Miscellanies. 415 
15. History and Proceedings of the Mechanics’ Institute of the 
City of New York, from the Corresponding Secretary—The New 
York Mechanics’ Institute was founded in the spring of 1831, and 
originated in a class of Mechanics attending a course of lectures on 
Chemistry and Natural Philosophy given by Prof. John Steele du- 
ring the preceding winter, and consisted of forty-five members. In 
October of the same year, the Common Council of the city granted 
the free use of the rooms now occupied by the Institute, in the base- 
ment story of the City Hall, consisting of a Lecture Room, Read- 
ing Room, Library, and a place for the deposit of Models of Ma- 
chinery. The Institute has rapidly increased in numbers, until it 
enumerates above one thousand active members. The advantages 
which it offers to the members are a free ticket of admission to its 
annual exhibition and fair, generally held in September, to its lectures, 
and the use of its library and reading room, at an expense of four dol- 
lars for the first year and two dollars a year afterwards. The lectures 
are held during the winter months twice in the week, on a variety of 
subjects connected with the mechanical professions. The Library, 
containing between ten and eleven hundred volumes, is well select- 
ed and free to the members. The Reading Room contains above 
fifty periodicals, amongst which are found the most important litera- 
ry and scientific journals that are published in the English, anda 
few in other languages. The celebrated work on Egypt got up un- 
der the French Government, has been procured by subscription 
amongst the friends of the institution, at an expense of $800, and 
is now deposited in its Library. The Institute holds a meeting for 
the transaction of its business the first Tuesday evening of each 
month, and every other Tuesday evening of the month is occupied 
by a lecture or an essay from some one of the members. The sci- 
entific meetings have been but recently commenced, and promise 
the most happy results. The following is an abstract of the pro- 
ceedings. 
Tuesday, Oct. 11th, 1836.—The meeting was opened by the 
Cor. Secretary, who stated that it was one of the prominent objects 
of these meetings to communicate the various desiderata in the pre- 
sent state of the arts; to obtain, as far as practicable, histories of the 
origin and progress of the various trades, as well as of the individu- 
al articles manufactured by the various artificers—such as the 
_ ty of pumps, stoves, mills for grinding grain, windmills, wat ills, 
&c. The importance was particularly urged of investigating the 
