168 THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. [CHAP. III. 



avoided, the most entertaining and interesting experiments 

 introduced, and the whole calculated to afford pleasure and 

 instruction to those who have not had an opportunity of 

 examining these subjects and to refresh the memory of 

 those who have. 



On the supposition that the lectures of the Institution 

 should open the first week in February, if we appropriate 

 one evening a week to it, we can comprise this course in 

 eighteen or twenty lectures, each lecture to continue only 

 an hour, that the attention may not be fatigued. 



A course of lectures on chemistry, popular and amusing, 

 at the same time sufficiently scientific, might be given twice 

 a week. This course would contain the elements of 

 chemistry and the application of this science to the arts 

 and manufactures, and would be illustrated by interesting 

 and pleasing experiments. 



For the sake of the second class of auditors, which would 

 not at first be the most numerous, but which would con- 

 tinually increase in number, even though the auditors of 

 the other course should diminish I mean those attached 

 to scientific pursuits I would propose a full and scientific 

 course of experimental philosophy on the plan generally 

 adopted in universities. In this course particular atten- 

 tion should be paid to mechanics, hydrostatics, hydraulics, 

 and pneumatics, which are the most useful branches of 

 mechanical philosophy. The mathematical demonstration 

 of the propositions would first be given, next the experi- 

 mental proof, and lastly the application of each to the 

 mechanical and chemical arts. 



In this way those who could follow the mathematical 

 demonstration would see the coincidence between theory 

 and experiment, and those who could not would be satisfied 

 with the experimental proof. 



As an instance we may take one proposition. 



The momentum or force of a moving body is propor- 

 tioned to the quantity of matter multiplied by its velocity ; 



