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AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 601 



tor's labors. In France it is deemed best to give the Inventor a premium 

 for his Invention, and leave the Invention open to the public. Belgium 

 tends to the same practice. 



Dr. Stevens moved that the whole matter be referred to the Committee 

 on Science and Arts. This motion V7as carried. 



Mr. Brown being called upon, explained a neat model of his hot water 

 apparatus, for warming buildings. The air is heated by coming in contact 

 with the surfaces of cast iron pipes, moderately heated with water, which 

 circulates through them from a boiler, to which it returns after parting 

 with Its heat. There is ample provision made to prevent the generation of 

 steam, and hence to prevent the possibility of explosion. The air too can- 

 not be heated so as to endanger the building by communicating fire to 

 woodwork. The model was much admired, and the system of warming was 

 spoken of by several members as being highly satisfactory in practice. 



The subject of the evening was then called for, when Mr. Ayres came 

 forward and stated tha* as the evening was so far spent, if the Association 

 would appoint the same subject for next evening, he would come prepared 

 to read a paper on the subject. This suggestion being approved of, "Iron 

 Buildings " was selected as the subject for the next evening. 



Polytechnic Association of the American Institute, 



April 2Qt/i, 1860. 



Mr. Bruce, Chairman pro tem. Benjamin Garvey, Secretary pro tem. 



During the time for miscellaneous business, Mr. H. B. Brown exhibited 

 his school apparatus for teaching reading, spelling, ccfmposltion, grammar, 

 etc. It consisted of a frame with vertical wires, upon which were strung 

 series of cubes with letters, numerals and words, so arranged that any 

 number, word or ordinary sentence, may be formed or represented by them. 

 On the four first wires the cubes had drawings of familiar objects upon them 

 so that the picture might be shown, then the word representing the same 

 idea. The word thus shown could then have adjuncts applied to the number 

 of four, and four sentences also could be formed by the aid of verbs on the 

 following cube, without changing the noun or adjective. 



Mr. Godwin, in commenting upon it, instanced the mode of spelling by 

 dictation, practised in the public schools, as an exercise well calculated to 

 teach spelling, composition, etc. 



Mr., Garvey gave an account of the mode of training teachers at the Boro' 

 Road Normal School, In London. He mentioned the object lessons of 

 PestalozzI, and the constant repetition Introduced by Jacotot, and concluded 

 by giving it as the result of his experience acquired during ten years, that 

 no apparatus can supply the place of a well educated, energetic teacher, 

 who apportions his studies and recitations so as to accomplish something — 

 no matter how little — every hour, and insists upon everything being thor- 

 oughly done. 



Mr. Secley considered that there was no advantage in new methods. The 



