scope and paid Mr Turton 30 pounds 1 .'* 

 It is interesting to know that the instru- 

 ment was put into good order and was 

 used in his subsequent researches by the 

 great astronomer into whose hands it had 

 come. 



We may now pass on to consider 

 Michell's genius for astronomy as dis- 

 played in the papers which he communi- 

 cated to the Royal Society and which 

 duly appeared in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions. I am glad to be able to present 

 the following estimate of these papers, 

 which at my request has been prepared 

 for this Memoir by my friend Sir Joseph 

 Larmor. 



" In designing his apparatus to measure 

 the gravitational attraction of a globe of 

 lead, and thence to deduce the mean 

 density of the Earth, Michell was the 

 pioneer in the standard method of deter- 

 mining very small forces by taking advan- 

 tage of the torsion produced by them 



1 Herscbirs Scientific Papers, vol. I, p. Ix. 



9 6 



