35* A HISTORY OF 



frequently brought before the Society the results of 

 experimental work carried out in the garden, and these 

 reports were laid before the ordinary business meetings 

 of the Society. 



Sir Charles Giesecke was constantly engaged in 

 mineralogical excursions, and his reports are of frequent 

 occurrence in the minutes. Mr. Griffith submitted a 

 great many interesting reports in his quest for coal and 

 other minerals of industrial value. Edmund Davy, 

 who succeeded Higgins as professor of chemistry in 

 1826, brought many reports and other communications 

 on work done in the Society's laboratory before these 

 meetings. The first of these, " On a species of tallow 

 recently found in a bog near Ballinasloe," was the 

 earliest attempt at a scientific examination of the sub- 

 stance so frequently found in Ireland in peat bogs, and 

 known as bog butter. This paper appears as an 

 appendix to the minutes of the meeting of December 

 the 14th, 1826 ; but as it is not indexed, it has com- 

 pletely escaped notice. Another report by Davy of 

 permanent interest is his " Account of some experi- 

 ments made on different varieties of bituminous coal 

 imported into Dublin, with a view to ascertain their 

 comparative value for domestic and other uses." This 

 appears as an appendix to the minutes of June the 12th, 

 1828, but there is no reference to it in the index to 

 the volume for that year. In 1833 the Corporation 

 of Tallow Chandlers and Soap Boilers of Dublin sought 

 Davy's assistance in " investigating the causes of the 

 present ruinous state of the Irish soap manufacture." 

 In his report Davy pointed out that the mode of levy- 

 ing the duty on soap by measurement instead of by 

 weight caused the Irish article to be at a disadvantage. 

 This report was ordered to be forwarded to the 

 Treasury. Next year the Commissioners of Public 



