Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-09-02

NAllUNAI lNlELuluENUEn'
THE MOTIVE POWER OF THE CIRCULATION OF
THE BL0OD.-No. ".
CONTINUED FROM NATIONAL IxrELLIoEScER OF AuG ID
Objections TO the Electrical Theory Considered
l. 1t is objected by Carpenter and Matteucci that no
electrical has been discovered in the nerves.
by any Of the delicate instruments contrved for the pur
pose while the living muscles in the most energetic
state Of contraction in obedience to the will of the animal
and by Prof Henry Of the Smithsonian Institute that the
nerves are surrounded by which conduct ar
fetal electricity well the themselves if not
better.
Matteucci made number Of experiments the nerves
Of living animals, but could obtain unequivoca
signs Of the passage Of electric current through them
however energetic the muscular action might be- These
experiments consisted in inserting needles and the exre
mites of very delicate galyanometer into the of
horses and other animals and in connecting the two ex
tremites Of divided at the top Of the thigh and
at the lower extremity of the leg with two spras Of
wire containing cylinder of soft ron and passing
tfcia Of electricity through the and the
spiras But he "never obtained evident and constant
traces of the electric current in the nerves. nor could
he discover any magnetic force in the steel from not
even in needles inserted into the living muscles in astate
Of activity though in these he demonstrates the existence
Of electric currents He next asserts that the do
not form closed circuits which known be essential
to the propagation of electric currents but in this
serton he differs from all other late authorities at hand
Both Mulder and Carpenter state the authority Of the
eminent mcroscopst anatomical writer's, that the
nerves have free extremes any where that they
ter other structures in the form Of loops only and that
closed circuits exist every where in the substance Of
the brain though he also states, the authority Of
one Of these authors that from the loops which
constitute the sensual and muscular extremites Of the
nerves other flaments arise which not continuous
He further says In order that electric current should
pass from extremity of the nervous system to the
other it would be necessary to compare the to
metallic wire vanished otherwise insulated as
sumption which is not in accordance with fact" Now it
may be safely asserted that this failure to elicit eecrci-
ty from the in the proposed only proves
the complete insulation Of the axis cylinder-the very
condition the Professor shows to be
is confessedy the part that conveys the nervous influence
whatever 1t may be, already shown in the description
Of their structure and the mpossibty Of ectng this
electricity fuid in the proposed, is
the essential and indispensable condition Of the
serving conductors Of electricity Hence, also, the
why the nerves. repeatedly enveloped and every
fibre separated from every other they by exter
nal non-conductng substance and finally by the white
substance Of Schwann which, considering its dimnutive
light refacng power is evidently powerful insuator
better if not conductors than the surround
ing substances But Matteuccs failure to elicit elecr
city from living nerves in action is positive proof that
it cannot be elected from them by appropriate expert
ments for Mr.. Provost, experimenter less eminent
than Matteucci magnetzed steel by action as
stated BY Faraday which is proof positive that the
convey electricity for electricity in motion the speed
est and most eectua means Of magnetizng steel The
Bibliotheque Universelle, TOM XII 2O2 and XIV 900
for 1887 in which his experiments recorded is not
ACCESSIBLE and cannot therefore, state Prevosts expe
rments crcumstantiay As well might Prof Matteucci
insert needles the exremies of his gayanometer into
feather bed enveloping magnet in expectation Of ELI
citing m electric current, as into nerve trunk.
2. Both Carpenter and Mateucci object that, when
gaure is tied around nerve trunk piece Of it ex
sed and the two extremies connected by wire Of the
best conducting materials in the living body the passage
Of the nervous fluid is completely arrested and the
Gle It supplies rendered paralytic though artificial
electric current traverses the gature with fac
it does any other part Of the nerve and the wire with
Prof Faraday has shown that electricity traverses good
metallic conductors their suaces othom entering
their srucre but from the structure Of the = APP
pears that the fluid is confined within every fibre
to the axis cylinder by the white substance Of Schwann
enveoped in sheath areoar tissue and that every
trunk is again cnyeloped by the neuremma. Now,
it is obvious that igature passed around trunk
produces dscontnuty Of the axis cylinder and
quentyinterrupts the passage of the ud though
1t identical with electricity especially if the second
theory of electrical conducon above mentioned be true
but the trunkthe conductor Of artificial eectrc
tyremains continuous and the ligaure is consequently
obstacle to the artificial electric current And when
wire inserted between the divided extremes the nerve
trunk admitting to be electricity is thrown out from
the axis cylinder and passes along the surface Of the
wire and Of the below it. Hence the why the
mind cannot send its behess receive intelligence from
beyond ligature wire inserted between the two
tremtes of divided trunk composed of numerous
fasccu is most obvious, and the objection vanshes.
s. 1t is objected by scientific friend that there is not
sufficient motive power in electricity produce the eff
fecs attribute to it. This objection win appear even
less cogent than either of the preceding 1t is ndsputa
bic that magnetism is nothing but polarzed eecsrcty
and Prof. Henry constructed magnet weighing sixty
nine and half pounds which raised two thousand and
sixty pounds by passing electric current through
copper wire helix around bar Of Swedish iron of the
former weight The decomposition Of single grain Of
water which requires the decomposition Of four grains of
zinc, evolves says Prof Faraday quantity Of eectrci
ty equivalent that of powerful thunder storm and
this sufficient to rend into atters the soutest oak in
the forest Prof Draper has proved Treatise the
Organization of Plants that capillary attraction is pro-
duced exclusively by the relative electrical condition Of
the capillary tubes and the water producing attraction
between them In Germany men cut immense cylinders,
equal diameter to the size
Around these pillars they then creases at distance
equal TO the thickness Of msones from each other In
TO these they drive small wooden wedges which
they keep moist with water for time; and so great
is the electrical attraction between the wood and water
that the of the former absorb enough Of the latter
to make them swell SO much to burst the pillars into
pieces fit for millsones. The Florentne Academicans
froze cubic inch Of water ncosed within brass ball.
which set free such quantity Of electricity burst
the ball, exerng repusve force according Muschen
weight Of fourteen TONS 27727 lbs From these facts
it evident that electricity exerts an attractive or repul
sve force that rivals every other Indeed is demon
Strable that there no heat