where he lives, and where there is not a fingle man who has any tafte for philofophical or electrical refearches: but I am fubject,' he adds, to long confinements by the gout; and in them I attempt fomething of this kind.-Now as Mr. Eeles never ftrikes out a fingle line of what he writes, and writes on electricity only when the gout is upon him, we may candidly confider thefe and other intemperate fallies merely as the effects of the athritic humour, gnawing perhaps one of the Author's inferior extremities, and here venting itself on paper at one of the upper. Purfuing this idea we infer, that in the year 1769, the Author was forely vifited by this provoking diftemper, which feems to have been tranflated to his head; if we may judge of its violence, and its feat, from the ideas it suggested, and the language it extorted from him.

I appeal, he exclaims, to the unprejudiced part of mankind, whether thofe gentlemen of the Royal Society, who call themfelves Electricians, have done themselves honour, or me juftice, in fuppreffing, and not publishing thefe tracts, which were addrefied to the Royal Society. By which means they have given Mr. Priestley, one of their own fellows, an opportunity of STEALING my doctrine, and making it his own, by way of hypothefis, in his hiftory of the prefent ftate of Electricity; though it is plain from what he wrote, preceding and confequent to it, that he did not understand it, &c.

To give our opinion upon this matter, on the whole of the evidence before us, we think, that had we a literary police estabhibed in this country, as vigilant and well directed as the civil ettablishment in Bow-ftreet, it would exceed even the powers of a Fielding to bring this charge of philofophical larceny home to the fuppofed Culprit. The philofophical reader, who may have the cusiolity to lift into this matter, may compleatly fatisfy himfelt by only confulting the Hiftory of Electricity, or the abstract we gave from thence of Dr Priestley's new and im proved Edition of the theory of two electric fluids *; where he will find that Author avowedly and honestly working on the old materials furnished by Du Faye, and the recent ideas and obfervations of Mr. Symmer. From thefe and his own funds he has produced a refpcctable and confiftent theory, the study of which we recommend to Mr. Ecles, if he wishes to make himfelf thoroughly matter of what he calls his own hypothefis. At the fame time, in juftice to him, we acknowledge, that he appears, from the dates and contents of his private correspondence with Dr. Birch, to have been fomewhat prior to Mr. Symmer in the idea that two diftinct and contrary electric fluids were

* See M. Review, vol. xxxvii. Dec. 1767. p. 454.

concerned

concerned in the production of electrical appearances; and that he was much more fuccefsful than that gentleman in the application of them to fome of the phenomena.

One of the moft fingular, and, were it well founded, we fhould call it the most important, of the Author's affertions relating to the theory of two different electric powers, is that, in confequence of this doctrine, and from reasoning a priori, he has been enabled to apply thefe antagonist principles, in a pe culiar and fingularly fuccefsful manner, to the cure of difeafes; to the aftonishment of the phyficians, who have thought his fuccefies in this way very little lefs than miraculous. We cannot, however, conceive that the theory of two fluids could be in any degree more conducive to thefe brilliant cures, than if the Author had adopted that of one: as we apprehend that Mr. Eeles cured his patients juft in the fame manner with those who profefs a different electrical creed from himfelf, with regard to this particular point of theory.

In order to give an idea of what may be effected by the elec-. trical powers, when properly applied,' the Author introduces one of his patients, ( Mr. Thomas Gard, who was univerfally paralytic, except his head, and who was bred an apothecary and chemift') apostrophifing him in these terms: Dear Sir, how is it poffible for you to tell me beforehand what you intend to do; and then, in a few minutes, to give my limbs a power of what motions you pleafe; and that you can retract that power when you pleafe, and give them a power of other motions as you think proper; that they feem no longer obedient to my will, but to yours?'

As the Author repeatedly, though every where too briefly and generally, fpeaks in the moft decifive manner of the fuccefs which has attended his attempts in medical electricity, we fhall terminate this article by giving the fubftance of his declarations on this interefting head, collected from different parts of his performance; fuit expreffing our regiet that he fcarce communicates any lights refpecting the proper ufe of the elec trical powers in a medicinal way, on which he lays fo much? ftrefs; nor any of thofe cautions which, he affirms, ought ne ceffarily to be attended to, in the application of thefe powerful agents; which are capable, he oblerves, of producing great mifchief in the hands of the unskilful!

He declares that, by a proper exhibition of electricity, he has cured above 500 patients, of different diforders, without applying any other medicine either externally or internally." Among thefe were many paralytics, fome of whom were affected with hemiplegias. He has cured fome paralytics whofe limbs were wafted to skin and bone, and much contracted; yet from a continued ufe of electricity, the mufcular flesh filled up,

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and the limbs were reftored to their full use. A young woman, who was univerfally paralytic, and had not the leaft power of motion in any part but her head and neck-was perfectly cured, and has fo remained for fome years paft.' The Author has now under his care an old gentleman between 60 and 70, who loft [the ufe of] his right fide, and his fpeech intirely, by a hemiplegia; in a few weeks he has recovered the ufe of his limbs, and in a great measure his fpeech;' but one of the moft fingular cafes here briefly mentioned is that of Richard Seward, who was fifteen years a cripple with the rheuma tifin, all the parts of whole body were fo greatly contracted, that he could scarce crawl about on crutches.' În about five weeks the Author reftored him to the use of his limbs, so that he could walk and run almoft as well as ever he could have done, and he has remained well for feven years paft.'

