A treatment for electric shocks, the location of Atlantis, a photograph of ball lightning and canals on the surface of Mars.

No, these aren't recent 21st Century findings; they're some of the bizarre 'scientific discoveries' made by Victorians more than one hundred years ago.

An author unearthed the stories after scouring a series of magazines - and they range from the weird to the downright unusual.

A genealogist from West Yorkshire found hidden Victorian 'discoveries'. Caroline Rochford unearthed the theories in old magazines from 1875 to 1895. They include a man teaching a dog to 'read'. Another article examines an attempt to train zebras as horses, as shown in this illustration from one of the magazines

The amazing findings were made by Caroline Rochford, 31, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire and are detailed in her book 'Great Victorian Discoveries: Astounding Revelations and Misguided Assumptions'.

The professional genealogist, who runs the company Heir Line with her husband, found the stories when she inherited a collection of old Victorian magazines in 2011 from an elderly relative.

She told MailOnline her book reveals 'hundreds of the greatest, wackiest and little-known discoveries that were made by scientists and explorers at the end of the 19th Century.'

THE ELECTRIC PLANT

One of the supposed scientific discoveries, in 1885, involved an 'electric plant' found in Hindustan.

Dubbed phytolacca electrica, it supposedly generated a strong current of electricity that flowed all the way through it when in full bloom.

'When the stem or a twig was snapped by hand, an intense electric shock was felt, causing even the strongest man to stagger backwards,' explained Mrs Rochford.

GREAT VICTORIAN INVENTIONS Caroline Rochford's previous book dealt with similarly bizarre Victorian inventions. They included spectacles for horses, and a steam-powered man that could pull cars full of people. Another was a bicycle railway, where people pedalled on an inverted bike that rode along a single track on top of a wooden fence. And for house fires, someone devised the 'hand-grenade fire extinguisher' that could be thrown into a blaze. Advertisement

'Its discovery was quite widely reported at the time - with newspapers around the world printing the story - but sadly there seem to be few modern accounts of it.

'Perhaps it was so rare that other examples have never been found.

'But that's one of the things I found so charming about the articles - they offered a glimpse into a forgotten world.'

THE FIRST PICTURE OF BALL LIGHTNING

Another article discussed a phenomenon that we know of today - ball lightning - and is apparently the earliest known photograph of the effect.

'The photograph was taken by Mr Dunn, an ironmonger's son, who witnessed this unusual thunderstorm from the window of his house in Newcastle on 17th July 1891,' said Mrs Rochford.

'The storm was raging over the River Tyne, and suddenly the ball lightning whizzed across the river, before vanishing into thin air.'

This is reportedly the first ever picture of ball lightning, taken by an ironmonger's son in 1891. 'The storm was raging over the River Tyne, and suddenly the ball lightning whizzed across the river, before vanishing into thin air,' explained Mrs Rochford

CANALS ON MARS

'In about 1893 an Italian astronomer called Giovanni Schiaparelli was convinced he'd discovered artificial canals on Mars, having observed the planet through his telescope,' explained Mrs Rochford.

'He was sure that Martian inhabitants were constructing parallel waterways for the coming and going of their extraterrestrial vessels.

'So convinced were the Victorians that there was life on Mars that they began planning to send signals to our nearest neighbours in the form of Morse signals, flashed by either giant mirrors or enormous electric lights.

'One French lady apparently bequeathed a considerable sum of money to the cause, but sadly, by the end of the year, Mars had begun travelling away from Earth, so the Victorians' chance of saluting the dwellers of another planet - and perhaps even receiving a reply - never came about.'

'In about 1893 an Italian astronomer called Giovanni Schiaparelli was convinced he'd discovered artificial canals on Mars, having observed the planet through his telescope,' explained Mrs Rochford. Some of the sketches he made (not in the book) are shown here

THE DISCOVERY OF ATLANTIS

'With so much exploration underway, the ancient legend of Atlantis was revisited by learned men of the Victorian era, keen to learn its true location at last,' explained Mrs Rochford.

'A zoologist called Charles Emile Blanchard believed that at some point within the human geological period, the region of Labrador in Canada was once connected to Europe by a now subterranean link of land that ran from Scotland, through the Orkney and Faroe Islands, to Iceland and Greenland.

'Upon investigation, the sea over this supposed tract of land was found to be comparatively shallow, and the islands in questions were therefore, Blanchard deduced, vestiges of the lost land.

'His theory was supported by the fact that European animals and plants existed in America alongside species that were atypical to the Western continent.

'Anemones, violets, roses, orchids and lilies were common to both. Certain beetles, spiders and other insects were also found on either side of the Atlantic.

