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Mr. Volta, in his letters to Mr. Cavallo, which have been read to this Society, not only has shewn that the conclusions, which Mr. Galvani drew from his experiments on the appli­cation of metals to the nerves and muscles of animals, are in various respects erroneous, but has also made known several important facts, in addition to those which had been disco­vered by that author. As he appears, however, from these letters, to have fallen into some mistakes himself, and has cer­tainly not exhausted the subject which he has treated in them, I shall venture to communicate to this learned body a few ob­servations I have made respecting it, which may contribute both to correct his errors, and to increase our knowledge of the cause of those motions, which have been attributed by Mr. Galvani and others to an animal electricity. These ob­servations will be so arranged, as to furnish answers, more or less satisfactory, to the following questions: Does the incitement of the influence which, in Mr. Galvani's experiments, occasions the muscles of animals to contract, either wholly, or in part, depend upon any peculiar property of living bodies? What are the conditions necessary for the excitement of this influence? Is it electrical? When a muscle contracts upon a connection being formed, by means of one or more metals, between its external surface and the nerve which penetrates it, Mr. Galvani contends that, previously to this effect, the inner and outer parts of the muscle contain different quantities of the electric fluid; that the nerve is consequently in the same state, with respect to that fluid, as the internal substance of the muscle; and that upon the application of one or more metals between its outer surface and the nerve, an electrical discharge takes place, which is the cause of the contraction of the muscle, In short, he supposes a complete similarity to exist between a muscle, in a proper condition to exhibit this appearance, and a charged Leyden phial; the nerve of the former answering, as far as his experiments are concerned, the same purpose as the wire, which is connected with the internal surface of the latter.

XI. Observations on the influence, which incites the muscles of animals to contract in Mr. Galvani's experiments