea humbly contended for in this paper. He says i^—** It is quite possible that hereafter some sublime generalization may embrace the phenomena of heat, of light and of electricity; of cohesion and gravity, as well as of che- mical affinity, within one law, and indicate how by various modifications of a S2ng/<> agent, their separate peculiarities may arise." I have not the vanity to sup- pose that I will ever accomplish what the author thinks possible, still I am convinced, that in a scientific point of view, my cause is a noble one, however feebly I may be able to maintain it. From the consideration of certain tacts, to some of which I have already alluded, we are forced to the con- elusion, that the simple physical power of capillary attraction is the cause ot the passage of fluids through the smaller vessels and capillary tissues of the human body. I am disposed to thin k that too mvch power has been ascribed to the action of the heart, eveA in the general circulation of the blood. The idea has Hot originated with me, that the heart should be consider- ed as a balancer, or an equalizer, between the arterial and v(>nous systems, rather than a propeller of the sanguiferous current. Be this as it may, we know that sap is raised to the tops of the highest trees, without any vis a tergo in their roots. We know that in the living sponge, wsiter is ^Ojgstantly entering the smaller / 16 orifices, passing through channels and tobeS) and ejected, with considerable force, from larger opening*, without the least appearance of mechanical force. We know that in cold-blooded animals without hettrts, the circulation of the blood is maintained. After some kinds of natural death in man, the arteries are emptied of their contents, — and sometimes urine has been pour- ed out by the ureters, sweat by the skin, and other se- cretions have been discharged by their appropriate glands, long after the action of the heart has ceased. That capillary attraction in vegetable and animal tis- sues, under certain conditions, is very powerful there ca)» be no doubt. ** In the month of April/' says Doctor Draper, " I cut a vine which was growing wild, on the edge of a forest in Virginia, asunder, with one blow of an axe ; the cut surface, which was about one inch and a half in diameter, exhibited ita open vessels, from which thero poured out an uninterrupted stream of as- cending sap. In the course of 8 hours, there was col- lected of this fluid seventy ounces, and this is probably a far less quantitv than would have been raised under circumstances where the leaves aided the spongioles, by their exhausting action.*' There is such consentaneous action amongst the imponderable elements, that philosophers have long suspected that they are but modifications of Uie same energetic all-prevading principle. Thus, by ^ect(^ic capillary attraction, sap is raised to the branchea and leaves of trees, while light is performing an exhaustljng chemical process upon their surfiuses,-.-'* heat is also 83t free* and becomes latent in the various transmuta- tions which take place, so that plants, like animals, have a temperature of their own, independent of extei- nal circumstances." ^ Mrs. Soraerville in her physical geography says :^^ *< The quantity of electricity requisite to resoj^ve a grain of water into its oxygen and hydrogen, is equal to the quantity of atmospheric electricity which is ac- tive in a very powerful thunderstorm ; hence some idea may be formed of the intense energy exerted by the i ttiA ningfff , W« is, th^ some mptied I pour- ler se- }priate Ksed. nal tis- ere ca>» Doctor on the )low of ich and 8, from n of as- vas col- robabty d under ngioles, igst tbe re long le same electee >hefr and haustlng t is also msmuta- animals, ofextei- 17 i^dgetable creation, in the decompcMition of the vast mats of water and other matters necessary for its bus- tenaode ; bat there must be a compensation in the consolidation of the Tegetable food, — otherwise a tre- mendons quantity would be in perpetual activity.- > There is ria»en to belitvf that tUctricity^t ciitd by the ponoer ofeolar light, constitutes the chemical vitality of, vegetablesJ*^ y>.yt •*: «i^ If the experhkiente to which I have befbrd referred can be relied upon, the inference which I have here placed in italics, in my opinion, has been fairly demon- strated* The quantity of electricity condensed in ordi- nary substances must be very great. The steam issuing from the valve of an insulated locomotive steam- engine produces seven times the quantity of electricity that an electrifying machine would do, with a plate three feet in diameter, and worked ait the rate of 70 revolutions in a .minute, — in short, it may be stated generally, that any thing which tends to destroy the molecular attraction of bodies, such as friction, pres- sure, heat, fracture, chetnical action, dz;c., developes electricity. Dr. Golding iBird, in a work lately published on Na- tural Philosophy, says :•— *' It is now an incontrovertable fiiot, that no physical change can possibly occur, with- out a disturbance of electric equilibrium, and many processes of this character are going on in the htunah bodyJ*^ . j> **Theel6ctncity of the stmosphere,*' myf Baron Humboldt, *• whether considered in the lower reeions orin thecbudy canopy alflil, viewed in its sileitt periodical diumal progression, or in the brlllialit and noisy explosidfis ef ibethanderatorm, stands in mani. iiM relatioMshfp with SIH (be pHmiomeiia of thermal distribotions of atm^herie pressure and its disturbanoe8,->-of hydrometeors,— and apparently of the magnetism of the outer crust of the earth. /( exerit a most powerful injtuenee upon the whole of the atutnal mnd vegetable world ; and this not merely through iHe meteoro. k>gioal precipitations, of watei^y vapor, tff aoids, or of amedMimcal eomplonada, which it occasions, but also immediately as the elec. irioal fote»-^that force whiek excite* the nerve$ w oesieU the \ eircidation of the juicee.