Prospectus of the Royal Institution. 783 



the preservation of animal and vegetable substances 

 used as food ; the extraction of starch, farina, sugar, 

 and other valuable articles from vegetables ; the mak- 

 ing of butter and cheese ; and numerous other arts, 

 afford proper subjects for investigation, and are no 

 doubt susceptible of very beneficial improvements. 



Among the more elaborate arts may be classed those 

 of tanning, dyeing, calico-printing, bleaching, the fabri- 

 cation of pigments, crayons, inks, varnishes, and the 

 like, in many of which very rapid advances have been 

 lately made. 



The mineral products afford materials for arts of the 

 highest importance to human society. How much do 

 our comforts, and how greatly does the extent of our 

 powers in mechanical operations and commercial in- 

 tercourse, depend upon the tenacity and hardness of 

 steel, and its singular property of magnetism! The 

 smelting of metallic ores, the casting and compounding 

 of metals, the preparation of acids and other useful 

 salts ; the indispensable articles of mortar, cements, 

 bricks, pottery, glass, and enamel, will show to what 

 valuable purposes the crude minerals have been ap- 

 plied, and will bring to recollection no inconsiderable 

 number of beautiful inventions of our own time and 

 country. 



From the vast field of individual operations, or sep- 

 arate manufactories, the inquirer will be led to other 

 works of more general consideration, which include 

 not only the objects of mechanics and chemistry, 

 strictly taken, but likewise those of commercial opera- 

 tion and political economy. Under this class of ob- 

 jects will be found the structure of roads and forms 

 of vehicles ; the establishment of canals ; the improve- 



