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How to Charge a Leyden Jar

A most useful piece of electrical apparatus is called the Leyden jar, here represented. It is employed for the purpose of obtaining a quantity of electricity, which may be applied to any substance. It consists of a glass jar, coated both inside and without, four-fifths of the way up, with tinfoil. A knob rises through a wooden top communicating with the inside of the jar. When it is wished to charge the jar, this knob is applied to the prime conductor of the electrical machine when in action, and a quantity of electricity being given off, the jar will remain charged with it till a connexion is made, by some good conductor of electricity, between the knob and the outside tinfoil. A piece of brass chain must hang from the stem that carries the knob, and connect it with the interior of the jar.