of lightning. The best security seems to be to have something high, as a tree for example, near him, but not too near; perhaps from thirty or forty to ten or fifteen feet, or rather to be near two such trees.

I shall not attempt to explain why damp clothes occasion colds, rather than wet ones, because I doubt the fact; I imagine that neither the one nor the other contribute to this effect, and that the causes of colds are totally independent of wet and even of cold. I propose writing a short paper on this subject, the first moment of leisure I have at my disposal. In the mean time I can only say, that, having some suspicions that the common notion, which attributes to cold the property of stopping the pores and obstructing perspiration, was ill founded, I engaged a young physician, who is making some experiments with Sanctorius's balance, to estimate the different proportions of his perspiration, when remaining one hour quite naked, and another warmly clothed. He pursued the experiment in this alternate manner for eight hours successively, and found his perspiration almost double during those hours in which he was naked.

B. FRANKLIN.

* Translated from M. Dubourg's edition of Franklin's Works, Vol. II. p. 311.- EDItor.

TO M. LE ROY.

Mr. Wilson's Opposition to Pointed Conductors.-M. Le Roy Chosen a Member of the American Philosophical Society.

DEAR SIR,

London, 30 March, 1773.

You punish my delay of writing to you very properly, by not writing to me. It is long since I have had the pleasure of hearing from you. But it is my fault, and I must for my own sake write to you oftener, though I have little to say, or you will quite forget me.

I thank you for your advice to send an English copy of my writings to the Academy, and shall do it as soon as the new edition now in hand here is finished.

I am glad you see some weight in the experiments I sent you concerning pointed rods. Mr. Wilson is grown angry, that his advice was not followed in making them blunt for the public magazines of gunpowder, and has published a pamphlet reflecting on the Royal Society, the committee, and myself, with some asperity, and endeavouring to alarm the city with the supposed danger of pointed rods drawing the lightning into them, and blowing them up. I find it is expected from me that I make some answer to it, and I shall do so, though I have an extreme aversion to public altercation on philosophic points, and have never yet disputed with any one, who thought fit to attack my opinions. I am obliged to you for the experiment of the point and ring.

There is no being sure of any thing before it happens; but, considering the weight of your reputation, I think there is little reason to doubt the success of your friends' endeavours to procure from our Society here

the honor of adding you to their number at the next election. In the mean time will you for my sake confer the same kind of honor on our young Society at Philadelphia. When I found that our first volume of American Transactions was favorably received in Europe, and had procured us some reputation, I took the liberty of nominating you for a member, and you were accordingly chosen at a full meeting in Philadelphia on the 15th of January last. I sent a copy of that volume to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, when it first came out, but I do not remember to have heard that they ever received it. I think it was Mr. Magalhaens,* who undertook to convey it. If it miscarried, I will send another, and by the first opportunity one for yourself.

Two ships are now fitting out here by the Admiralty, at the request of the Royal Society, to make a voyage to the north pole, or to go as near to it as the ice will permit. If they return safe we shall probably obtain some new geographical knowledge, and some addition to natural history.

With the greatest esteem and respect, I am, &c. B. FRANKLIN.

* John Hyacinth de Magalhaens, a Portuguese by birth, who resided a large part of his life in England. His name frequently occurs in Franklin's letters. He is said to have been "an able linguist, and well versed in chemistry and natural philosophy," and to have published respectable treatises on mineralogy, and some other branches of science. He was a member of the Royal Society. This is the same person (whose name is sometimes printed Magellan) that gave to the American Philosophical Society a donation of two hundred guineas, which was to be invested in a secure fund, and the interest disposed of annually in premiums to the author of the best discovery, or most useful invention, relating to navigation, astronomy, or natural philosophy. - EDITOR.

TO M. DUBOURG.

Observations on the prevailing Doctrines of Life and Death.

Your observations on the causes of death, and the experiments which you propose for recalling to life those who appear to be killed by lightning, demonstrate equally your sagacity and your humanity. It appears, that the doctrines of life and death, in general, are yet but little understood.

A toad buried in sand will live, it is said, till the sand becomes petrified; and then, being enclosed in the stone, it may still live for we know not how many ages. The facts which are cited in support of this opinion are too numerous, and too circumstantial, not to deserve a certain degree of credit. As we are accustomed to see all the animals, with which we are acquainted, eat and drink, it appears to us difficult to conceive, how a toad can be supported in such a dungeon; but if we reflect, that the necessity of nourishment, which animals experience in their ordinary state, proceeds from the continual waste of their substance by perspiration, it will appear less incredible, that some animals in a torpid state, perspiring less because they use no exercise, should have less need of aliment; and that others, which are covered with scales or shells, which stop perspiration, such as land and sea turtles, serpents, and some species of fish, should be able to subsist a considerable time without any nourishment whatever. A plant, with its flowers, fades and dies immediately, if exposed to the air without having its root immersed in

* Translated from M. Dubourg's edition of Franklin's Works, Vol. I. p. 327. It is without date, but the letter to which it is an answer is dated April 15th, 1773. — EDITOR.

a humid soil, from which it may draw a sufficient quantity of moisture to supply that which exhales from its substance and is carried off continually by the air. Perhaps, however, if it were buried in quicksilver, it might preserve for a considerable space of time its vegetable life, its smell, and color. If this be the case, it might prove a commodious method of transporting from distant countries those delicate plants, which are unable to sustain the inclemency of the weather at sea, and which require particular care and attention. I have seen an instance of common flies preserved in a manner somewhat similar. They had been drowned in Madeira wine, apparently about the time when it was bottled in Virginia, to be sent hither (to London). At the opening of one of the bottles, at the house of a friend where I then was, three drowned flies fell into the first glass that was filled. Having heard it remarked, that drowned flies were capable of being revived by the rays of the sun, I proposed making the experiment upon these; they were therefore exposed to the sun upon a sieve, which had been employed to strain them out of the wine. In less than three hours, two of them began by degrees to recover life. They commenced by some convulsive motions of the thighs, and at length they raised themselves upon their legs, wiped their eyes with their fore feet, beat and brushed their wings with their hind feet, and soon after began to fly, finding themselves in Old England, without knowing how they came thither. The third continued lifeless till sunset, when, losing all hopes of him, he was thrown away.

I wish it were possible, from this instance, to invent a method of embalming drowned persons, in such a manner that they may be recalled to life at any period, however distant; for having a very ardent desire to see