Discourse, on the objects and importance of the National institution for the promotion of science, established at Washington, 1840, delivered at the first anniversary

DISCOURSE.

1 (I K <>BJ ECTS AN I> IM !'

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION

PROMOTION OF SCIENCE,

ESTABLI8HEP AT WASH

DELIVERED AT THE FIR.- ERSARY

BY JOEL R. POUN7SETT,

P . FORCE, l» R I N

o

DISCOURSE,

ON

THE OBJECTS AND IMPORTANCE

Mr

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION

PROMOTION OF SCIENCE,

ESTABLISHED AT WASHINGTON, 1840,

DELIVERED AT THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY.

BY JOEL R. _POINSETT,

SECRETARY OF WAR AND SENIOR DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTION.

O

P. FORCE, PRINTEB

1841.

\\

CORRESPOiNDENCE.

WASHINGTON, January 5, 1841.

SIR: The undersigned Committee, appointed to make arrangements for
the Annual Meeting of the National Institution for the Promotion of Sci-
ence, and the delivery of an Address upon the occasion, in common with the
large and highly respectable auditory who attended the delivery of your Dis-
course, on the 4th instant, have received the highest gratification from the
able manner in which the duty assigned to you by the Society was performed.
Believing that no better mode of making known the objects of this Insti-
tution can be adopted than by the publication of your excellent Discourse, we
pray that you will yield to our wish, by placing it at the disposal of the Insti-
tution for that purpose.

In expressing to you the highly intellectual gratification we derived from

the delivery of your Address, we take the occasion to offer to you, in behalf

of the Society and for ourselves, our warmest thanks for the service which,

on this occasion, you have so ably rendered to the interests of the Institution.

We are, Sir, with great respect, your obedient servants,

ALEX. MACOMB, ROB'T LAWRENCE,
N. TOWSON, JNO. M. WYSE,

W. W. SEATON, JNO. T. COCHRANE.

PETER FORCE,
To Hon. JOEL R. POINSETT.

WASHINGTON, January 6, 1841.

GENTLEMEN : I havo the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your commu-
nication of the 5th instant, requesting a copy of the Discourse delivered be-
fore the National Institution for the Promotion of Science, on its annual
meeting.

In acceding to your request, which I do very cheerfully, I beg leavo to ex-
press my grateful acknowledgments for the indulgent and very flattering
terms in which it is conveyed, and to assure you, that it will be a source or
great gratification to me to have, in any manner, contributed to the success
of the National Institution for tho Promotion of Science.

I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. R. POINSETT.

Gen. A. MACOMB, ROBERT LAWRENCE,

Gen. N. TOWSON, JOHN M. WYSE,

W- W. SEATON, JOHN T. COCHRANE, Esqs.,

PETER FORCE, Committee.

DISCOURSE.

THE duty assigned me on this occasion is of such a
character that I regret it has not devolved on some one
more capable of performing it. To do justice to the
subject requires more knowledge than I possess, and
more leisure than I now enjoy ; and I feel constrained
to solicit your indulgence, while I explain the origin of
the Institution for the Promotion of Science and the
Useful Arts, and attempt to describe, as plainly and
briefly as the subject will permit, its objects and im-
portance.

The lovers of science, literature, and the fine arts,
residing in this District, felt sensibly the absence of
those resources which are found elsewhere, and are
necessary for the attainment of knowledge. They were
mortified to perceive that the great advantages possessed
by the public authorities at Washington were neglect-
ed, and that, at the seat of Government of this great
nation, there existed fewer means than in any other city
of the Union of prosecuting those studies, which, while
they impart dignity and enjoyment to existence, lead to
the most useful practical results. They believed it to
be their duty to arouse the attention of Government to
these deficiencies, and, at all events, to address them-

selves to the task of supplying them, as far as could be
done by their individual and combined exertions. For
these purposes they have formed an association, and
applied themselves to collect specimens of geology and
mineralogy, and other objects of natural history, and,
for the short period of its existence, the efforts of the
Institution have been eminently successful. They have
entered into correspondence with other learned societies,
and have been encouraged to proceed by their appro-
bation, and have profited by their generous coopera-
tion. They have invited the assistance of their fellow-
citizens in the most distant States and Territories, and
hope, by their aid, to collect documents and facts illus-
trative of the early history of our country, specimens of
its geology and of its mineral and vegetable produc-
tions, and, if not to preserve the animals and plants them-
selves, which are passing away before the progress of
settlement and cultivation, at least to perpetuate their
forms, and the memory of their existence. They hope
to be able to illustrate these subjects and others con-
nected with them by a series of gratuitous lectures,
and entertain a confident expectation that numbers,
whose duties compel them annually to assemble here,
will view with interest collections of the natural produc-
tions of America, drawn from every State and Terri-
tory in the Union, and, becoming sensible of their utility,
will contribute on their return to swell their amount,
and to spread throughout the country a taste for literary
and scientific pursuits.

