Society for the Encouragetnent of Industry hi France. 4CtH 



SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEAfENT OF INDUSTUV IN FEAXCE- 



General Meeting, dtk Jpril 1817. 



T!ie meeting haviiij^ been opened under the presidency of 

 Coujit Chaptal, the Secretary Baron Cierando ])rocee«led to read 

 a Report of the labours of the Society during the preceding veaj-. 



In the department of experiments and observations, notice is 

 taken of a siphon presented to the Society by M. Landren, which 

 lias two branches tiiat convey at the same time both water and 

 air, and is supposed by tiie inventor to be capable of renewing 

 the air in mines. The committee of the Society to whom it was 

 remitted, had net been able to form a judgement of this instru- 

 ment, but from very imperfect models, and from reports the 

 rcMilts of which rhey have not been able to verify. Similar in 

 some respect to tlie tinman's inunp of Seville, and the horns of 

 tl'.e' Catalonian forges, it can introduce air into furnaces and 

 mines at all times when there is an opportunity of carrviuf;- oH 

 the water employe<l or deposited ; but in the one case the humid 

 air unavoidable by this method, must in the opinion of the com- 

 mittee be injurious to the fusion of the metals; and in the other 

 ta-e the chanae they think is greater, of the noxious gases com- 

 mon to mines !>oing aspired, than of their being displaced by the 

 introditction of nev/ air. 



Among new improvements of existing processes, the attention 

 of the Society was particularly directed to the perfection to which 

 tiie pre])aration of platinum had been brought. Not only is the 

 mode of purifying it most complete; but little ductile as it seems, 

 it i* now reduced into leaves as fine as those of gold. MM. Cuog 

 and Contourier of Paris have presented to the Society a vase of 

 platinum, purified according to the process of M. Breant, assavcr 

 to t!ie Mint, which is formed of one single leaf without soldering, 

 fontains 160 litre3,and weighs \'t{ kilogrammes (."Jl lbs.). The 

 cost is 18 francs per ounce. 'I'he vase is intended to be cm- 

 ployed in tb.e concentration of aulphuiic acid. It is but just, the 

 Report adds, to observe that Jancty the younger was the first 

 to fabricate vase'? of platinum of a large size, but not vvilhout 

 soldering. This artist furnishes the metal at present at 14 francs 

 the ounce, cither in plate or wire. 



The most remarkad)le of the new inventions which have been 

 «i:rbniitted to tl'.e Sociaty is oriC ofa portable anemometer, con- 

 structed by M. Rcgnier. The idea of it was suggested to the 

 inventor i>v M. Buffon. It has been applied in a very ingenious 

 manner to make a hall clock indicate not only the force aiui 

 direction of the wind, but even the maximum of action which it 

 \\AS exerted during l\.z absence of the observer. 



evil I. In- 



