f two electric
ethers.

IX. _Of Galvanic Electricity._

1. The conductors of electricity, as well as the nonconductors of it,
have probably a portion of the vitreous and resinous ethers combined
with them, and have also another portion of these ethers diffused
round them, which forms their natural or spontaneous adhesive
atmospheres; and which exists in different proportions round them
correspondent in quantity to those which are combined with them, but
opposite in kind.

These adhesive spontaneous atmospheres of electricity are shown to
consist of different proportions or quantities of the electric ethers
by Mr. Bennet's Doubler of Electricity, as mentioned in his work
called New Experiments on Electricity, sold by Johnson. In this work,
p. 91, the blade of a steel knife was evidently, in his language,
positive, compared to a soft iron wire which was comparatively
negative; so the adhesive electricity of gold, silver, copper, brass,
bismuth, mercury, and various kinds of wood and stone, were what he
terms positive or vitreous; and that of tin and zinc, what he terms
negative or resinous.

Where these spontaneous atmospheres of diffused electricity
surrounding two conducting bodies, as two pieces of silver, are
perfectly similar, they probably do not intermix when brought into the
vicinity of each other; but if these spontaneous atmospheres of
diffused electricity are different in respect to the proportion of the
two ethers, or perhaps in respect to their quantity, in however small
degree either of these circumstances exists, they may be made to unite
but with some difficulty; as the two metallic plates, suppose one of
silver, and another of zinc, which they surround, must be brought into
absolute or adhesive contact; or otherwise these atmospheres may be
forced together so as to be much flattened, and compress each other
where they meet, like small globules of quicksilver when pressed
together, but without uniting.

This curious phenomenon may be seen in more dense electric atmospheres
accumulated by art, as in the following experiment ascribed to Mr.
Canton. Lay a wooden skewer the size of a goose-quill across a dry
wine-glass, and another across another wine-glass; let the ends of
them touch each other, as they lie in a horizontal line; call them X
and Y; approach a rubbed glass-tube near the external end of the
skewer X, but not so as to touch it; then separate the two skewers by
removing the wine-glasses