PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OP SMITHSON'S BEQUEST. 955 



petent judges. This will have the double effect of encour- 

 aging him in the pursuit, and of facilitating his progress. 

 The institution, however, need not depend upon cases of 

 this kind, even if the}'- were more numerous than they are, 

 for the application of its funds in the line of original re- 

 search. There are large fields of observation and experi- 

 ment, the cultivation of which, though it may afford no 

 prospect of the discovery of a principle, can hardly fail to 

 produce results of importance both in a practical and a 

 theoretic point of view. As an illustration of this remark, 

 I may mention the case of the investigations made a few 

 years ago by committees of the .Franklin Institute of Phila- 

 delphia. The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States 

 placed at the disposal of this society a sum of money for 

 the purpose of making experiments with reference to the 

 cause of the explosion of steam boilers. A committee of 

 the society was chosen for this purpose, which adopted the 

 ingenious plan of writing to all persons in the United 

 States engaged in the application of steam, and particularly 

 to those who had observed the explosion of a steam-boiler. 

 In this way opinions and suggestions in great variety as to 

 the cause of explosions were obtained. The most plausible 

 of these were submitted to the test of experiment : the re- 

 sults obtained were highly important, and are to be found 

 favorably mentioned in every systematic work on the sub- 

 ject of steam which has appeared in any language within 

 the last few years. New and important facts were estab- 

 lished; and, what was almost of as much consequence, 

 errors which had usurped the place of truth were dethroned. 



In the programme examples are given of a few subjects of 

 original research to which the attention of the institution 

 may be turned. I will mention one in this place, which, in 

 connection with the contents of our first memoir, may de- 

 serve immediate attention. I allude to a small appropria- 

 tion made annually for researches with reference to the 

 remains of the ancient inhabitants of our country. This is 

 a highly interesting field, and what is done in regard to it 

 should be done quickly. Every year the progress of civiliza- 

 tion is obliterating the ancient mounds, cities and villages 

 are rising on the spots they have so long occupied undis- 

 turbed, and the distinctive marks of these remains are every 

 year becoming less and less legible. 



In carrying out the spirit of the plan adopted, namely, 

 that of affecting men in general by the operations of the 

 institution, it is evident that the principal means of diffusing 

 knowledge must be the 2'^'^^ss. Thgugh lectures should be 



