144 SECTION PHYSICS. 



The CHAIRMAN said : I must thank Mr. Perry for having helped 

 me out of the difficulty in giving you this very interesting review of 

 science developed in the Florentine Academy, and I hope we shall 

 have the full document preserved and translated into English, for it 

 will be a great pity if such an excellent expose should be lost to the 

 English public. I imagine that in the review which Father Perry has 

 been so good as to give, he omitted to state that a claim was made also for 

 the determination of the maximum density of water, which I fancy was 

 among the matters which the Florentine Academicians undertook. 

 The experiments upon the supposed non-compressibility of fluids were 

 very remarkable. Several attempts were made to compress different 

 liquids, but in all cases they escaped and no appreciable compression 

 was observed. I must say again that we are deeply indebted, not only 

 to the learned Professor who has given us this excellent discourse, 

 but also to the Italian Government, and I believe also to the 

 municipality of Florence, to whom many of these invaluable records 

 of the past belong. I ask you, therefore, to return by acclamation your 

 thanks, not only to Professore de Eccher, but also to the Italian Govern- 

 ment, and to the municipality. 



The Conference then adjourned. 