^ We have one striking ^lample of the power that 18 r-ff In electricity exerciies over the circulation in mUL, in the fact, that capillary action continues for some time after death : unlees the person has been killed by a Hrcke of lightnings or a severe blow upon the epigastrium. I am disposed to consider the great/ avinpathetic as a receptacle for the electricity required for the oiganic functions of the system ; sometbinff analagous to a Leyden jar, always charged, in order to regubite the supply of electricity to the several parts of the body as it is required. Does not this account for the derange- ment of the functions of the abdominal viscera, conse- quent upon intense excitement of the brain, which exhausts the reservoir, leaving the viscera without their natural stimulus ? The mipcrhuman genius of Shaluipe«re eeema to have appre- ciated the true philoeophy of future, as well as of all pdst a^es of the world's history : i . •. ** I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word; ^^ ' ' ' ' Would harrow up thy soul ; /resxe thy yowng bhod; And make ti\»li . Each indhidwU hair to $tand on end » , Like quiUt upon the fretted poreupinf.*^ Upon this prhiciple, it will read>lj be understood why fear is one of the roost powerful anziliarios to cholera, by reducing the contraetility of the viseerial tissues, which, I have the authority of Carpenter for saying, is purely a phyeieal property. >\ Is not one of the uses of the hair, by their sharp pointB, to carry off the superabundant electricity of the brain under excite- ment? There mav have been more philoeophy in ** Perkin's steel tVa^'- tors** than what was generally ascribed to them. Does it not also account for the arrest of the sdcre- tions, &c., after death^ by a blow upon the epigastrium, when we suppose that the jar has been suddenly dis- charged by the concussion of the solar plexus, I ad- vance this idea with diftidence for the consideration of the profession, many of whom have superior opjior- tunities for testing its soundness. Supposing some animal was killed by means such as would derange the nervous apparatus as little as possible, then, by suddenly crushing th^ semi-lunar ganglion, it would be seen what eiSfect it would have upon the capillary action that would still be going on. 19 In summing up the eridence which I have already adduced, I think the conclusion is inevitable, that elec- tricity is the grand causa c^ capillary currents in the physical, the vegetable, and the animal worlds. According to the most approved philosophy of the present day, the earth may be considered a huge load, stone, with currents of electricity traversing its sub- stance, as we'll as the atmosphere by which it is surrounded. These currents are eicited by the thermal action of the sun upon the different substances of which the globe is composed. By the recent experi- ments of Mr. Fox, in the Cornish tnines, such currents have been proved to exist in the crust of the earth ; that their direction in from east to loett f and that they are greatly influenced by the nature of the soil through which they pass, as well as by astronomical and geo- logical causes beyond our research. I am proud to observe that that real queen of women, Mary Somerville, maintains the theory of a single fluid. She says : — ** There can be no dbubt that all the phe- nomena of magnetism, like those of electricity, maybe explained on tne hypothesis of one etherial fluid*: a theory which accords best with the •simplicitf tmd gene- ral nature of the laws of creation.^"* Professor Faraday has clearly proved, that statical, dynamical, th^ritial, and animal electricitieit, as well as magnetism, are identical ; ?inA that the difference in their quantities and intensities are quite sufficient to account for what were considered their separate qualities. My own idea of magnetism is very simple ; I believe that every magnetised body, whether it ha^ been made so naturally or arfMcially, has the property of receiving at one end, and discharging from the other, a constant stream of electricity. I may be mistaken, but it appears to me that the " double theory" has prevented philoso* phers from arriving at truth in this matter. There can be no doubt, however, that the magnetism of the earth is produced by the electric currenta which are in circulation through itst crust, and around its sur- face. In connection with this it may be stated that the 20 'iw H^i 't! magnetic poles of the earth are constantly changing their position. Previous to the year 1660, it was ob- served that the needle pointed east of north. Since that time it verged to the west, as far as 24** 30^^ In the year 1816 it again turned, and if i« now retrograding towards the north, at the rate often minutes />er annum. It has also an annual, as well as a diurnal variation ; the extent of which, taking one period with another, does not appear to be definite. These pendulous mo- tions of the poles must depend upon causes, which are out of the scope of oar investigation ; nevertheless, they indicate that there must be great variations in the quan- tity and intensity of the eleciricity of the ^arth at dif- ferent periods, and in different places, according to the position which the earth holds in relation to the sun at particular times. This is also piroyed to be the case by the most positive evidence. • . / t . Fourthly, I will now endeavour to trace out that chain of evidence by which I conceive Cholera to be dependent uponadeficiencyof electricity in the locality where it prevails. I think it will be generaliy admitted, that it would be hard to find a question upon which medical men have differed so muchi as the contagiousness or nonrcont^- giousness of Cholera. No doubt many &cts have been adduced by the advocates of the former, in defence of their position; still the eccentric character of this disease has compelled them to adopt ground on which it would be difficnilt to distinguish (hem from their oppo- nents. Dr. Holland, a contagion ist, says:— '.'.•'', ** If a virus can be transmitted from the body through a few feet of air, we are not entitle!, from the partial experiments hitherto made, to set any limits to the extent tA which, under &vorable circumstances, it may be con- ▼eyed through the same, or other medium. Common reason here concura wi^ our actual experience of the transmission of the virus in certain diseases, in various wayi md to remote distances.