AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 517 



engine as portable as the common hand engine, with far greater 

 efifect. That this is effected by lightening the structure in parts 

 while all the strength required is retained in those essential to 

 strength. Mr. Larned traced to its origin the plan of such an 

 engine, and showed the improvement now made to be so flattering 

 that soon it will be seen that steam power will be made to con- 

 quer conflagrations. 



The hand engines now weigh some four or five thousand pounds, 

 and the steam fire engine about six thousand pounds. 



Mr. Leonard moved a continuance of this question. Carried. 



Mr. Tillman adverted to recent discoveries very interesting to 

 arts, such as Wohler and Deville's successful developments of the 

 new, beautiful, light, dm-able, silvery, ductile metal, aluminium, 

 &c. 



The Club adjourned to May 28th, at 7i o'clock p. m. 



H. MEIGS, Secretary. 



May 2Sthj 1856. 



Present — Messrs. Butler, Prof. Nash, of Vermont, John G. Bell, 

 Leonard, Chambers, Disturnell, Backus, Anderson, Rowley, , 

 Breisach, Stetson, Creamer, and others — 30 members in all. 



Samuel D. Backus,, the Chairman, presiding. Henry Meigs, 

 Secretary. 



Minutes of last meeting read and approved. 



The Secretary said that as some very interesting developments 

 relative to electric motive force are now expected, he would refer 

 to the first discoveries in electricity briefly. It was pleasant to 

 himself, and would be to others, to refresh memory with such be- 

 ginnings, as do the first steps of Columbus in trying to find the 

 great land we live in. 



ELECTRICITY. 



A word derived from the Greek word ii>-fo?, the sun, because of 



the color, HXfxrwp. 



TRe father of electrical knowledge seems to be Dr. William 

 Gilbert, an English physician; in 1600, he wrote a book, De Mag- 

 net e, containing several electrical experiments. Francis Bacon 



[Am. Inst.] 34 