'The reindeer of Lapland was plentiful in North America; the beaver was a native of the two continents, and so was the river perch, which never left fresh water.

'So, how could this fish have crossed the salty Atlantic Ocean if the two continents were never connected?

'Whilst not the main thrust of his research, some of Blanchard's contemporaries became convinced that his study had led to the discovery of Atlantis, and they hoped that one day technology would offer mankind the opportunity to explore deep beneath the waves.'

TREATMENT FOR ELECTRIC SHOCKS

With the rise in electrical installations at the time, another article described a treatment for electric shocks - including step-by-step instructions.

It involved donning a pair of rubber gloves and raising a person's arms above their head for a few seconds, before throwing your entire weight on the victim's chest.

This illustration shows a method for treating electric shocks. First, using rubber gloves, the victim's arms are held in the air, before a person throws their body weight on their chest

THE NAMPA FIGURINE

It wasn't just physics that was covered - in 1889, during a drilling mission in Nampa, Idaho, drillers discovered a crude figure supposedly dated to the Quaternary Period - 2.6 million years ago.

'This was many eons before the estimated arrival of men in that part of the world, making it the earliest example of human artistry ever discovered,' Mrs Rochford explained.

Some, though, have since questioned the legitimacy of this so-called Nampa Figurine.

in 1889, during a well-drilling mission in Nampa, Idaho, drillers discovered a crude figure supposedly dated to the Quaternary Period - 2.6 million years ago. The so-called Nampa Figurine is illustrated here

TEACHING A DOG TO READ

Another bizarre story was that of the Liberal MP Sir John Lubbock, who in 1887 announced that he had trained his pet poodle named Van to do 'a little light reading'.

Another article explained the discovery of a dinosaur-eating bird known as Brontornis burmeisteri, illustrated here

He apparently achieved this by taking identical sheets of card and writing various words on them - such as 'bone', 'food', 'tea', 'walkies' and 'out'.

The dog's mind would then associate each word with the item, and it would fetch the card it wanted when it required what was written.

THE DINOSAUR-EATING BIRD

Another article explained the discovery of a dinosaur-eating bird known as Brontornis burmeisteri - found in the mid-1890s by a geological exploration in Southern Patagonia, South America.

This monstrous winged creature was apparently the 'largest avian specimen known to man,' calculated to have stood more than 13 feet [four metres] tall.

'The creature was carnivorous, and no doubt fed on molluscs, reptiles and perhaps even larger animals, such as the dinosaur, Hadrosaurus,' said Mrs Rochford.

THE VOLCANO FROM NOWHERE

'In January 1880 , inhabitants of the town of Ilopango, in San Salvador, were mesmerised to discover a volcano had suddenly appeared in the middle of a previously tranquil lake,' Mrs Rochford explained.

'Clouds of steam, dust and fiery cinders were discharged from a volcanic vent, and as molten lava appeared out of the water, a young volcano was born.

'This occurrence was said to be so singular that it had never before been witnessed by human eyes.'

'In January 1880 inhabitants of the town of Ilopango, in San Salvador, were mesmerised to discover a volcano had suddenly appeared in the middle of a previously tranquil lake,' Mrs Rochford explained. It was apparently the first time such an event had been witnessed by human eyes

WEARING NEWSPAPERS

'The innovative Victorians were always searching for new ways to improve their quality of life,' continued Mrs Rochford.

And without central heating or electric blankets, winter nights could be long and cold.

So, in 1875, health officials recommended using two or three large newspapers over the entire body, with blankets on top, for a warm or comfortable night.

These and many more forgotten Victorian discoveries appear in genealogist Caroline Rochford's (pictured) newest book

'Similarly, before taking a cold ride on a boat or coach, or a long walk against the wind, if a newspaper was spread over the chest before buttoning up the overcoat, no chill was felt,' said Mrs Rochford.

'No other method for keeping warm was found to be as cheap or effective as this.'

A FINAL PICTURE SAVED IN DEAD EYES

'By 1895 it was supposed that a final picture might be found imprinted on the retina of a dead person, just as the camera fixed an image on to photographic plates,' explained Mrs Rochford.

'If this theory was found to be correct, scientists felt that this fact would prove particularly beneficial in the solving of murders, as the likeness of the culprit would have become imprinted in the victim's eye.

'A researcher named Dr Ellerslie Wallace began investigating this supposed phenomenon.'

An experiment was carried out where a condemned man - supposedly preparing to be hung - had been kept in darkness.

He was then told to fix his eyes on a certain object before the trapdoor opened.

'Miraculously, a microscopic examination of his lifeless eyes showed an inverted image of the object in each, though they were only faint,' explained Mrs Rochford.

'It was hoped that technology would one day find a way of photographing these final imprints and convert them into useable images.