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think that the book in question would be relished by britishreaders we could perhaps manage here a translation of it, assome english persons capable of doing such a work are livingat Bäle.

Knowing a little of the language myself, and the authortoo, I could perhaps also render some service to make thetranslation as corrcct as possible. Pray be so kind and lctme know your opinion about that subject in your next letter.

I have read with much interest the notice in which yougave an account of some experiments made on electrical induc-tion. 1 As far as I am able to judge, I think that the resultsyou have obtained are conclusive in favour of the views youdeveloped some years ago in your papers "on the phenomenaof induction." I only wonder that our Continental philosophershave as yet not paid that degree of attention to the subject,which it so fully deserves and which will ultimatcly not failbeing excited. It is perhaps a certain laziness, inherent tohuman nature, that makes even men of science unwilling toshift out of old-beaten tracks and enter into paths newlyopened, though these should happen to be ever so well laid out.

The fact that the electricity developed in steam of highpressure 2 is due to friction appears to me rather a surprizingone. 3 Is it not possible that the dispersion or disaggregationof the fluid water, caused by the expansion of steam, hassomething to do with the phenomcnon alluded to ? If I amnot mistaken it has been observed that the atmospherc neara cataract, i. e. the small particles of water flying about atsuch a place, are in an excited State. I am indeed very curiousto see the paper in which your results are discribed.

1 Speculation touchingelectricinduction. Phil. Mag. S. 3. vol. 24. 1844. p. 136 _

2 Phil. Trans. S. 3. vol. 22. 1843. p. 570.

3 Davy says on p. 138 of his Chemical Philosophy: "All cases of vaporizationproduce negatve electricity in the bodies in contact with the vapour". In 1843Peltier contributed the following paper to the Acad. Sei. Bull, at Brüssels T, 10.P- 318: Sur le developpement de l'electricite par un jet de vapeur.

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