U'lflorical Sketch of the Ihjlitutiony tSc. 169 



bread, of making cloth, of tanning vvilh the other parts of 

 tlie rnannfaclurc of leather, of paper-making, of hat-inakra<i;, 

 of hrevv-ing, were accuratelv related accortiing to llic l)t(t 

 ])radice of them at that time, in dilTerent memoirs b\- the 

 firft member-! and correlpondentsof the Society, l^'ince Ru- 

 pert communicated two papers of extraordinary value, ex- 

 plaining the procefs for tlie manyfat-tun.- (;f eunpowuer, and 

 an improvement of that procefs, by uhicii tj,.i4:npo\yder niiiihi 

 be made which fliould have twenty titmes^ tibe (Ircngth of 

 that which was conimonlv in ufe. Mr. ricn.ftaw prodncec! 

 Ui the Society an ingenious hiiiory of the difcioverv and the 

 nianufailure of falt-pietre. Many papers illuflrative of the. 

 biliory of the ufeful arts were conmninicated by SirWilli.'ttn 

 Petty, one of the moft truly honourabk feujiders to w hoai 

 any family amonsr our BritiUi nobility cantrace-the origin of 

 Its wealtli and nobilitaMna; diltintHious-. - ,; 7,' 



Ent none of all thoie original members iJjd more tha;i Dr. 

 (ahciwards Sir) Chrillophcr Wren to a».K'anae the purpofea 

 of the InditiUion. He propofed certain curiowis theories of 

 motions, extending and correc.ling the do£triue of De.-? Carles, 

 <vhich, however they may have been (nice exploded, vi'(ye 

 imagined with great ingenuiiv, and ilhiftraled by a liiaUitiide 

 of happy expt-riments. He contrived to annex to a weather- 

 cock an apparatus, which, of itletf, regiiiered for evicrv twelve 

 hours the changes of the wind ^ and invented. alio a ihermo-. 

 meter, to regi Iter for itfelf the variations in the leniperaturc to 

 which it Ihould be expofed. -He was the inventor of an in- 

 ftrument for nicafuring the quantity of the n-in that falls. 

 He was the firlt who explained, that frcni the pcnduiimi 

 might be produced a natural ftand;ird of nieafure for vulii'ar 

 life. He firft eia6tly meal'ured and delineated the fpheres^of 

 the humours in the eye ; and thence explained how rtfit'clioa 

 conduces as mil', h as refraction to vilion. He was th'' firlfc 

 author of the noble anatomical experiment of injecting liquors 

 into the veins of animals. He made a variety of experimenis 

 to akertain ihe powers of the magnet; and many to explain 

 the nature of the powers by which failing. is performed, and 

 to (ix what fabric of a ihip might be moft fuitable lo llic id'cs 

 for which it is intended. He made many imjirovement.- upon 

 telefcopes^, and a prodigious number of aftrouomical obfcrva-. 

 lions, particularly on the planet Saturn, and on the moon. . 



He invented a curious and very fpccdy method of elchin<r. 

 He iuggelied a number of contrivances for the improvement 

 of water-works. He found out certaiii perpetual lamps and 

 regilters of furnaces, by which artificial heat might bo Ih 

 kept up and graduated as to imitalc naluie. in the haichiijii o£ 



chiekens. 



