Navigatloiu 36^ 



theory of ship-building, by which means nautical 

 science in that country made remarkable progress. 

 A taste for the same species of inquiry afterwards 

 began to grow in Great-Britain ; and under the 

 auspices of the government of that country, and 

 various public societies, has since produced many 

 important improvements. 



In estimating the revolutions which took place 

 in naval architecture in the course of the last age, 

 perhaps few are more signal than the great in- 

 crease in the dbnensions of ships of the same rate. 

 Ships of war, in particular, are now generally a 

 fourth, and, in many cases, a third larger than ves- 

 sels of the same number of oruns were at the besrin- 

 nmg of the late century. In this augmentation the 

 naval architects of France took the lead, and have 

 gone the greatest lengths; the British followed 

 their example, and have carried every thing which 

 relates to the construction and management of 

 ships to a great degree of perfection. 



While modern ships are larger than the ancient, 

 they are at the same time more light and simple in 

 their structure. The cumbrous and useless orna- 

 ments which the false and unphilosophical taste of 

 preceding ages employed, have been laid aside; 

 and, in general, those principles of architecture 

 adopted which combine the advantage of easy 

 management wdth the greatest burden. 



The Mariner s Compass, though it has been in 

 use for several centuries, was attended with great 

 imperfections and inconveniencies until a few 

 years ago, when Dr. Gowin Knight, of Great- 

 Britain, in consequence of his invention of ylrti- 

 ficial Magnets, was enabled considerably to im- 

 prove this inestimable instrument. The compasses 

 made by him were found to exceed, in regularity 

 and exactness, all those which had been con- 

 structed before his time. After him further im- 



3B 



