The History of the Royal Society of London/Chapter 13
These are some of the most advantageous Proposals they have scattered and encouraged in all Places, where their Interest prevails. In these they have recommended to many distinct and separate Trials, those Designs, which some private Men had begun, but could not accomplish, by reason of their Charge; or those which they themselves have devis'd, and conceived capable of Success; or even those of which Men have hitherto seem'd to despair. Of these, some are already brought to a hopeful Issue; some are put in Use, and thrive by the Practice of the Publick; and some are discover'd to be feasible, which were only before thought imaginary, and fantastical. This is one of the greatest Powers of the true and unwearied Experimenter, that he often rescues Things from the Jaws of those dreadful Monsters, Improbability, and Impossibility. These indeed arc two frightful Words to weaker Minds, but by diligent and wise Men, they are generally found to be only the Excuses of Idleness and Ignorance. For the most part, they 1ie not in the Things themselves, but in Men's false Opinions concerning them; they are rais'd by Opinions, but are soon abolish'd by Works. Many Things, that were at first improbable to the Minds of Men, are not so to their Eyes; many that seemed impracticable to their Thoughts, are quite otherwise to their Hands: many that are too difficult for their naked Hands, may be soon performed by the same Hands, if they are strengthen'd by Instruments, and guided by Method: many that are unmanageable by a few Hands, and a few Instruments, are easy to the joint Force of a Multitude: many that fail in one Age, may succeed by the renew'd Endeavours of another. It is not therefore the Conceit or Fancy of Men alone, that is of Ancient Authority to condemn the most unlikely Things for impossible; unless they have been often attempted in vain, by many Eyes, many Hands, many Instruments, and many Ages.
Sect. XXXII.
The Relations of Things of Nature and Art, they have receiv'd.This is the Assistance and Information they have given to others to provoke them to enquire, and to order and regulate their Inquisitions. To these I will add the Relations of the Effects of Nature and Art, which have been communicated to them. These are infinite in Number: And though many of them have not a sufficient Confirmation to raise Theories, or Histories on their Infallibility; yet they bring with them a good Assurance of Likelihood, by the Integrity of the Relators; and withal they furnish a judicious Reader with admirable Hints to direct his Observations. For I will once more affirm, that as the Minds of Men do often mistake Falshoods for Truths, though they are ever so circumspect; so they are often drawn by uncertain, and sometimes erroneous Reports, to stumble on Truths and Realities. Of this vast Heap of Relations, which is every where scattered in their Entry Books, will only take notice of these occasional Accounts.
Relations of two new Kinds of Stars, observed in the Year sixty six, the one in Andromeda, the other in Cygnus, in the same Place where they appeared sixty Years since, and have ever since disappear'd; of several Observations of Cœlestial Bodies made in Spain; of Observations of several of the Planets made at Rome, and in other Parts, by extraordinary Glasses; of the comparative Goodness of Glasses us'd in other Countries; of several Eclipses observ'd in diverse Parts of the World.
Relations of Parhelii, and other such Appearances seen in France; of the Effects of Thunder and Lightning; of Hurricanes, and Spouts; of the Bigness, Figure, and Effects of Hailstones; of Fish, and Frogs said to be rain'd; of the raining of Dust out of the Air, and of the Distance it has been carried by great Fires, and Earthquakes; of Changes of Weather, and a Way of predicting them; of the Vermination of the Air; of the suppos'd raining of Wheat in Glocestershire, which being sown was found to be nothing but Ivy Berries.
Relations of a Spring in Lancashire, that will presently catch Fire on the Approach of a Flame; of Burning-glasses performing extraordinary Effects; of Burning glasses made with Ice; of Fire balls for Fuel; of a more convenient Way of using Wax-Candles; of the kindling of certain Stones, by their being moistened with Water; of using ordinary Fuel to the best Advantage.
Relations of the Times of the rising and disappearing of Springs; of artificial Springs; of the Natures of several of our English Springs, and of other oleaginous and bituminous Springs: of the Fitness and Unfitness of some Waters for the making of Beer or Ale; of brewing Beer with Ginger instead of Hops; of Tides and Currents; of petrifying Springs; of the Water-blasts of Tivoly; of floating Islands of Ice; of the shining of Dew in a Common of Lancashire, and elsewhere; of Divers, and Diving, their Habit, their long holding their Breath, and of other notable Things observ'd by them.
Relations of the Effects of Earthquakes, and the moving and sinking of Earths; of deep Mines, and deep Wells; of the several Layers of Earth in a Well at Amsterdam; of the shining Cliffs in Scotland; of the Layers of Earth observ'd in diverse Cliffs; of Screw-Stones, Lignum Fossile, Blocks buried in Exeter River, Trees found under Ground in Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and elsewhere; of a Coal-Mine wrought half a Mile from the Shoar, under the Sea; of the fatal Effects of Damps on Miners, and the Ways of recovering them.
