28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADESIY 



" Voted, That the thanks of the Academy be presented to John A. 

 Lowell, Esq., for the liberal and satisfactory manner in which he has 

 caused them to be accommodated during the delivery of their late 

 course of lectures. 



" Voted, That the Academy will appoint twelve lecturers of their 

 members to deliver one course of Lowell Lectures, on such subjects as 

 shall be conformable to the objects of the Lowell foundation, and ac- 

 ceptable to the Trustee of the Lowell fund. 



" Voted, That a committee be appointed, with full powers to make 



the necessary arrangements with Mr. Lowell for the above purpose, 



and also to appoint the lecturers, subject to the approval of the 



Academy. 



" Jacob Bigelow, \ 



Samuel A. Eliot, > Committee. 



'George B. Emerson, •' 



" Boston, January 20, 1853." 



This report was accepted, with a slight modification in re- 

 spect to the number of lecturers to be appointed ; and the 

 former committee, consisting of Dr. Bigelow, Samuel A. Eliot, 

 and George B. Emerson, with the addition of Professor Tread- 

 well and Professor Peirce, were chosen to take the subject in 

 charge. 



On motion of Professor Lovering, it was voted that the 

 provisional list of members, printed for the use of the Acade- 

 my, be permanently adopted. 



On motion of Professor Gray, the list was referred to a 

 committee of three, for their examination, to report at a future 

 meeting. 



Professor Gray, Professor Parsons, and Mr. Folsom were 

 appointed on this committee. 



Professor Peirce made a communication on the Ericsson en- 

 gine, which has been regarded as showing that heat can be 

 used over and over again as a motive power. The idea that 

 power once used camiot be used again, he considered a funda- 

 mental rule, which has only a single exception, that of steam ; 

 and even this exception rests on two hypotheses, one assuming 

 as certain the experiments which are said to prove it, and the 

 other assuming that heat is power. 