The Institution for the Promotion of Science and the
Useful Arts, will, as its name indicates, embrace every
branch of knowledge ; and its members, believing such

a combination essential to its success, have divided them-
selves into eight scientific classes, namely: Astronomy,
Geography, and Natural Philosophy; Natural History;
Geology and Mineralogy ; Chemistry ; the application
of Science to the useful Arts ; Agriculture ; American
History and Antiquities ; and Literature and the Fine
Arts. It is of these branches of science, and of some
of their most important divisions, that it is my intention
to treat, and to endeavor to explain their effect upon the
physical, moral, and social condition of mankind.

During a long period the sciences were independent
of each other in their progress. It was essential that
facts should be discovered, carefully studied, well con-
sidered, analyzed, and classed, in order to obtain a
knowledge of their causes and first principles, and, by
that means, advance each science to a certain degree
before their points of contact, the mutual assistance they
afford, and the influence they exercise upon each other,
could be fully understood. It is especially since the
end of the last century that the progress of the human
mind, in the study of the sciences, has so wonderfully
developed their reciprocal relations — advantages due
altogether to the alliance of the synthetic and analytic
methods followed by Gallileo and his disciples, and
systematized by Bacon. Thus it is that chemistry and
natural philosophy have made such rapid progress.
They cannot move forward one without the other; and
they shed their light on physiology, on the arts and
manufactures, and on every branch of natural history.

Not only do the sciences mutually aid each other,
but the arts and sciences do so. likewise. Some of the
arts depend for their execution upon an intimate ac-

8

quaintance with the higher branches of science, if not
in the workman, at least in the person who directs his
operations ; and there are important branches of science
which could make no progress, if the philosopher who
studies them had not found the arts sufficiently ad-
vanced to supply him with the instruments and appa-
ratus of which he stands in need. It is especially to
those arts which are susceptible of great perfection and
exactness in their execution, that the sciences are most
indebted. The brilliant discoveries in modern times
in electricity, magnetism, optics and astronomy, and in
chemistry, physiology, and natural history, would still
have been in their infancy, if the arts had not provided
the necessary astronomical and mathematical instru-
ments, and the thousand ingenious inventions which
furnish the philosophical apparatus of the scientific in-
vestigator.

The rapid and extraordinary improvements which
the world has experienced, during the last half century,
in commercial intercourse, in manufactures, and in all
that contributes to civilization and to the comforts and
conveniences of life, are due altogether to the application
of science to useful purposes, and of the useful arts to
the progress of science. In this march of intellect, so
far as it leads to practical results, our country has kept
pace with the most enlightened nations of the world,
and, in many instances, the application of scientific
principles to the most beneficial uses, has been effected
by the ingenuity and great powers of combination of
our own fellow-citizens. Every river valley, the shores
of every inland sea, and, the coasts of every ocean, are
largely indebted for the advantages they now enjoy, to

the success of Fulton, in applying a well-known prin-
ciple to the great purposes of navigation. Whatever
may be the advantages which other nations have de-
rived from this use of steam, (and they are doubtless
great,) our own vast territories, watered as they are by
noble rivers and extensive inland seas, received from it
an impulse which advanced them centuries on their
road to wealth and power. Labor-saving machinery,
invented by our countrymen, is not only profitably em-
ployed at home, but is to be found in almost all the
manufactories in Europe. But while the merit of fer-
tile invention is accorded to us by all, we are reproached
for not cultivating the principles on which these inven-
tions themselves are based, and for neglecting some of
the most important branches of science. M. De Toc-
queville, who has so ably depicted our institutions, af-
fects to consider America as being still a province of
England, in this particular; and the absence of original
efforts in literature, philosophy, and the fine arts, in our
country, has led to the assertion, by others, that demo-
cracy is fatal to them ; and that where its spirit spreads,
they will take flight. Although these charges and as-
sertions are much exaggerated, they cannot be alto-
gether denied. It is, however, incorrect to attribute
this to democracy, which, so far from being inimical to
science, renders the mind independent in thought and
action — invigorating and fitting it for any pursuit. The
causes are to be found in the circumstances of the coun-
try, which compel men to enter early on the threatre of
life: there is little leisure in youth for the acquisi-
tion of the exact sciences, and for men of more ad-
vanced age, the opportunities and means are too rarely