*' The opinions of the non-contagionists may be sum'- med up in th6 suppositions of Dr. Davy, an able prae- SI titioner, who was in Cejrion when the diseaae was raging there. He sayst^- *< The cause of the diseaid fs not zny senHbk change in the atmosphere, yet, considering the progress of the disease, Us epidemic nature, the immense extent of country it has spread over, we can hardly refuse to ac- knowledge, that its cause, though imperceptible, though yet unl(nown, does exist in the atmosphere. It may be extricated fnm the boweU of the earthy as miasmata were formerly supposed to be ; — it may be generated in the air ;— -it may have the property of radiant matter, and, like heat and light, it may oe capable o^ passing through space unimpeded by currents : like eledricity^ it may be capable of moving from place to place in an imperceptible moment of time." Another writer says : — " The rapidity with which Yellow Fever and Cho- lera extend their influence is at variance with the doc- trine of contagion, as founded on truth^ ^ni^lo^^',^^nd impartial observation." Dr. Kennedy gives some account of the origin of Cholera in India, in the year 1817. He traces the origin of the disease to renarkable climatic changes that occurred in Bengal during that year. He alludes to the extreme uniformity and levelness of the country ; Us excessive moisture^ from its multitudinous intersec- tions by the branches of the Ganges, and from the swarms of tanks, or artificial ponds, created by the dic- tates of blind superstition, and the agricultural neces • sities of the country. The rainy season begins about [the middle of June, and continues during the four suc- ceeding months. In the year 1817, by the month of [August, the measu^ of rain which had descended vjas wne-third greater than the common quantity, and, a [short time after, iq different and distant parts of the Tovince, having no mutual intercourse with each ther, an aggravated type of Cholera broke out. It is well known, that a vast quantity of electricity is lised from the earth by evaporation, but, during that fear J in Bengal^ in order to carry off the additional itity of toater which fill, one-third more than the 22 average quantity of electricity would be abstracted f rem the earth: hence the currents patsing through the cruet of the earth from east to west would be proportionably diminished ; and the succulent roots, vegetables^ fruit, Sfc, growing on the soil through which such currents prssed, would be left negative to a proportionate degree. Did not the extra amount of sickness produced by Cho- lera aflervsrards, on an average, bear some proportion to the increase o{ rain in the above instance ? I do not state this circumstance because I consider it essential to my theory of Cholera, but because it seems to pre- sent at least one reasonable cause for the variations in the electric currents, a general fact which, I think, has been sufficiently demonstrated already ; although it3 application to the subject on hand has yet to be consi- dered. If Cholera be really produced by the caiuse which I have supposed, then it will appear that those modifying conditions and circumstances that affect the electric fluid, must also have an influence upon the progress and gene- ral characteristics of the disease. Now, as far las I have been able to learn, the analogy appears to be complete. The electric current travels from east to west, — so does Cholera. ^ ^-^ Evaporation carries oflTelectricity to the upper regibiis of the atmosphere, and of course it must favour the disease. By all experience, Cholera prevails most in low, damp, marshy regions, where evaporation is in- creased. :'■"''"• tf ./u^wwB>-^|4iw Wii;.'.i ■ iv -i^ai** Moisture is among the best conductors of electricity. Cholera generally travels along the shores of seas, lakes and rivers. Messrs. Jameson am} Scott remark, that << troops in India, marching in cool and dry weather, enjoy a considerable iijimunity from the disease.*' Does not the Editor of the British and Foreign Medical Re- view make a blind grasp at the idea advanced in this paper, when he says, in reviewing Dr. Kennedy's work 1 <* That moisture, per se, is not powerful in spreading the disease, may be presumed from the retardation of the vinis by seas and broad rivers, but it does not fol-* ram mic sout and, sive of it exis prev situ{ 23 tedfrom the crutt tionably «, fruit, currents e degree, by Cho- >ortion to 1 do not essential J to pre- ations in hink, has loOgh iti be consi- 5 which I nodifying jtric fluid, and gene- AS I have complete. — so does >er regions favour the Is most in tion is in- electricity, seas, lakes mark, that y weather, le.*' Does edical Re- led in this ly's work ? I spreading irdation of $a jiPl fol- low from this that moisture may not be (me of the condi- tions which is necessary to constitute the peculiar con* dition of the air necessary for the rapid development. It is certainly in this direction that we look for some probable elucidation of the unknown laws of the cho- leric virus,^' The following extract from an editorial in this journal, vol. 4, page 219, is authority to which h gives me plea- sure to refer, in support of this position : — ** A careful examination of ail the evidence with re- ference to the origin and progress of the cholera, disclo- ses this important fact, that a humid atmosphere, wet and sultry weather, and marshy situations, are peculiarly adapted to its development. Exceptions will undoubt- edly be found to the complete truthfulness of t'.iis obser- vation, but in its main features the observation will hold good, and may be safely acknowledged as a rule. In 1817, the summer was a peculiarly rainy one at Jessore, and the city itself is surrounded by marshes. In 1816, Dr. Thorn of the 86th regiment, stationed at Gurachee, observes that ' the thermometer stood at from 98 deg. to \04> deg. Fahrenheit, and the quantity of moisture was greater than I ever saw in any part of the world, at any season, the dew point being at 83 deg., and the thermO' meter in the shade being at 90 deg., the lowest range ; even this gives 12.19 grains of vapour in each cubic foot of air ;' and he further shows that the quantity of rain which fell was unusually great. When the epide- mic raged in Burmah, Dr. Parke observes,-^' during its progress, it attacked chiefly