Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 9.djvu/232

212 this has been called "mesmerism" or "magnetism." Prof. Czermak proved that neither magnetism nor mesmerism is active in the production of this phenomenon.

This case is simple enough, that of the fowls is more complex. It has been thought that if "a chalk-line" were drawn the length of a hen's beak, or from eye to eye across the beak, while held upon a flat surface, she would remain perfectly quiet for more or less time when the hands were removed. I think this is commonly believed in our own country. Here, the chalk-line seemed intimately connected with the phenomenon.

Kircher varied the experiment by erasing the chalk-line. He also tied a ribbon around the legs of the fowl, and then removed it; and the hen still remained quiet. According to him the imagination of the fowl plays an important part; and he laid great stress on the acts of "tying" and "chalking."

Prof. Czermak does not attach much importance to Kircher's conclusions, in his first lecture. But, in his second, he seems to believe that the "tying and chalking" exert some slight influence through the imagination. He relies mainly, however, on the "stretching out" of the fowl's neck. Pigeons gave him more trouble in this respect; and this caused him to modify his theory to some extent. He agreed, however, that after a hen had once been subjected to this neck-stretching process, she could be caught and placed upon the floor or any other surface, without being again subjected to it; that is, hold her firmly until all struggling has ceased, and she can be placed in almost any position without once touching the neck. Here Prof. Czermak stops, and from this point my own experiments begin.

I first repeated many of his experiments on fowls, without using chalk and string, and with as successful results. Afterward I varied the mode of experimenting. Hens, ducks, cats, and canary-birds, have thus all succumbed to this peculiar procedure at my hands, and in every instance without my subjecting them once to "neck-stretching," except, of course, when I was repeating his experiments.

My first experiments, since repeated, were made upon some pet canary-birds when I was quite a child, and knew nothing of this phenomenon. I had three of these little birds, one male and two females. These I would often remove from their cage, hold them in my hand until they became quiet, and then place them upon the floor. In this way I would often have all three lying out upon the floor perfectly motionless. As to whether their eyes remained closed or not I have no recollection. The male was very wild, and, if not watched carefully, would fly from the floor.

This experiment I have since practised on a canary, and obtained the same results as I did when I first noticed the peculiarity. Here let me say again that I never touched the head or the neck of the bird.