S72 SaiaVum Socic/j' ai Haarlem. 



As mofl: philofopliers, in applying the prinCTjjIej of {lie 

 »ew chemillry to the phyHology of the human body, to pa-* 

 thology, and thL'rapeutics, have introdncccl hvpothcfcs built 

 «a too weak a foundation; and as this is, no doubt, preju- 

 dicial to the progrefs of thefe foienccs, to which the new che- 

 niiftry promifcs fo much improvement] if, according to the 

 nde of Lavoiiier, we admit in chemiitrv, or in the applica- 

 tion of its principle, thofe things only which are fupported by 

 dcciiive experiments; the Society wiflics that thofe inclined 

 V> vUifwor thefc ()ucl"tions will accurately difiinguilli what is 

 actually known, from what is mcrelv hvpothctical ; and that, 

 in regard to hvpothefcs, they do confine thcmfclves merely 

 to pointing them out, and to (howlng, in a brief manner, the 

 wcaknefs of the grounds on which they reft ; as the principal 

 object of thcfe qucftions is to procure to the phvficians and 

 {■.irgeons of the Batavian republic, who have not fufficicntly 

 attended to the application of the principles of this fcienccy 

 already well confirmed, to phyfiologv, pathology, and thera- 

 peutics, appropriate treatifcs, from which they may eafily be 

 enabled to know what light tlie modern chemiftry has really 

 diifufcd on this branch of knowledge ; and what is too ill 

 founded, too haftily ado])ted, or too doubtful to be depended 

 «n. The papers on thcfe qucftions will be examined fepa^ 

 lately. Thofe inclined to anfvver more than one of them are 

 tequeficd to write diftinft papers on each queftion. 



The following quciUons, lirft propofed in 1794, and after- 

 wards repeated in 1796, are alft) ftill to be anfwered : 



" IV. A proper plaUj founded on fafts, and capable of 

 T)eino- carried into execution, for improving and Cultivating 

 tha wafte lands, whether lands, moralfes, or heaths, within 

 therepublic> and particularly in the diftrifts of GiKlderland, 

 Overyflel, Drenthe, and Dutch Brabant. 



"• V. What are the different breeds of ftieep in the United 

 Provinces, and the different methods of breeding theni ? 

 The Society wiflies alfo to be informed of their fize, their 

 ufual weight, the meafure and Weight of their diflereut limbs,- 

 the lentiith and finenefs of the wool, the nurnber of Iambs 

 \i'hieh thev annually produce: whether the feveral joints^ 

 vhich Daubeulon obfeivcd in fume breeds^ are to be con-_ 



fidcifil 