or exclusively the towns and villages situated in low and marshy places, on the banks of rivers and shores of the sea.' In India and Hin- dostan, it was observed to prevail most frequently with southerly or easterly winds, which favoured moisture, and, as a general rde, we may observe, that this exces- sive moisture was either a prelude to, or an accessary of its appearance, as witnessed by Dr. Prout, during its existence in England, in 1831-2 ; and, wherever it has prevailed, this fact is notorious, that the most marshy situations, the worst drained localities, have boen espe- / • i * I M cially selected as the sites of its greatest virulence. Whether all this induces a cause of malarial origin, of electrical atmospheric disturbances ^ or whether this state of the atmosphere predisposes to the generation of ani. malculae or fungoid causes of the disease, is a matter of little moment, as regards the lesson obviously taught. Although exceptions are to be found of its prevalence in dry and arid situations, yet they are loo fe^v to inva- lidate the above position as the rule." Vulcanic regions are peculiar for their eleetrioal phcromena, arising I suppose from the little effect which electricity has upon the soil, originating in lava. From several accounts that I have read, Cholera seems to have been peculiarly virulent in such loca- lities. Limestone must be favourable to the conduction of electricity, from the porosity of its texture, and the consequent water which it contains. A letter published in the Boston Daily Advertiser, some few months ago, from Dr. C. L. Jackson, states, that the cities situated on limestone or tertiary soils, have always suffered most severely from this scourge; while the primary or granitic regions have never been visited to any considerable extent. It never has visited the granite countries of Switzerland, or Tyrol, in Europe, while it followed the calcareous districts around. And since it did not occur in the primary districts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts ; while it did follow the calcareous formation through Canada and New York, and along the Mississippi, Dr. Jackson infers, that the calcareous soil or water has much to do with the production of the disease. I am of opinion that the profession has been misled respecting the cause of Cholera, by looking too exclu- sively to the atmosphere, as the source of the disease. A distraction of ideas seems also to have arisen from the use of the terms "predisposing," and "exciting cause." Not that I suppose these terms to be always improperly implied in speaking of Cholera, but from all that I have been able to learn, I am induced to believe that every case of Asiatic Cholera has resulted from something that the individual had taken into his stomach . Befqfe entering on this subject, however, I may men. tion one predisposing cause which, during the preva. lence of Cholera, is peculiarly dangerous : that is, an irritable state of the bowels, to which some people are liable. This may arise from a defect of the coutractility of the intestinal capillaries, so as (o give the ingesta ot 25 iiulence. )rigin, of this state m of ani- matter of y taught. :e vale nee 7 to inva- )hcromena, f has upon that I have 1 6uoh loca< r electricity, vater which Advertiter, eg, that the rays suffered f or granitic extent. It id, or Tyrol, round. And Maine, New id follow the aiid along reous soil or ease' leen misled r too exclu- he disease, irisen from "exciting ) be always but from all d to believe 58ulted from his stomach . I may men. the preva. that is, an e people are coutractility le ingesta ot the canal foo direct an influence upon the serum of the blood J or, according to the electric theory, it may arise from a constitutionally neg-a/zve condition of thit portion of the system. Dr. Bell, in a lecture published in this journal in Feb- ruary last, uses the following language : — << The facts alluded to all display the general pervasion of something unknown, which influences ihephysical, as well as the animal world, but is wholly beyond the power of man to stay, and did time permit, others might be added still more convincing, bearing upon the change obwrvable in the features of disease, both in the animal and vegetable kingdom, long before the appearance of Cholera. If seems impossible to doubt the existence of a cause infi- nitely more general than mere contagionJ*^ I have endeavoured to delineate such a cause, and if I am cor- rect, would not difierent physical, vegetable and animal substances, XekAn into the alimentary canal, produce Cholera in the individual, just in proportion to their negatively electric quality : for it must be presumed, that where such a deficiency of electricity prevails in a locality, those substances which are naturally negative, under ordinary circumstances, must be rendered still more so by the general eause« Andrei found that of all the fluids of the economy, the semm of the blood is the most decidedly alkaline ; and whatever the nature of the disease, or its duration in which he had examined this fluid, he never found the intensity of the re-aCtion iensibly vary. The alkalies are generally positive, and the blood is in this state to a high degree. In Garrod's Lectures on the Chemistry of Pathology, published in the Lafic«<*~ while treating of Cholera the lecturer says : — << In this disease the evacuations very much resemble whey in appearance^ have usually a very strongly marked alkaline reaction, and efiervesce on the addition of an acid." Now in order to account for all the phe- nomena of Cholera by the cause which I have identi- fied, we have only to sappose, that substances of a strongly negative character are brotight in contact with the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal ; but the 26 authentic records of the disease fuUy exonorate us from the necessity of depending upon mere supposition in this matter. Although my data are not so niuneroiw- as I cpvld wish, on account o( the indifference of medical men about recordinf ii'hat their choleiift patients had been eatit)g previous to their having been Mtacked, still the evidence as far as it goes, folly sustains my theory. In the LoncTon^ lancet for August^ 18^2> the Cditor says