292 M. Quetelet's Memoir of Prof. Moll. 



able change in the atmosphere occurred, he took the oppor- 

 tunity of communicating his observations on this subject, and 

 of calling to mind the analogous phaenomena which had 

 formerly taken place. These services in detail greatly con- 

 tributed to make his name popular with his countrymen. 



M. Moll was the soul of all the scientific commissions that 

 the government formed, and it must be allowed that he was 

 able to render more useful services than in his little observa- 

 tory', where indeed for a long time the only help he had was 

 his porter. 



Immediately after the formation of the kingdom of the 

 Netherlands, the system of weights and measures had to be 

 settled, and M. Moll was one of the principal members of 

 the commission employed in this work. In this instance the 

 government bestowed on him a mark of its satisfaction by 

 giving him the title of knight of the order of the Belgic Lion. 



He had above all an opportunity of affording proofs of his 

 practical knowledge in the commission which was employed 

 to make a report on the state of the waters, and of their 

 drainage, in the northern provinces. The work required was 

 difficult and of the highest importance. Every one knew 

 that the bed of the rivers was imperceptibly raised in Hol- 

 land, and that their mouths were filling more and more with 

 sand ; but opinions were singularly divided upon the means 

 of remedying an evil which tended some time or other to 

 swallow up a considerable portion of the country. Some ad- 

 vised giving more elevation and weight to the dykes ; others 

 advised lowering them ; others in fine were of opinion that 

 channels of drainage should be made laterally; but they dif- 

 fered among one another on the means of executing this no 

 less than the former. The commission was therefore em- 

 ployed to examine all these projects, and to propose such 

 plans for the security of the country as should unite financial 

 interests with those of commerce and industry. This labour 

 of our colleague lasted four years, and he gave his time al- 

 most exclusively to it. He was appointed the reporter of 

 the commission, and all are agreed in regarding his work, 

 which was printed in 1827, as a model of order, clearness, 

 and judgement. 



In 1826 he had been nominated on another commission for 

 the amelioration of marine charts, and for the examination of 

 officers. He was no less useful in these new duties; for, 

 as we before noticed, from his childhood he had been na- 

 turally led to the study of navigation and all that is con- 

 nected with it. This branch of knowledge was the more con- 

 genial to his taste because it was intimately connected with 



