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XVII. Tleply to Professor Draper* s Letiey'f ifi t/te preceding 

 Number of the Philosophical Magazijie, on a "work entitled 

 " Researches on Light." By Robert Hunt, Secretary to 

 the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. 



To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal. 

 Gentlemen, 

 IT is, I assure you, with many feelings of regret that I find 

 myself called upon to reply to a letter from Prof. Draper 

 on my recent publication, " Researches on Light," which ap- 

 pears in the last Number of the Philosophical Magazine. 



Of honest criticism, however severe, I shouUl not complain. 

 I have committed my book to the public; by its merits let it 

 be judged, and by its honesty of purpose I am prepared to 

 stand or fall in the estimation of the scientific world. 



Dr. Draper is evidently offended because his name does not 

 appear sufficiently often in my pages. It would be a difficult 

 thing to persuade me that I was bound to bow down and wor- 

 ship every idol which self had set up, or to convince me that 

 any man, even though a Professor, was the best judge of the 

 value of his own labours. 



My object has been, as Dr. Draper quotes, " to give to evejy 

 one his full share in those discoveries which have accelerated 

 the advancement of the art." He then complains " there is not 

 one word in allusion to the application of the Daguerreotype 

 to the taking of portraits from the life, &c., and which Mr. 

 Hunt knows belongs to me." I am quite aware that there is 

 not a word on the subject; I never intended that there should 

 be. The object of the " Researches on Light " is to show the 

 remarkable powers exerted by the solar radiations, and not to 

 deal with the mechanical arrangements of cameras. I believe 

 there is not a single improvement in the chemical combina- 

 tions used as the sensitive agents which I have not particularly 

 described. In my " Popular Treatise on the Art of Photo- 

 graphy," to which this matter belonged, I have made acknow- 

 ledged quotations from Dr. Draper's paper which appeared 

 in the Philosophical Magazine for September 1840. On re- 

 ferring to that paper it will be found that no alteration even 

 is suggested in the preparation of the plates; but, taking ad- 

 vantage of \ir\nc\p\es jfirst pointed out by my particular friend 

 Mr. Towsoti, in your Magazine for November 1839, Dr. Draper 

 succeeded in taking portraits from the life. 



Dr. Draper then says, "there is scarcely an experiment of 

 mine which is not either misrepresented or misunderstood." 

 I deny the fact. If, however, it can be shown that misrepre- 

 sentations of any kind exist in the volume, 1 pledge myself to 

 give them the most public correction possible. 



Dr. Draper next implies that the art of photography is more 



