34 A HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER III 



THE "WEEKLY OBSERVATIONS" AND GENERAL 

 HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY. (1736-1750) 



An important step was taken, on the 2nd of December 

 1736, when the Society decided on publishing weekly 

 in the Dublin News Letter, a paper on some useful sub- 

 ject, which soon became known as the Dublin Society's 

 " Weekly Observations." The Society arranged to take 

 500 copies at half a guinea per week. The papers were 

 communicated to other journals, as they appear in 

 Pue's Occurrences and in Faulkner's Dublin Journal. 

 On the nth of December the following statement 

 appeared in the former : 



" Whereas the Dublin Society do intend to begin 

 in January to publish their observations on Husbandry 

 and other useful arts, which are to be inserted by their 

 order in this paper weekly, that they may at the 

 cheapest rate fall into more hands, and that their in- 

 structions to Husbandmen and others may become 

 more useful by being more universal : By this method 

 the public will be furnished with the best pieces on 

 agriculture &c, at a trifling expense, and by getting 

 them in small portions, they will insensibly be led into 

 a knowledge which otherwise, by the expense, want of 

 time or proper books, they would be ignorant of. 

 Such gentlemen as live in the country and are not 

 already supplied with this paper, and who are willing 

 to encourage so useful a work, are desired to send 