10

presented for the successful prosecution of such studies.
The disposition is not wanting, and if we are behind
Europe in the practice and knowledge of astronomy,
geography, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and all the
branches of natural history, it is owing to the condition
of our country, which requires all her sons to labor,
and does not admit of a class of learned men of leisure ;
and in some measure, also, to the want of such an In-
stitution as ours. For the success of these pursuits, a
central establishment is essential, where the student
from any part of our vast country, after passing through
the usual course at college, if destined for a learned
profession, may resort to receive instruction in the higher
branches of science, and where he will find instruments,
collections, books, and instructors, provided for his use,
by the munificence of individuals or the patronage of
his Government. And here I would remark, that some
of these branches of knowledge, and the highest among
them, cannot be cultivated and rendered extensively
useful without the aid of Government. Astronomical
observations, to be relied upon by the navigator, must
derive a character of authenticity from the Government
itself. Individuals may acquire a knowledge of the
science, and possess the best books and instruments, and
occupy themselves with this delightful pursuit: they
may become good observers and make accurate calcu-
lations, but "without the stamp of authenticity, which a
Government alone can give them, navigators will not
repose confidence in their tables. An observatory to
be useful must be national ; and it is a reproach to a
people, second to none in commercial enterprise, and
inferior to one only in the extent of their trade, to be

11

altogether dependent upon the calculations of others
for the requisite tables to determine their position, and
to trace their path on the ocean — to be obliged to bor-
row that knowledge, without which our fleets and
trading vessels could not venture to lose sight of their
own shores.

This Institution attaches the greatest importance to
Astronomy. It stands in the first rank among the
sciences, and may, indeed, be termed the only perfect
science. It has contributed more than any other to the
development of human knowledge, carrying along in
its progress the physical and mathematical sciences, as
well as contributing to the advancement of the mechanic
arts, and, in this respect, acting as the pioneer of civili-
zation. The science of astronomy has swept from the
human mind the prejudices and terrors which were
formerly inspired by eclipses and the appearance of
comets ; it has determined, with extraordinary preci-
sion, the duration of the day as an unit of time, and,
counting from thence, the duration of the seasons to
that of the solar year, and of the different revolutions
of the celestial bodies ; it furnishes to history the pe-
riods to regulate the calendar, and positive rules to fix
the epochs of its chronology. Possessing the most com-
plete knowledge of the dimensions of the solar system,
it has reached such accuracy that it can determine at
pleasure, and with perfect exactness, what has been the
state of the heavens at a given period in past ages, and
what it will be in time to come. By this wonderful
knowledge, the celebrated astronomical ephemerides
are annually produced, by which the navigator finds the
movements of the celestial bodies calculated for him

12

in anticipation, and by means of which he traces his
course in the heavens, and directs his bark with safety
towards the ocean's vast and uniform horizon.

When we reflect on the high degree of perfection to
which astronomy has attained, the admirable theories
which direct its practice, the numerous methods of cal-
culation and observation it possesses, and the marvel-
lous coincidence which exists between the results of the
actual observation of phenomena with those announced
beforehand, by means of these theories and methods, we
are tempted to. believe that this noble science has reach-
ed the utmost limit to which the genius of man can ele-
vate it. So far, however, is this from being true, that
at no period has the science been more vigorously pur-
sued ; at none were astronomers more numerous or
more actively employed ; and never have they united,
in a higher degree, the power of genius with a profound
knowledge of physics and mathematics, combined with
ability in the use of the powerful instruments which the
mechanic arts have placed in their hands.

The perfection to which I have described astronomy
as having reached, relates only to the solar system — to
that restricted space in the heavens occupied by the
sun, the planets with their satellites, and the comets
which visit it at distant epochs. The solar system com-
poses the celestial universe peculiar to the inhabitants
of this world, and is but a point in the infinite space
filled with myriads of shining bodies, the desire to com-
prehend which is so much the more exciting and ardent,
as it elevates the mind to the contemplation of the di-
vine origin of all these wondrous works. Science is
now occupied with persevering ardor in this sublime

13

study. It seeks to avail itself of the perfect astronomy
of the solar system to comprehend that of the whole
starry firmament, and, from the known dimensions of
the one, to measure the unknown dimensions of the
other, in the same manner as from the dimensions of
the terrestrial globe those of the solar system were dis-
covered. The researches on the parallax of the fixed
stars, which leads to a knowledge of their distance with
regard to us ; the measure of their own movements, and
especially that of the motions of the solar sytem ; the
system of double and groups of stars, the mutual rela-
tions of which would seem to afford evidence of the
existence of other solar systems; the study of nebulae ;
the changes which certain stars experience in the quan-
tity of light which emanates from them; why stars,
perfectly known and described in the astronomical cata-
logues, have disappeared from their places and been no
more seen, while others have appeared in other parts
of the heavens, where, if they had existed before, they
could not fail to have been discovered ; finally, what is
the physical constitution of the universe, and what the
universal law which governs it, are the mighty subjects
now undergoing investigation — investigations which
can be rendered successful, only by constant and precise
observation of the phenomena of the heavens by means
of the most powerful and exact instruments, aided by
and kept on a level with the general progress of science
and the arts, so that astronomical observations, profiting
by an enlightened theory, may reach the highest pos-
sible degree of exactness.

