The chemist and druggist, 15. September 1859
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overcome this objection that produced the trial and caused his expulsion from England, where he had acted as Pulvermacher's agent. The latest adaptation of electricity to personal use is in the form of brushes, to which Kukla's Wollaston's batteries have been attached. These batteries are formed of small troughs on the Wollaston system, and made of copper and zinc plates, fastened together in gutta percha frames, so as to form twelve partitions. The partitions are then filled with shreds of cotton, and when required for use this cotton is moistened with diluted acid. The batteries are made of two powers, the one intense (pill volta), and sufficiently powerful to decompose water ; the other quantitative (galvano-elcctric), the action of which is so delicate as to be imperceptible. The electrician has so constructed them that any one, without previous expe- rience, can by attending to the simple instructions given with each brush easily manage them. Mr. Child, the patentee, has been fortunate in securing the services of a chemist who possesses such great experience in this department as Herr Kukla. It only remains for us to add, that we cannot doubt the efficacy of this adaptation of electricity, to personal use. We think it must have a powerful remedial effect in all cases of neuralgia, paralysis, rheumatism, and other complaints of a similar nature. We have ourselves tried both the intense and quantitative batteries, and find their use simple and the effect agreeable; their action on the skin producing increased circulation of the blood, the medium by Avhich the electricity is communicated to the body. With the assistance of a wood-cut we now proceed to describe the brushes themselves and their modus operandi. The invention consists in constructing electrical brushes by the employment of steel pins or wires in substitution for or in combination with bristles, which pins or wires arc placed in metallic connection with a battery contained in the handle of the brush, with wires so arranged, the one electro-positive to the other, that on being moistened with acid an electric current or series of currents is generated. Fig. 1 is a plan of the front of a brush ; Fig. 2 is a plan of the back of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation; and Fig. 4 is a section through the line a, b, of Fig*. 1. In the handle of the foundation A of the brush, of which Fig. 5 is ft plan of the upper side, a galvanic battery B is placed ; and this battery is connected by wires C, C, carried along the upper part of the foundation, and through it to two copper or other metal plates D, I), connected to the under part or bottom of the foundation, as shown in plan at Fig. 6 and in section at Fig. 7. E is a piece of Walton's patent India-rubber pin webbing secured to the face of the foundation so as to bring the back of the pins in contact with the copper plates 1), D ; this webbing is shown in plan at Fig. 8, and in section at Figs. 4 and 9. Fig. 10 is a cross section through the line c, d of Fig. 5, showing the connecting wires and copper plates. In order to give com- pleteness to the brush, the metal pins are surrounded with bristles F, F. G is a covering forming the back of the brush, and II is a moveable cover forming the back of tiie handle, and covering the battery.