BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. ZI 



the nature and causes of phenomena; though, in view of the 

 primitive condition of scientific knowledge in his day, it would 

 be too much to expect that they should always be correct. 

 They were, however, usually in advance of what was known. 



His outline of the subjects which he thought should come 

 within the range of the discussions of the American Philosoph- 

 ical Society gives only a partial summary of the matters in 

 which he ultimately became interested. It embraces all newly 

 discovered plants, herbs, trees, roots, their virtues, uses, etc. ; 

 methods of propagating them, and making such as are useful, 

 but particular to some plantations, more general; improve- 

 ments of vegetable juices, such as ciders, wines, etc. ; methods 

 of curing or preventing diseases ; all new-discovered fossils in 

 different countries, as mines, minerals, and quarries; new and 

 useful improvements in any branch of mathematics; new dis- 

 coveries in chemistry, such as improvements in distillation, 

 brewing, and assaying of ores; new mechanical inventions for 

 saving labor, as mills and carriages, and for raising and con- 

 veying of waters, draining of meadows, etc. ; all new arts, 

 trades, and manufactures that may be proposed or thought of; 

 surveys, maps, and charts of particular parts of the seacoasts 

 or inland countries ; course and junction of rivers and great 

 roads, situation of lakes and mountains, nature of the soil and 

 productions; new methods of improving the breed of useful 

 animals; introducing other sorts from foreign countries ; new 

 improvements in planting, gardening, and clearing land; and 

 all philosophical experiments that let light into the nature of 

 things, tend to increase the power of man over matter, and 

 multiply the conveniences or pleasures of life. 



The most important among Franklin's contributions to 

 science were his experiments in electricity, which culminated 

 in the demonstration that lightning is an electrical phenome- 

 non, and in the introduction of lightning rods as a means of 

 protecting buildings. We have already referred to the begin- 

 ning of these experiments. They were continued through 

 Franklin's life, and were the subject of frequent correspond- 

 ence between him and such of his friends as were interested in 

 " philosophy," as he called it. In this correspondence a variety 

 of methods of experimenting and many novel experiences were 

 described. The investigators constructed their own machines 

 frictional machines and with them made new demonstrations of 