that in three-fourchs of the oases of Cholera^thak he hsid miaeBaedyfruii was clearhf aictrtaineti id have been^th^eaciting cause. In connettion with tht peculiar afintiiythat tbedis* ease seems ta have for water, several ektMordinary eases are recordiedof fish having Aed in great shoaio while the disease vras.raf^g in some regions-: for example^ m Frussia, in tto year 1831, wh^e the Cholera prevailed there, all the fish died in the ponds, and) forty tons of them weretalisn from the siiif^ pond of Dinncrburgh^ and buried. And it is a^ remarkable fact^ that m a great number of cases where any netiee was' taken of what the patients had eaten before the attack, fish, of one Mind or other was ss'^d to have beei' the eocciting oaiisiev Other articles ave mentioned, such as fruit, butter^milky potatoes, and' in » few casesi perk amdveai. Now, every onu of these articles mi|^thave been pointed out as dangerous^, merely from an apneei eonsideration of the theory for wbich I oontfeiidL It is well known how easily pork and veal are injured by thundery wea- . ther ; and there ia reason to belk^ve that the diet in the cases referred te was actually tainted,— indeed it is ez^ pressly stated in some instances that saoh was the fact. I have mad6 out a list of 92 cases, taken from £ng- fish papers, these beingi^he only ones in which I found food chargeable with being the exciting cause. The Allowing is a,cop)^.: — Fi^h:— |F|j|rrihgs, 11 times ; sprats^ 1 ; Sal- *^ ' . "^ !'/ 'iwon^ 1, . . . . ,i , . .iSiim^s, rrwt:---06osel3'errie8,9| CivntntSrl^i^Chec., .;ij\., in front ion in cpnid il laen been editor r», tb*t fq have tbedis* ry eases Q wliUe nople^ in revailed tons of crburgh^ ft a great of what r of one ^ catiKv ill Now^ Med out iratUm of I known ery wea- . iet in the \ it is ez'^ the fact. on £ng' I I found se. The iStlknea^ ^^'*** ; Ties, 1 J Lemon, Ij Whinbeity p4iddiog, 1, .... . ^ .li times. Vegetables -.-^Pototoes, IS ; Cabbage, 1, . 19 do. Milk, 2 ; BuHmnUk, liB ; Curds and Whey, 1, 2l do;' Animal Food :— Pork. 2 ; Do., tainted, 8 ; Veal, 3; Sour do., 2; L9mb,2^. Tainted Fowl, 2. « . . . ,14 do*: B^er, 4* ; Souf do., 7, , 11 do. ' f^The reader will remark in this lisl a strong corrobo- ration of the idea which t have advanced. Why does ibunder-wealber hinder butter-making I I presume ithat it is because there is tee much electricity iii the atmos- phere, which keeps the oleaginous partit^i in such a state of combination with the other elements of the milk, that they cannot be separated. Why, under iMrdinary «iiPcums(sfAcdB^ are the milky contents of a c^iim trans- formed into butter and botterrailk f Is it not tiecSuse the commotion among the particles causes part of the electricity to escape, allowing the oleaginous atoms to eoalesce by their superior capacity for the remaining ^4ectriG fluid, while the other ingredients, by abstrac- ing oxygen front the atmosplierey becsmie sour, acttf, — Negative buttermilk. ' ' ^E?erj Phjsiolojrrat is aware of the analogy ■absisting between lailk and blood. Indeed, their conitituents are aimoal identiMl. 1U1U)( is the only eecfsled fluid whieh oontaine the three elasfea of QUtritive principlee, of which the blood iecomposcd— the albu. ininouB, oieagiuouB, and saccharine ; and ,thu8 the coagulation uf ^th majr be accounted for on the very aanie principles. X< Why does a thunderstorm make animal and vegetable subsn^nces sour, and hasten their dissolution, I ask ? !s it not because, when the overchaifed atmosphere is re- lieved by the explosion which ensues, the supeirabundant -electricity is not only carried off, but also a part of that which naturally belongs to those substances, which are most ready to give it up. Thus, I conceive that sub- stances may be deprived of electricity in two degrees : Istly, that which is superadded to them in their natural state ; and 2ndly, that which holds their particles in combination, the deprivation of which causes a change in their sensible properties, producing disintegration. 36 I Dr. Gaulter of Mancheftor, in bis work upon Cholera, umb Ian- gaugt to the following e£E^ct : — ** The most ordinary exciting causes of common sholers, are rightly coneidered to be errors of diet ; the same is true of malignant cboldFa. It can be ahown, that in almost eight cases out of ten, something had been takfn as food or beverage calculated to. derange the digestive organs, and it would appear from the preternatural uensibility of these organs, as the heat of summer becomes more intense, even the diet habitually taken, and which generally agreed with the all* mentary passages, u>a» liable then to actatiOM irritant. In Ihe msjority of instances the offending matter was either the low- priced ale of the beer-shops, semi'putreaeent buitermilk, foetid porkt and fish^ w rotten potatoes. In one instance, a quantity of the latter, which were vomited duririg the incipieal stage of tko disease, continued to emit for many days a pho»fharM9ent light — a circumstance that appeared most mysterious anijl alarmiug to the neighbourhood where it happened."' A due supply of electricity is as esaential to the hieaHby functions o( the body, as wate' is to the operations of a steam-engine ; and of course, when this vital ele- ment is withheld, a derangement proportionate to the demand must be the consequence. Dr. Bell has satis- factorily proved the relationship ■. subsisting; between ague, congestive fever, and cholem ; and I do nol doubt, when the science of medicine comes to be based more upon philosophical principle than it is at present^ that all epidemic diseases will be found to depend upon different degrees of this alUpervading agent, prevailing at the time ; and of course a knowledge of the laws of which, will constitute the most essential qualification of the physician. This may be called hobbyisih ; >yell, be it so. Let those who call it suoh tell me of any molecular change that can occur in the physical^ tlte ve- getable, or the animal world, in which electricity is not esaenHaUy amcemeJ, and I will resign my hobby, to launch again upon the chaotic ocean of empyrical speculation. " According to the analysis of the Chemist, th6 atmosphere is composed of seventy-two parts of nitrogen, twonty-seven of oxygen, and one of carbon. From the experiments of Philoeo^ phers wa find that the fluids, produced by tlie putrefaction of animal substances, pussess the same ingredients as those compos- ing the common atmosphere — but in different proportions — viz., sutty.thraa of nitrogen tud thirty-seven of oxygen.