Earperhncnts on Calming the Waves of (he Sea. 113 



the first class of the Royal Institute of the Pays Bas, and 

 directed to make experiments on the power attributed to oil 

 and other fat substances of diminishing the violence of waves, 

 report what was done and observed by them on this subject. 



The Commission having chosen the village of Zandvoort, si' 

 tuate on the shore of the North Sea, as the place for making 

 their experiments, agreed to meet there on the first stormy day. 



They were obliged, however, to change their intention, and 

 to fix on a certain day, on account of the period of the season 

 (the month of June), during which tempests are rare ; and the 

 blasts of wind of any degree of strength being also of short 

 duration, it would have been impossible for them to have met 

 at the village mentioned in proper time. They came more 

 readily to a decision by considering that, if oil really exercises 

 on the water in a state of great agitation the power supposed, 

 it must be still more easy to recognise this property on a sea 

 put in motion by a wind of moderate force. Meanwhile, two 

 of the commissioners, happening to be in the country on a 

 day when the wind was blowing violently, made a trial by 

 pouring a small quantity of oil on the water of a rivulet, and 

 observed an evident change in the appearance and movement 

 of the water. 



Another member of the Commission made on the same day 

 a similar trial on the Spaarne (a small river near Harlem), 

 and obtained the same result. 



Encouraged by all these observations, the 28tli of June 

 was fixed on for the purpose of proceeding to ulterior ex- 

 periments. 



The Commissioners assembled at Zandvoort on the day 

 mentioned at nine o'clock in the morning. Some of them 

 proceeded a short distance from the shore, in order to pour the 

 oil upon the water, and observe the results ; the others re- 

 maining on land, and not knowing either at what moment or 

 how many times the oil was poured out, were to keep their 

 eyes fixed on the waves, which rolled from the boat towards 

 the shore ; by these means, their opinion, exempt from all in- 

 fluence, might be considered as so much the more impartial. 



The wind was south-west, and of moderate force ; the 

 quantity of oil poured out at four different times, namely, at 

 43, 45, 50, and 54 minutes past nine oVlock, amounted to 15 



VOL. XXXV. NO. LXIX. JULY 1843. H 