Relations of the extraordinary Strength of some small Loadstones, taking up above 150 Times their own Weight; of several English Loadstones; of the Variation of the Loadstone observ'd in two East-India Voyages, and other Places; of the growing of Pebbles inclos'd in a Glass of Water; of several excellent English Clays; of Gold found in little Lumps in a Mine in England; of the moving Sands in Norfolk.
Relations about refining Lead, and Tin-Oar; of hardning Steel so as to cut Porphyry with it, and softning it so much, as to make it easy to be wrought on; of impregnating Lead Oar with Metal, after it has been once freed; of petrify'd Teeth, and a petrify'd human Fœtus; of several Ways of splitting Rocks; of living Muscles found in the midst of Rocks at Leghorn; of the Way of making Quicksliver; of Things observable at the Bottom of the Sea; of a soft Metal, which hardens after it has taken off the Impression, and the Way of reducing such Impressions into as small a Proportion as is desired.
Relations about Agriculture; of ordering of Vines; of the setting and planting of Trees several Ways; of Elms growing from Chips, of new Trees sprung from rotten Roots; of several Kinds of Trees, growing one out of another, and in the Place of others; of the best Ways of Pruning; of making a Kind of Silk with Virginia Grass; of a Kind of Grass making stronger Ropes than the common Hemp; of a new Way of ordering Mulberry Trees in Virginia; of a Locust-Tree Bow standing bent six Months without losing its Spring; of a way of improving the planting of Tobacco.
Relations of the Usefulness of changing Seed yearly; oi the steeping, liming, sowing it several Ways; of freeing it from Worms; preserving it long (as eighty Years of freeing it from Smut; of the Causes and first Signs of Smut; of the Instrument and Way of chopping Straw, for the feeding of Horses; of Plants growing in meer Water; of others growing in meer Air; of several Indian Woods; of the growing of the divided Parts of Beans, of the growing of chop'd Stalks of Potatoes; of ordering Melons; of keeping their Seed, and producing extraordinary good ones without Transplanting.
Relations of the Growth, Breeding, Feeding, and Ordering of Oysters; of a Sturgeon kept alive in St. James's-Park; of the moveable Teeth of Pikes; of young Eels cut alive out of the old one's Belly; of the transporting Fish Spawn, and Carps alive from one Place to another; of the strange Increase of Carps so transported; of Snake-Stones and other Antidotes; of Frogs, Frog spawn, Toads, Newts, Vipers, Snakes, Rattle-Snakes.
Relations of several Kinds of Poisons, as that of Maccassar, and Florence; of Craw-fishes; of the Generation, Growth, Life, and Transformation of Ants; of Cheese Worms leaping like Fleas, of living Worms found in the Entrails of Fishes; of Insects found in the sheathing of Ships; of the Generation of Insects out of dead Cantharides; of Insects bred in Men's Teeth, Gums, Flesh, Skin; of great Quantities of Flies living in Winter, tho' frozen; of the Ways of ordering Silk-Worms in France, Italy, Virginia; and of their not being hurt in Virginia by Thunder.
Relations of Swallows living after they had been frozen under Water; of Barnacles and Solan Geese, of a new Way of hatching Pigeons; of the Way of hatching Chickens in Egypt; of Eggs proving fruitful, after they had been frozen; of recovering a tired Horse with Sheep's Blood.
Relations of several Monsters with their Anatomies; of the Measure of a Giant-Child; of Stones found in several Parts of the Body; of an unusual Way of cutting the Stone out of the Bladder; of a Woman's voiding the Bones of a Child out of her Side, eighteen Years after her having been with Child; of grafting Teeth, and making the Teeth of one Man grow in the Mouth of another.
Relations of several Chirurgical Operations; of renewing the beating of the Heart, by blowing into the Receptaculum Chyli; of the Art of perfectly restoring Nerves transversely cut, practis'd in France; of a Mummy found in the Ruins of St. Paul's, after it had lain buried above 200 Years; of breaking the Nerve to the Diaphragm, and of its Effects; of cutting a Steatoma out of a Woman's Breast; of making the Blood florid with Volatile, and coagulating with Acid Salts.
Relations of sympathetick Cures and Trials; of the Effects of Tobacco Oil for casting into Convulsion Fits; of Moors killing themselves by holding their Breaths; of walking on the Water by the Help of a Girdle filled with Wind; of Pendulum Clocks; of several rare Guns, and Experiments with them; of new Quadrants and Astronomical Instruments; of Experiments of Refraction made by the French Academy; of a Way to make use of Eggs in Painting, instead of Oil; of the Island Hirta in Scotland; of the whispering Place at Gloucester; of the Pike of Teneriffe.