Royal Institution of Great Britain. 315 



I believe therefore that our subject will never be so far abstracted from 

 the materials which weigh it down, as to rise to the rank of an exact 

 science. But this, at least, 1 will dare to predict ; that so long as we 

 are of one mind, and animated by our present spirit, year after year, 

 we shall find new fields for investigation, and new grounds for ra- 

 tional induction. That which is exact in science must be circum- 

 scribed and defined : but of our labours we have no power to foresee 

 the limits ; and there is an intense and poetic interest in the very un- 

 certainty and boundlessness of our speculations. 



It is no small advantage that our studies are so large and so va- 

 rious, that they not only carry us into all the kingdoms of nature, 

 but have a direct bearing on the business of Ufe. Of their econo- 

 mical importance, I have, however, now no time to speak ; and I 

 would rather conclude by reminding you of their importance in all 

 questions of physical geography, to which they are as essential as 

 anatomy to the sculptor, or the knowledge of ancient tongues to 

 the decipherer of ancient monuments— of the light they have shed 

 on every branch of natural history— and of the problems they have 

 suggested to the investigations of exact science. Our field is in- 

 deed so large, and our physical problems of such complexity, that we 

 find at every step, how much we stand in need of the support of 

 our fellow-labourers ; and this feeling has produced a strong social 

 sympathy, not merely among us, but among the geologists of all the 

 nations of Europe. And it is to this principle that 1 am willing to 

 attribute a part of the great excitement which has hitherto carried us 

 on, and of those youthful and lusty efforts, which are the best indi- 

 cations both of our physical and of our moral health. 



And now, Gentlcrnen, after having detained you so long, allow 

 me to express my gratitude for the kind assistance which I have re- 

 ceived from you in discharging all the duties of my office during 

 the past year. And if your lives and mine should be spared till ano- 

 ther Anniversary, I hope to have the delightful task of recounting to 

 you the still more extended labours of our body, and of rejoicing with 

 you at the gathering in of a still richer harvest. 



FRIDAY-EVENING PUOCEEDINGS AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION 

 OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Feb. 26 Mr. Watson gave an account of the means of preventing 



ships from foundering at sea. He illustrated his proposed method by 

 the use of numerous models, and by experimental illustrations ot 

 the actual floatage or buoyant power of certain bulks of different 

 kinds of wood used in ship building. The principle which he adopts, 

 and upon which every thing rests, is the buoyant power of tight 

 copper tubes filled with air and built in with the vessel in the va- 

 rious convenient situations afforded in the lower part, as between 

 the timbers, under the decks, &c. He illustrated his calculations 

 by a model of an 80-gun ship, and then drew the results as to ex- 

 pense, saving, &c. upon the same scale. His conclusion was, that 

 the saving of property and lives would be very great, and the adap- 

 tation very practicable. . 



• ' 2 S 2 A micro- 