The Author has likewife cured rheumatisms (not of the inflammatory kind) almost instantaneously,' as well as agues, jaundice, obftructions in women, and many other diforders.' Several phyficians have fubmitted to be his patients, when the known materia medica, after long trial, has not answered their purpose. It may be of ufe to add, that, in the case of paralytics, the Author has feldom obferved any great amendment effected by electricity, during the firit five or fix days of trial. Some of his patients have continued two, three, and even five months, under cure, and have found fome amendment every day. In thefe diforders too he affirms, that the good effects of Electricity have been permanent; as they have likewife been in almost all the other cafes in which he has employed it.

ART. II. Conclufion of our Account of Mr. A

-t's Inquiry

into the Connexion between the prefent Prices of Provifions, and the Sizes of Farms: See our laft Month's Review, p. 345.

I

N his fifth chapter this very judicious Writer applies himself to the great object of his work, viz. to point out the means of obtaining plenty...

He begins his inquiry by afking, Whence the corn which is, wanted must come? In order to answer this question, he obferves,

ift, That in Holland corn is as dear as with us.

2dly, That the ports of Flanders and France are shut.

3dly, That those of the Baltic have, in the last 12 months, been often fhut.

4thly, That thofe of Sicily (except for a limited quantity for the Pope's domain) have also been fhut.

5thly, That corn cannot be imported, at our current price, from America.

The

The refult is, cheapnefs of provifions of every kind muft, be effected by cultivating, in every way of husbandry, much more land than we now cultivate.'

Mr. A. then obferves, that liberty and fecurity are the great incentives of induftry; and he adds, plenty makes Bath a place of cheap living.'

• In confequence of thefe juft principles, he exhorts the Miniftry to inclofe and parcel out the royal chafes and forests; and

infists that

The firft ftep fhould be, to cause the parishes and individuals, which have a commonage on these chales, &c. to prove their rights.

Secondly, To have their boundaries fet, and an equivalent fixed.

Thirdly, To fell, by auction, lots of the remainder of 100 acres, on encouraging leafes; but on condition that the whole purchase be cultivated in a given time, and, on failure, to revert to the crown; that on fuch lots as are intended for araz ble, be erected a barn and two cottages; and on thofe which are for pasture, cottages and theds in proportion to their quant tity, within a given number of years.

Fourthly, To mark and value all the trees, except fuch as fhall be distinguished for his Majesty's ufe, and include them in the purchase, as they must be of moft advantage to the purchafer, on account of nearness for building, &c.

On this occafion Mr. A. praifes the general defign of Mr. Evelyn (in his Silva) to improve our royal forests, but blames its particular mode.

Mr. Evelyn's fcheme was to encourage four fpreading oaks, at equal distances, on every acre; and to plough and fow round the roots of them.

But Mr. A. judiciously reproves this method of ploughing round the oaks, because it is notorious to the rational husbandman that their fhade will fo much reduce the value of the crops, that they will fcarcely pay for labour. Befide, fuch a large quantity of ground as the forefts contain, cannot be reasonably fuppofed to be properly ploughed, and fowed,. Our Author therefore proposes, that half the land fhall be left for pasture, that as many oaks as Mr. Evelyn defigns fhall ftand at his dis tances, that an equal number of young ones for fucceffion be raifed at the intermediate diftances, and that the whole be furrounded by a nursery fecured by double fences. He recommen is alfo an annual furvey of the condition of thefe plantations, by an able and honeft man (which may be effected at a fmall expence) to inforce the regulations. He propofes that the other half be reduced to arable, without any tices and he reason ably concludes, that the one half quantity will certainly pro

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duce

duce as many trees as Mr. Evelyn's whole, and the other half as much corn, at far less than the half expence.

But we muft diflent from our Author in one point, viz. the double fence round the nursery, which we think expenfive and needlefs. Perhaps his fcheme of alloting just one half of the foreft, &c. to corn, and the other to pafture and wood, may not be, in fome cafes, a right proportion; but the general scheme is a wife and good one.

Mr. A. however declares, and we fear with too much reafon, that he has not the fmalleft hope of feeing this great plan carried into execution, and therefore he fubftitutes (as praticable and hopeful) one much inferior, viz. that Parliament fhail vote a fum for government's purchafing a tract of moor-land to be put into the hands of an intelligent induftrious man, whose profit fhall be his reward.

We should be very forry to throw cold water on any rational and benevolent, especially a public-fpirited, plan; but we are fo well convinced, by various reafons, that this is a romantic, unfeasible one, that we must enter our diffent from it, left filence on this head fhould hurt our just commendations of the reft of Mr. A.'s work.

ift, We cannot rationally fuppofe, while Parliament find it very difficult to invent ways and means for carrying into execu tion uncontroverted purpofes, and Miniftry are fo hard put to it to ftrengthen the hands of government, that government and oppofition will unite in fuch a scheme as this which Mr. A. propoles. Will not even honeft men, not in oppofition, ftrenuously object, that while government make fo bad an ufe of the royal domains, it is mere madness to give it more land at the expence of new taxes?

2dly, The expence of a purchase of moor land leaves no proportion to that of cultivating it properly; fo that whoever has capital to improve withal, will certainly have plain sense enough to buy, and then improve his private property.

3dly, If any man was difpofed to lay out a large capital on land purchafed by the public, he would never fubmit to expenfive regulations, without which nevertheless the public could never be affured of improvements neceffary to become a public example.

4thly, Does Mr. A. mean, that the improver is to enjoy fuch public land for his own life only, or to transmit it to his heirs? To either fuppofition the objections are fuch, that no prudent

Hedge-rows are a fpecies of planting now much exploded, for reafons mentioned by Mr. A. which need not repetition.

man