The least civilized Governments have understood the
necessity of prosecuting these investigations. Observa-

14

tions are making in every part of the world where hu-
man knowledge extends; and astronomy is fostered every
where with that liberality and even magnificence which
the grandeur and importance of the purpose demand.
The labors of the astronomers of the present age are
not sufficiently appreciated, because they are not seen
and generally understood. They work, in the silence
of the night, to produce results for future ages. It is
only by successive comparisons, made at far distant
epochs, of the state of the heavens, well observed and
described, that the laws which govern the celestial uni-
verse will appear, as the changes produced by those
laws operate on time and space. These labors will
form a basis, a term of comparison for the future, as the
labors of the ancients, although much more imperfect
and limited, have served as the means of comparison
for the astronomy of modern times. Less eclat, there-
fore, is awarded to this pursuit, and the public, dazzled
by the frequent and brilliant discoveries in other branches
of natural philosophy, does not do equal justice to those
of the astronomer. The reason is, that the time has not
yet arrived to bring to full light the fruits of their long
and patient vigils; but at no epoch of history has astro-
nomy, both theoretical and practical, counted among its
votaries so many illustrious men, as since the commence-
ment of the present century; at no period has the vault
of heaven been explored with so much genius, profound
knowledge, ability, and physical means, as at this day;
and never has been commenced a monument to the
glory of science and human intellect more sublime than
that of which astronomy is now laying the foundation.
Shall we not add one stone to this stucture ? Will we

15

expose ourselves to be denied our just title of a moral,
religious, intelligent, and enlightened people, by refu-
sing to inscribe the United States of America among the
names of the civilized nations of the earth which will
be found engraved upon the columns of this magnifi-
cent temple? Are we not a navigating and commer-
cial people ? Does not our flag float on every sea, and
visit every accessible region of the world ? And shall
we not have our national observatory, our astronomical
archives, and our celestial ephemeris ? Shall we any
longer leave our navigators exposed to the disgrace of
acknowledging that, without the astronomical epheme-
rides published in Europe, they could not with safety
navigate distant seas ? I hope not. I believe it to be
only necessary to point out to the intelligent people of
this country the usefulness, not to say the necessity of
such an establishment, for them immediately to appre-
ciate the object, and, so far as the powers of the Go-
vernment extend, to furnish the means to carry it into
effect. I am aware that this has already been ably
done in a report on the proper application of the Smith-
son bequest, presented to Congress, at its last session,
by a gentleman with whom I am happy to be associ-
ated in promoting the progress of science. His long
continued efforts to establish a national observatory
will, I trust, be finally crowned with success, and I shall
always reflect with satisfaction on having, on the first
occasion that presented itself, seconded, however feebly,
his liberal and enlightened views.

Second to astronomy in its importance to the wants
and interests of navigation, and essential to those of
commerce, is Geography ; a science which equally re-

16

quires the fostering care of Government. In this respect
it has been more fortunate than astronomy. The ex-
pedition of Lewis and Clark, undertaken by direction
of Mr. Jefferson, and destined to explore the route across
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, that of the
brave and gallant Pike, and those under that enter-
prising officer and accomplished observer Long, still
further to examine that portion of our territory; the
coast survey which is now in progress under the learned
and accurate Hassler ; the exploration of the country
lying between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers by
that indefatigable and scientific traveller Nicollet ; and
the expedition under the command of Lieut. Wilkes,
intended to explore unknown seas, to discover new
sources of commercial enterprise, and to point out the
dangers which beset the path of the navigator, while
it sweeps from the charts those islands and shoals which
have no existence, save in the imagination of former
hydrographers ; have been fitted out and supported by
the Government, and have attracted the favorable no-
tice of scientific men throughout the world. The Geo-
graphical Society of France speaks, by its President,
of that expedition in the following term : " In calling
your attention to the voyages round the world, and to
other maritime enterprises which have, in our time,
so largely contributed to the establishment and pro-
gress of geography, I have to observe, that it is no
longer from our old Europe alone that these great ex-
peditions set forth. The new world now rivals the old.
The Government of the United States of America —
of that nation which, in less than half a century, has
taken a prominent station among the maritime pow-