** /\ wm 29 sen Ian- ixcitin^ iiTora of ntowiTi I taken orgnnf, >f these ten the the all* In ibe he lew- t;, foetid antity of B of tko ntUgki rmiug to heaHby srations tal ele- to the ^8 satis- letwfseA do not e based »resenti tid upon availing lie laws ification in ; well, I ^any , tlie ve- tybnot »bby, to npyrical lonphere is '-seven of f Fhiioso- sfactioQof le compos- ions — v\z.p The above extract is from an oM author, and aU though it might be corrected in one or two particulars, yet it indicates a general truth which is of great prac- tical impottance, by showing the tendency of decaying animal substances to render the ailmosphere negative, and thereby indirectly vitiating the blood. The alimentary canal in a physiological point of view, can faardly be consMeited the internal of the body. The mucous membrane> by which it is lined, m only a modified continuation of the skin which covers the external quirts. The serous membnine which lines tlie heart and arteries is (he true internal, hence the blood has no direct, popimunication with the external world; hence its condition will not be directly aflitcted by external influences ; but it will be affected by such influeiicesy tkrough t^ capiUary ^stesu The funettoa of the lungs in oxygenating iho blood, according toDn/ Cl^istison, is a pui;«i|y physical operation. The produo.^* tipf oif boat in thfJiluKQai^ ^ody can be considered tio«»- thiii|g else. Jfa stream of electricity is passed through^ cefUia quantity of water, tbc> water will bo concerted' into a certain bulk of the mixed gases which, in litis': state, represents the elemiBnts of the water, together* with the electricity required for their formation. If the gases are again combined so ad to form water,, npta tjrace of eleetrlcity is given oft, but their union jg. accompanied by an intense heat. We have only tov enquire where the electricity went to in the first party of the experiment, and where the heat came from ioi V the latter, in order to be convinced that the one, iff nothihg but a modification of the o(her« I presume the attentive reader will now be in a position to comprehend the modut qpenmdi of CHoienu The earth and the lower strata of the ajUnoaphere being , charged with electricity belofnp natp tbe mood must be indirectly affected ; so that there will oe a more than ordinary tendency to dissofatioa amongst its ' elements. Food is taken into tho Rtonadi jMider/W/y negative. I mean by this, that 'it coniains so little oledricity that it will have a powerfitl aitimtion Ibr 90 I liquids, which naturally contaia more; hence it ab' itracts the electricity contiiined in the cells ot the mucus membrane ; capillary action is thus excited, and the arteries of the g^astro-intestinal system po^r out their serum, in order if possible lo neutralize the demand. A communication is thus established between the blood and the external world, am/, according to an universal law, the life of man must do its part, in order, to restore the general equilibrium. The eccentric character of cholera has hitherto baffled all attempts to investi/;ate its cause < Veti6na belonging to the same family, though residing in dif- ferent bouses, have been simultaneously attacked.^— Prisoners confined in a solitary and condeimiied eell, have been executed by cholera, without hating had any communication whatever with persons having* the disease. A case of this kind occurred In Prussia, in which the only communication which the prii^oner had with the living world was through the m^dicmif of his keeper, who gave him his /bot/ through an iron gratihg. If my theory is correct, these and maihr otheir ^eccen- tricities connected with the progress of thtf disease ntt satis&ctorHy accounted for. Dr. Bell says: — ** We must, in endeavoiiring to ascertain the source of this disease, look Co the sympa- thetic system of nerves— and it is particularly wohhy of notice, that wherever the branches of the syniiitt- thetic are largely distributed, there the symptoms of the disease are most prominent.''^ Proceeding further, he shows that Cholera cannot be referred to a, topical und exclusive affection of any of the great organs. He ' also briefly asserts, that the cause of Cholera is not a mcrbid Slate of the circulating bloody how deeply soever that ttlteratior^ may be occasioned, as a consequ£nce of the true morbid impreision. ; '^^ ^ The essential manifestations of Cholera, according to the London Lancet, are '* collapsed countenamee, blue lips and nail/i, shrunken fingers, the total failure^ of thetisuai stcr^tions, defieietit animal heat, suspen- ti 1( ii a^ cJ oi SI it ab. mucus nd lh« it tbeir emand. e blood liversal i rfttore hitherto in dif- 'eked.— led eell, if)^ had ^ing'the iflsia, in >iier hAd lif of his gralihgv iir* \:.M^ i<^ Aocording to Dr. Kennedy : in the first stage ** the patitfHt complains of feeling of anxiety ^ or ot uneasi- ne$» at the pit of the stomach; after some time Tuntsea supervenes^ and the uneasiness changes into a feeling of heat or pain* To these symptoms succeed vomit' ing and purging^ and prostration of strength. The evacuations at first consist ot the common contents of the alimentary canal, aflerwards of a fluid like rice water> occasional cramps are felt in the limbs ; the palsa is small and rather quick. The skin kele a lit- tJO' oold, and the temperature is graduaiiy decreasing. The countenance is rather shrunk, and the features appear sharper than natural." In another place the SAOM author tells us, that ^'the evacuations go on, and the bowels are filled after the heart has ceased to act, when the arteries are empty and the capillaries of the circulation are no longer supplied with blood by the usual course.'