REPORT 



OF THE COMMITTEE ON MANUFACTURES, SCIENCE, AND ART 

 OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



The Committee on Manufactures, Science, and Art respectfully 

 report : 



During the past year, the several inventions referred to your 

 committee have been carefully examined, and each has been made 

 the subject of a special report. The number of novelties sub- 

 mitted to them has not been great, and this is accounted for by 

 the fact that at the weekly meetings of the Polytechnic Associa- 

 tion and of the Farmers' Club an opportunity is always given for 

 inventors to explain their own devices, which are generally briefly 

 described in some of the reports of these meetings in the city jour- 

 nals. Inventors who do not reside in New York find it most con- 

 venient to attend such meetings; and their aim, generally, being 

 to give immediate publicity to their productions, they seldom 

 desire to submit to the delay consequent upon a regular reference 

 by the Institute to your committee, who are required to notice 

 every defect as well as merit in the machine or process under 

 examination. 



The Polytechnic Association, under the especial charge of your 

 committee, was organized for the year by the reappointment of 

 the chairman and secretary of the previous year. Its provision 

 for free discussions on all subjects appertaining to science and art, 

 in which those who are not members of the Institute may partici- 

 pate, has been productive of the happiest results. An objection 

 has been raised to giving the privilege of speaking to a promis- 

 cuous assemblage, which may sometimes lower the dignity of a 

 scientific debate; but while the organization is really under the 

 direct control of the members of the Institute, and the presiding 

 ofiicer is fully empowered to preserve order, this objection cannot 

 be said to outweio;h the great advantaire of extendin"" to all an 

 opportunity of presenting the results of reflection, practice, and 