17

ers — sends out, in its turn, an exploring expedition to-
wards the Antarctic pole." There is every reason to
hope that the results of this expedition will prove as
useful and honorable to the nation as its conception was
creditable to its authors. It is a remarkable fact, that
three national expeditions on voyages of discovery and
for purposes of science, were traversing the same ocean
at the same period ; the American and French squad-
rons being in sight of each other, in a stormy sea, on an
unknown and ice-bound coast, and striving with each
other for the honorable distinction of priority of disco-
very. We await with impatience the rich harvest of
new scientific observation and physical facts which the
return of our exploring squadron will bring us. Much,
however, remains to be done for the advancement of
geography in our country. The vast inland seas which
form our northern boundary, covered as they are with
vessels, and teeming with commerce, have never been
explored by the hydrographer. The navigator sails
over them with dread, for there exists no chart to warn
him of the dangers he may encounter ; and the works
erected by Government along their shores for refuge in
times of storm, are too incomplete to answer the pur-
pose. As to the interior of our country little is known
scientifically and accurately. It may be said that it is
the province of the States to construct maps of their
several territories. It may be so, but without some
common centre, from whence uniform plans and in-
structions issue, State maps will be laid down upon dif-
ferent projections, and be wanting in astronomical accu-
racy. A map of the United States, to be useful, ought
to be constructed upon an uniform plan, and under the
c

18

immediate direction of the scientific officers of the Uni-
ted States. Such a work is required by the best inte-
rests of the country. Its completion would develop the
vast resources of our extensive possessions, enable the
Government to comprehend all their relative advan-
tages, and to open new avenues of commerce. It would
aid the emigrant in his search after advantageous set-
tlements, direct the merchant to the readiest route for
the transportation of goods, teach the farmer where to
seek a market for his produce, point out to the soldier
whence to draw his supplies, the shortest lines of com-
munication, and the best sites for encampment, or for
the erection of permanent works of defence. In short,
such a work would be eminently useful to all classes of
our fellow-citizens, and contribute largely to the com-
merce and security, and to the rapid settlement and im-
provement of our country. All the Governments of
Europe have been sensible of the importance of geo-
graphical knowledge, and trigonometrical surveys of
every empire and kingdom are completed or in progress
there. In those countries geography was first culti-
vated for warlike objects ; their maps were originally
military, and many of them are constructed with such
minute accuracy, that armies may march and encamp,
and sentinels be posted, with no other knowledge of the
country than such maps afford. With their aid alone
positions are chosen, and all the chances of war calcu-
lated in the closet as on a chess-board. By their means
the statesman can determine on the expediency of open-
ing a canal or of constructing a road, and becomes pos-
sessed of a perfect knowledge of the climate, the struc-
ture, and the physical resources of the country, the

19

interests of which it is his duty to watch over and pro-
mote. We are without any of these advantages ; our
maps are so inaccurate, that large amounts are some-
times wasted in attempting to construct roads and ca-
nals which are found to be impracticable, or which lead
to no beneficial results when executed. So important
is this branch of science considered, that the Govern-
ments of Europe have depots of maps from the earliest
ages, and that of France, especially, possesses an ex-
tensive collection, beginning at the thirteenth century.
Societies, too, exist in their principal cities, who aid the
Government, by preparing instructions for expeditions,
whether for purposes of science or exploration, them-
selves giving premiums for maps and charts, and fitting
travellers out at their own expense, and sending them
to explore unknown regions. In short, these institu-
tions spare no pains to encourage and promote the ends
of science, and their success has been equal to their
zeal.

Intimately connected with geography, and, indeed,
forming a part of it until it was lately erected into a
separate science, is Ethnography. It consists of the
knowledge of the habits, manners, and customs of the
different nations of the earth. Their food, their dress,
their festivals, marriages, and funerals; the education
of their children ; the rank their women hold in socie-
ty* by which the degree of civilization is so clearly
defined; the division of labor among them; their mode
of living, whether by hunting, fishing, or agriculture ;
their traditions, laws and manufactures, and other
analogous subjects, make up this important branch of
science.

20

Philology, regarded in itself as a science, is likewise
a branch of geography. Although its chief object is,
from the variety of languages which exist on the sur-
face of the earth, to trace the history of mankind, it
tends greatly to facilitate the commercial intercourse
of the world. It is only within the present century
that the various idioms of nations, not possessed of the
art of writing, have been seriously investigated ; but
great progress has been made in the acquisition of this
knowledge within that period, and not only vocabula-
ries, but dictionaries and grammars have been pub-
lished, of languages hitherto unknown except byname.
Formerly, missionaries and traders alone paid attention
to the languages of savage nations. The former, having
in view only their own laudable objects, kept their works
in manuscript ; ' the latter confined themselves to a few
meagre vocabularies, dispersed through books of travels,
and of little use to the philologist. At length "the com-
parative science of languages" was instituted, and the
philologists and learned societies of the United States
have contributed their share to the promotion of this
science, by making known the forms and character of
our Indian languages.