* Dr«. O'Shaughnesay proved by a series of rigid ex- periments, that the Uood in the worst cases of Cholera retains, its globular or anatomical structure ; that the lungs are capahlo of performing their functionS| in so far as the abt ot respiration is concerned, in the decom- position of; atmosphferiu air | and that the dejections of the cholera patient are strongly alkaline, and contain just those elements of which hie blood has been de- prived i or^ in other words, the addition of the dejec- tions to thoK blood, in due proportion, would have re^ stored the latter to its normal constitution. The same results were obtained by Other chemists in different parts of Europe. Now, if it be admitted that the physical laws of na^ ture are universal in their operation, then it must fol- low, ^at the excretion of the fluid portion of the blood into: the alimentary canal in Cholera, has been fully accounted for* That the cause is a physical one, there can be no doubt whatever. The action of some kinds of purgatives upon /the bowels belongs to the same ^i n ^last of pbenomeiM, b)it dilbring in degree. If blood be placed on the one side of a eopillary wumbranef and certain purgattte aoluiions on tke otke^, the oerum of the blood wM paeeihrough the VMmbranet to unite with the medicine, Thie is just wheti occtara in the bod^f ; and I tkink the evidence already afforded, that auoh phenomena are dependent upon electrioal attractions, should sattafy all reasonable minds. m; Pathology likewise, according to (he best authority, is altogetter in our favour. A vermilion injection of the gastro-intestinal mucus membrane of the alimen- tary canal, indicative of inflammation proportionate to the prolongation of the disease. Sometimes patches of gangrene, indicating the violent eleelric action that had been in operation ; while in every other part of the body all such action, (even normal) had entt^rely ceased. The same membrane also covered with a pditaceous substance, of a white«grey colour. The stomacb contracted in its subi^tance ; hard, and fre. quently thickened. The liver shows marks of congestion or inflamnia- tion, and is of a darker colour than usuaL The jail bladder distended with bile» while the ducts remain quite pervious. The bile is generally considered by physiologists, the natural purgative, of the bowels. It must be electfo.negative, having been secreted fi^m the blood, after that fluid has been deprived of its elec* tricityin the systemic capillaries, through which it has passed before arriving at the vena porta. Why, in a cholera patient, does the bile not flow into the intes- t!r«tf8 through the open ducts ? Answerttt^jBecouffs two negtuives do not attract tack other, *"'" Here I might close my case, and clainp a verdict, on the ground that this theory accounts for all thepheno. mena of the disease, as far «s I have ascertained, which, in the abstract, woold be deemed a legitimate conclusion, unless other fitcts could be brought forward^ contravening the hypothesis ; but I havo some evi- dence of a more positive character yet lo offer, wluch, if it can be relied on, in my estimation^ sets the mat - th< dee tiol m< CI ^1; fthod M, mm rum of iU with 5 bodiff It Miok actions, itkority, ction of alimen* Miaie to patches ion that part o£ enti!rely with A f. The and fre- iflamnia- rhe (^all I remain dered by weh. It ted fivm its elec* eh it has ^hy, in a le intes- !xnt8e two on le ,pheao* lertained, Bgitimate ;forwaird« ome evi- r^ wlUch, the mat- ter beyond a reasonable doobt ; 4of that, however, the reader must judge for himself. Prom the London Lancet of November last, I ex-* traet the following. A letter from St. Petersburffh states, " that whilst Cholera was at its highest, the action of the magnet was nearly neutralized, whic^ nerWf the disease is gradually subsiding, assumes by degrees its former power. A mignet block, which used to carry eighty pounds, would not carry more than thirteen pounds during the worst time of Cholera. The EUetro-Magnetie Telegraph at one time would not work at tUi.^^ Here was a report from the arcana of nature by the Telegraph itself, informing us of the cause of this 6\Mmaei Murder wilt &ut, Several authors on Cholera have, as it were, groped ardilind the: truth, but the want o^ a proper knowledge of Chemistfy has occasioned some of them to commit strange blunders. When treating on this subject. Dr. Tun stall of Bath, in a paper in the Lancet, of the same mofith^.osds the following language: — ^'^If we adopt the thedry, that in Cholera the impurity of the blood arises from itd containing too mu6h positive elec* tricity, we must bear in mind that the secretions froitt' the bowe^ and stomach show ati exc^ess of acfd, or, in other Words, of oxygen, a positively electric condi- tion.'^ Now there cau be no doubt that jn Cholera the evacuations are positively electrical, but if he is correct in sftjring that these excretioi^s are acid, and that acid or oxygen is positively Electrical, then I have been greatly misinformed by the best Chemists the woiid has ever produced, as well as by my own senses. However, as &r as the evidence accords with chemical science, it is corroborative of the position I nniiiAaiii^ Again we have in the Lancet of the 8th November, the following from J. C. Atkinson, Esq. : — **I 'am desirous, at the present moment, of directing the atten- tion of scientific readers to a very interesting pheno- menon, more or less present, in the collapsed stage of Cholera, which seems to have hitherto escaped the 34 '1 t Id ' observation of msdicftl meo, namelyf animal electricity or phosphorescence of the human bodj. My attention was ftfflit attracted to the siibject diurfiig the former vlii- tation of that fearful disease in the metropolis. It was indeed singular to notice tbo quantity of electric fluid that coRtioually discharged itself on the approach of any conducting body to the skin of a patient labouring under the coTlapseid stage. Streams of eleetrioity, many of them an inch aiul a half in length* could be readily educted by the knuckle when directed to afty fart of the body, as if it were a charged Xi^ydiHi jan may remark the coincidence that, siniQkiineouily with the beat of the body passing of, the eleetrieity was evolved. I am therefore led to ask the question"— Aie not heat, electric and galvanipflaida one aud the same thing ! Does not the passing off of both iroponderalile substances, at one and the same time* ttrengtben Ihis conclusion 7 Again, are not the whole of what we «all vital