THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY 357 



confined to lecturing. In 1802 the Commissioners of 

 His Majesty's Revenue requested that Mr. Higgins, 

 professor of chemistry, should be sent to London " as 

 a person of skill and ability to assist in ascertaining an 

 hydrometer which shall hereafter be made use of to 

 judge the strength of spirits subject to excise or import 

 duty." Occasionally questions arose on which expert 

 information was required, and the members of the 

 scientific staff were often asked to report on such 

 points. At the request of the Society, Mr. Higgins 

 reported on the ashes of different weeds and of potato 

 tops. Mr , afterwards Sir Richard, Griffith, who held 

 the office of mining engineer to the Society, gave his 

 detailed opinion as to the utility of chemical analysis 

 of rocks and soils. 



In 1822 a committee was appointed to enquire into 

 " the possibility of introducing potato starch as a sub- 

 stitute for the root in substance." This led to an 

 extensive experimental investigation which was carried 

 out in the chemical laboratory under the supervision of 

 the scientific staff. The reports are interesting in con- 

 nection with the efforts made at this time to find some 

 way of relieving the distress which arose from failures 

 in the potato crop. The committee finally concluded 

 that " it would be illusive to hold out potato starch as 

 a practical relief upon the present emergency." 



The Botanic Garden staff was frequently asked 

 for advice, and experiments were made there on the 

 cultivation of various grasses and fodder crops. The 

 Society obtained 10 lbs. of Swede turnip seed in the 

 year 1801 for the use of the committee of agriculture ; 

 half a pound was sown in the Botanic Garden, and the 

 seed was saved for further use ; thus this important 

 fodder crop was introduced into Ireland. Dr. Walter 

 Wade and his successors in the professorship of botany 



