AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 519 



title electrical experiments, thus demonstrating tlie identity of the 

 two. On the 5th of August, 1753, Professor Richman, of St. 

 Petersburgh, Russia, while trying the experiment on lightning 

 drawn into his room, wliile Solokow, an engraver, was there 

 Mr. Sololiow saw a globe of blue fire as large as his fist, jump 

 (from the instrument, which was about one foot distant,) to Mr. 

 Richman's head, and he was instantly dead, and Solokow much 

 hurt. When Richman was struck, Solokow says a steam or vapor 

 arose which entirely benumbed him, and made him sink to the 

 ground, so that he did not hear the clap of thunder which fol- 

 lowed the blow, although it was a very loud one. 



Franklin is deemed to be the first discoverer of the two electri- 

 cities, the positive and the negative, or plus and minus ^ as they 

 were called, notwithstanding Du Fay. 



Mr. Secretary Leonard requested Mr. W. B. Davis to explain 

 Ms newly invented life raft. Mr. W. E. Davis exhibited a model, 

 and explained the nature of his life raft. It is an oblong ring of 

 buoyant material, with a stout network stretched across, trans- 

 forming it into an extremely " leaky " boat. Any water thrown 

 on board would escape at once through this bottom, and if over- 

 turned in a surf, the crew could scramble at once upon the other 

 side, and be " this side up." The chief novelty of this invention 

 however, consists in the material of the buoyant ring aforesaid, 

 which is made by binding together with copper wires slender 

 slips of rattan or white oak, and covering the whole with pre- 

 pared cloth. The ring, as we have termed it, is slightly pointed 

 at each end, and is made to row like an ordinary boat. The in- 

 terior of the ring was asserted to be, or might be divided into 

 eight tight compartments, so that accident to several portions of 

 the covering would not destroy its usefulness. The first full-sized 

 structure under this patent is now being built for the Gloucester 

 Ferry Company at Philadelphia. It is eighteen feet long by seven 

 wide, is to support 6,000 pounds, and to weigh only 200 pounds. 



William Tinsley exhibited his new patent sound board for 

 piano-fortes. It has the novelty of a swelled surface under the 

 bridge, somewhat violin like. Mr. Tinsley claims for it an im- 

 proved tone, softer and sweeter. 