The student of geography requires likewise to be
well acquainted with meteorology and terrestial mag-
netism, the configuration of the earth, the distribution
of heat, the movement of the waters of the ocean, the
geological structure of the soil, and the geography of
plants and animals, and to all these subjects the atten-
tion of the Institution ought to be directed.

It was proposed at the last session of Congress to
establish magnetic stations, and to institute a series

21

of corresponding observations in the United States.
Permanent stations for this end have been established
by nearly all civilized nations ; and not only have
they been extended into Asia, Africa, and America,
but expeditions have been undertaken to the Antarc-
tic seas, for the purpose of pursuing these researches.
Our exploring squadron was likewise furnished with
the necessary instruments, and our officers instructed to
avail themselves of every opportunity to make mag-
netic observations, while similar and corresponding ob-
servations were directed, and have been carried on, at
Boston and at Washington.

We trust that the Government of the United States
will not withhold its further cooperation, but will en-
able some of its officers to carry out the views of the
learned societies throughout the world, and give its aid
to the efforts now universally making to determine, with
precision, the laws of terrestrial magnetism.

The enjoyment afforded by the study of Natural His-
tory is exhibited in the zeal with which the naturalist
pursues his investigations. Poverty presents no obstacle,
and distance sets no bounds to his pursuits. Pestilen-
tial climates and the savage wilderness amidst the glare
of equatorial suns and the gloom of polar nights, are
eagerly sought and explored as fields of new discovery.
Toil, exposure, and physical ills in every form, are en-
dured without a murmur, when engaged in examining
the riches of nature, and when each step leads to a new
and high enjoyment. The pure and intellectual grati-
fication afforded by pursuits which tend to the progres-
sive development of the wonders and beauties of the
physical world, would seem to warrant the conclusion

22

that it is one of the purposes for which our faculties
were imparted to us.

There are persons who entertain the opinion that
the study of natural history is only an amusement, or
the gratification of an useless curiosity. If they were
to examine the subject more carefully, they would per-
ceive that natural history is the basis of domestic and
public economy, and that it contributes essentially to
the prosperity of families and the wealth of nations, by
the resources which its productions offer to agriculture,
to commerce, to the arts, to manufactures, and to all the
wants of life — that it is to the study of natural history
that civilized man is indebted for the use and enjoyment
of the best races of domestic animals, the abundance of
his food, the variety of his drinks, the comfort and
warmth of his clothing, the beauty and solidity of his
furniture, the remedies which restore him to health, the
metals which multiply his force and contribute to his
defence, and for most of the luxuries and enjoyments of
his existence. Cuvier, than whom no one was better
able to give a correct opinion upon the advantages of
this study, says : " The habit acquired in the study of na-
tural history, of mental classification of a great number
of ideas, is one of the greatest advantages of this science.
It teaches method which may be applied to all other
studies. He who has cultivated this science merely for
amusement, is surprised at the facility it affords him in
disentangling the most difficult affairs. It is," he goes
on to say, "sufficiently extensive to satisfy the most pow-
erful, and sufficiently varied and interesting to calm the
most agitated mind. It sheds consolation in the bosom
of the unhappy, and stills the angry waves of passion."

23

Natural history, agriculture, commerce, and the use-
ful arts, go hand in hand ; wherever the first is encour-
aged, the other branches, which depend much upon it
for their support, will flourish ; but wherever it is neg-
lected or lightly regarded, the other branches languish
and lose their value. How many substances of rare
materials grow throughout this vast region which are
unknown in the United States, but which might be-
come articles of extended commerce, if every State in
the Union would seriously set to work to explore its
resources in the three great kingdoms of nature.

It is true that some of the States have set the exam-
ple of geological surveys, and have made collections of
mineral and geological specimens ; but what, for the
most part, has become of these collections ? They are
dispersed where neither the Government nor the people
generally can make use of them. For the promotion
of science and the useful arts, we require a central in-
stitution, in which all the natural productions of this vast
territory may be exposed to public view, for the benefit
of the people, and which may contribute to the advance-
ment of the sciences, by affording the means of compari-
son with natural and analogous productions of other
parts of the world.

Zoology presents a subject of more varied interest
than any other branch of natural history. To be well
acquainted with it, requires that the student should be
versed in several other branches of science. He ought
to possess a knowledge of human and comparative ana-
tomy, and of chemistry, physiology, and geology, in
order that he may understand the subject of fossil re-
mains and the formations in which thev are found.