phenomena, produced by the eleotro^alvanio magnetic matter and motions t And do we Hot find 4bat these vital phenomena are continuikUy afleoted by ihe relative state of the fuiroundipig eleotrk miyliiiMnl To what can we aUribixte the proofit fluotuatiag ioon* dition of the Ba7'«me(er if not to this ?" If the Trader v/iU remember the Tariable resulte obtained hy Giy Lussac, in experimenting on the chemical affinity of the same aubatances, with the electrometer, under what he conceived to be the saniie conditions* at diflferent tim0s» the occult iiature of the cause of Cholera, or the eccentricity of its char^ter* will not ezoite much wonder* , In the same periodical Dn Smellie remarks, ** that on those days on which the ^Nbease was most prevalent, the tUctrie coniiHon of tkt abtnoaphert was in a highly ditivrbed state ; and the various instruments used to exhibit the phenomena of electiicity &iled to be de- pended on, by reason of the paucity and the irrcgo. larity of the electric distribution in surrounding nature. The magnet also exhibited a diminution cf serenty per cent, of its usual power. elf Oli th< ^p )ctricit]r ttentkm ler vkii- It WM rio 6uid oaoh of bouriog etrioUy* ould be to any dMi jiMv wly with eity was oii*—Ai0 ,h0 aane uderaikle ihen Ihis what we galvanic nol find feoted by nHiidNMnl le results I on the with the the sanie ire of the character, •ks, ♦♦ that preraient, n a highly ts used to to be de- he irrcgo- ng nature, pf serenty During the prevalence of cholpra in St. Petertburgh la«t year, we had authentic reports testifying to the same general fact. One report ny9, that a wutgnet which VDouldi under orAwjry cireumatanctit miiain forty poundt weighty wot not capable of tiutaining wtore than four or five pounds when the diteaee wa§ at it9 heigM* The London LatuH for March last, contains a report from the Registrar General, in which the electrical state of the atmosphere and the number of Cholera cases weekly, are stated in tabular form ; by which it appears, that the decrease of electricity in the atmos* phere maintained a proportion to the increase of the disease, and when the cases amounted to a certain number, no indications of electricity could be obtained. What stronger evidence coukl any person require 7 In drawing this subject to a conclusion, I will briefly ulirect the attention of the reader to the points which 1 have endeavoured to elucidate : I commenced with the sinoplest form of tiapillary attraction, and proved by good authority that the pas- sage, of liquids through porous substances, whether they be physical, vegetable, or animal, is due to the same cause ; and inasmuch as the rapidity of 4he cur«> vent is concerned) it depends upon two conditions : First, upon tfad attraction of the flowing liquid for the capillary substance ; and secondly, its affinity for the mf^tter on the other side of the capillary series. ^econdlyj-^It has been shown that all such pheno* mena are caused by the tendency of all substances, differently charged with electricity, to unite together, so as to bring the electric fluid with which ibey are charged to an equilibrium ; or, in other words, that capillary attraction, cohesive attraction, and affinity, are but modifications of electric attraction. Thirdly, — I have maintained the theory of a single electric fltud^ and endeavoured to shew tbat it is ade- quate to account for all the facts of the science, with* out involving th^' obvious diflieukies of the double theory. I have directed attention tp the universal ■>*■ , Q 36 % ^ \ ! influence which elec^icity exercises over Vegetalile and animal phenomena, I have proved by Professor Faraday and others, that the electrical, the geilvanic, and the magnetic forces are identical ; and that heal is a modification of the same agent. It has been proved that there are constant currents of electricity passing round the earth, /rom east to west — that these currents are liable, from astronomical or other causes, to perio- dical and irregular variations in their quantity and intensity,, by which animal and vegetable substances are both sensibly and insensibly affected. Fourthly,— Independent of astronomical or geologi- cal causes, I have adduced one good reason that fnay acctymt for the origin of Cholera in India, in the y^ar 1 817, on the foregoing principles. I have proved that, ill the great majority of cases, eight out of every ten, the producing jcause of Cholera has been food, in an elcctro.negative state, which almost puts it beyond doubt, considering the occult nature of the essential element, that such food produced Cholera in all cases, I have demonstrated that the cause impliclited is fully competent, according to natural law, to produce the effect ; and in conclusion, I have proved by the most indubitable evidence, that the cause identified actually did eiist, in proportion to the effect observed. That cause was a great diminution of the ordinary electricity of the food ana air ; — that effect was Asiatic Cholera. That Cholera has oflen been ascribed to the cause which I have identified, is a fact of which I have given several illustrations; but the statement has be^n as often and as flatly contradicted ; because the chain of natural relations subsisting between the disease and the cause presumptive was not made manifest. This desideratum I have endeavoured to supply : with whftt success, let each determine foi himself. *'' ^^ • In conclusion, it is pleasing to observe that those remedies which are now the most generally recognised as being the most beneficial in the treatment of Cholera, are jutst the medicines indicated by the electric theory, viz., those of a positively electric character — hydro-car- 3' egetable ^rofesjior Tfllvanic, \t heat is n proved r paasing currents to perio- ntity and Libstancefi r geologi- that may the year ovedthat, every ten, }od, in an it beyond i essential I all cases, ed is fully 'odube the r the most sd alctually ed. That ' electricity Cholera. the cause bave given is bein as le chain of litiease and rest. This with whftt I that those f recognised t of Cholera, ctric theory, —hydro-car- bons and the alkaloids. AmoiigM tiiese may be men- tioned, camphor, petroleum, or Bnrbadoes tar, turpentine, veratria, quinine, alum,