24

In the earl}' ages zoology was forced upon the con-
sideration of man by his exposed condition and his
wants. He was compelled to defend himself against
ferocious beasts of prey ; to domesticate the most docile
and intelligent animals to aid him in his labors, and to
hunt and destroy others for food and raiment. For these
purposes he had to study the habits of beasts, birds, and
fishes, and investigations, originating in necessity, gra-
dually extended into a science. This study furnishes
one of the most useful and instructive occupations for
the mind.

Every branch of this science is of the highest interest,
from the zoophites, the lowest order of animated crea-
tion, to thevertebrated animals, including man, the high-
est of the works of the Creator. The study of the phy-
sical structure and moral development of man is most
curious and instructive, whether we trace him from the
simple child of the forest to the perfection of his spe-
cies, which he has reached by the cultivation of the arts
of life and by the light of religion; whether we regard
the circumstances which, in some situations, confine him
to the hunter, or to the pastoral state, while, in others,
they permit the full development of all his faculties as
an agriculturist ; or whether we contemplate the va-
rieties of the species, from the Caucasian, from which
we claim descent, to the American, the Mongolian, or
the African. The uses of these studies, independently
of the enjoyment their pursuit affords, are to be found
in ministering to the wants and pleasures of man, and
in prolonging his existence ; for it cannot be doubted
that the investigation of the comparative anatomy of
inferior animals has contributed to a more perfect know-

25

ledge of the human frame, and to essential improve-
ments in the medical art.

It is to the study of the zoology of America that the
efforts of the Institution ought to be chiefly directed.
No other country presents greater or more interesting
varieties in the animal creation, and none more abounds
in fossil remains. Many of the former are fast fading
away before the hunters and trappers, who pursue them
for food or for furs ; and their extinction will solve the
important problem, whether the hunter tribes can be-
come purely agricultural, and maintain themselves by
the sweat of their brow. The red man of our forests
and the hunter tribes of South America, are, as far as
I have been able to observe, different from the agricul-
tural Indians that inhabit Mexico, Peru and Chile. The
former are the descendants of uncivilized men, hunters
like themselves, and whether they are susceptible of
the moral culture of the agricultural race, remains
yet in doubt ; the latter, on the contrary, have tilled the
earth, and subsisted on the product of their labor from
time immemorial. Physically and morally these two
classes have always appeared to me widely different,
and I have doubted their having a common origin. The
aborigines of Mexico, Peru, and Chile, were found by
their European conquerors in a high state of civiliza-
tion. In their knowledge of the useful arts, except the
art of war, they equalled their invaders, and their agri-
culture was carried to great perfection, for Indian re-
mains of extensive works of irrigation are still to be
found in those territories. There exists evidence, like-
wise, of their having been inhabited, for centuries be-
fore the conquest, by a race still more highly advanced

26

in the arts of life ; and even within our own limits,
the tumuli of the West denote the existence in that
country, at one period, of a superior race to that
which the first white settlers found there. These are
subjects which it is expected will engage the atten-
tion of the Institution, the examination of which can-
not fail to shed light on our early history.

Geology assumes in this country a greater interest
than elsewhere, from the vastness of the region, from
the great extent of its contiguous formation, and from
its being a comparatively unexplored field for sci-
entific investigation. It is important to ascertain
whether this portion of the world has, like that al-
ready examined, been subjected in its creation to
great general rules of construction, or, if that order
has been departed from, to know in what particulars.
Such investigations have already been carried to
some extent, but the results are not universally
known; and the geologist cannot ascertain, with
any precision, the laws which govern- the forma-
tions of this portion of the earth, and the relative
order of their distribution, without some central
place where specimens may be deposited, facts
reported, and all necessary information obtained.
Sensible of the advantages to be derived from con-
ferring together to compare facts and mutually to
correct theories, the geologists of the United States
lately assembled at Philadelphia, and separated, it
is understood, with the intention of meeting annually.
Wherever such combinations exist, they have pro-
duced the most beneficial results; and the existence
of a museum of natural history here, will render

27

Washington the most desirable place of meeting for
the scientific associations of the Union.

The great importance of geology is derived from
its usefulness. There is scarcely a vocation in life
which will not feel the value of and derive benefit
from a competent knowledge of the geological struc-
ture of the earth. It will teach the miner to distin-
guish between deposits which are rich and such as
are sterile in ores ; in what manner they vary in dif-
ferent formations, as well as the varieties and pecu-
liarities of the metals each produces; which are the
most easily worked, and which furnish their own
fluxes ; where, from certain indications, the mineral
vein may be pursued with every probability of suc-
cess, and where its farther pursuit would result in
disappointment, and waste of labor and capital. In
short, the study of geology opens, as it were, the
interior of the earth to the miner, and enables him
to predict with great probability, if not with abso-
lute certainty, the existence or absence of valuable
minerals beneath the surface. This knowledge is
important in this country to all classes; for emigrants,
whether farmers or mechanics, are interested in be-
ing able to select localities in the neighborhood of
veins or fields of coal, which the geologist can ascer-
tain by unfailing indications, and on the existence of
which, in some situations, the comfort of our people
so much depends. Fortunately for us, they are vast
and accessible, beyond all precedent in the old
world, and form an element of the wealth and power
of the United States.

To the civil engineer this study is of the highest

importance. It will enable him to point out locali-
ties where the best building materials are to be
sought; to direct lines of communication, so that
they may jun near the requisite materials, and avoid
difficulties which might prove costly to overcome, as
well as to bring these communications within a con-
venient distance of formations yielding materials of
profitable trade, such as coal, iron, and other useful
metals, and mineral manures.

The agriculturist will find, in a knowledge of ge-
ology, the means of ameliorating and increasing the
products of the soil, by enabling him to discover the
existence of accessible beds of the mineral manures
which produce such lasting and beneficial effects
when applied to the soil.

Indeed, the knowledge of geology contributes, in
an essential degree, to all the useful arts ; and it is
obvious that collections of geological and mineralo-
gical specimens, brought from every part of our
country and rendered generally accessible to the
people of the United States, being exhibited at the
seat of Government, will tend to the advancement
of knowledge, and its diffusion among our fellow-
citizens.

The reciprocal relations which exist between
the several branches of science are, perhaps, more
strongly exemplified in that of geology than in any
other. This science makes every day large exac-
tions upon other branches, compensating them, how-
ever, by its discoveries within and its enlargement
of their respective circles. It calls upon the com-
parative anatomist to give the domain, the habits, the

29

epoch of the nondescript skeleton. Did it inhabit
the sea or the land ? Was it carnivorous or herbivo-
rous ? It calls upon the botanist, in return for the
trees and plants which it discovers and brings to the
surface, to say \vhat soil gave them root and nourish-
ment, and in what climate they existed. It fills the
cabinet of the conchologist with disentombed trea-
sures, the models of extinct reigns, and calls upon
him to give them date and sequence. Indeed, it can
scarcely be described as one science, so numerous
are the problems presented by it which demand the
most minute knowledge of the tributary branches of
conchology, zoology, botany, hydrography, minera-
logy, and general physics.

Among the numerous sciences which geology puts
under contribution, none bear a more intimate re-
lation to it than Mineralogy. Geology deals with
masses; but it is by the aid of mineralogy that
the simple elements of these masses are unfolded,
and their various constitutions identified. Geology
teaches us that a certain mountain ridge is composed
of granite ; mineralogy informs us that granite is a
compound of quartz, feldspar, and mica. When
the geologist describes the strata forming the solid
crust of the earth, the dykes by which they are frac-
tured, and the mineral veins dispersed among them,
he uses terms devised by the mineralogist to indicate
their differences of character and condition. Geolo-
gy extends its vision over almost illimitable space ;
mineralogy examines every substance with a micro-
scopic eye. Geology tends to extensive generaliza-
tion ; mineralogy to minute specification. What the

geologist finds constituting the mountains, hills, val-
leys, and plains of the entire earth, the mineralogist
has before him, within the narrow compass of his
own cabinet. Thus, although apparently separate,
these sciences have a close affinity to each other.

As sciences, mineralogy and geology are both of
modern origin. They date from the latter half of
the last century, and, although so young, have al-
ready assumed their position among the most exalt-
ed of older origin, and are deemed equally worthy
to occupy the attention of the profoundest minds.
From the days of Werner, (1773,) mineralogy has
advanced rapidly, and is now generally and deserved •
ly a popular study. In most of the leading institu-
tions in this and other countries, it constitutes a por-
tion of the regular course of instruction; collections
are distributed over our own country, and many pri-
vate citizens exhibit great zeal in this pursuit. To
the arts and manufactures mineralogy contributes
many necessary and useful materials. The painter
owes to it many of his pigments ; the dyer many of
his colors; the jeweller looks to it for the discovery
of his most precious gems ; the chemist for many of
his compounds; the mason for his cements. The
smelter learns through it to detect his ores, the pot-
ter his clays, and the architect would often have
saved himself the chagrin of seeing his finest works
passing into premature and hopeless decay, had he
been guided by it in the selection of his materials of
construction.

There is still something wanting to give to the
science of mineralogy that further practical useful-

31

ness for which it is so well adapted, and which, in
this country, is so much needed. Within the terri-
tory of the United States, almost every variety of
mineral, useful or necessary to the wants of man. is
found in greater or less abundance. In our southern
States, gold ; in our western, copper, lead, and zinc ;
and almost in all, iron and coal, in inexhaustible
quantities. Chrome, bismuth, antimony, manganese,
cobalt, and many others, are known to exist, and
perhaps further investigation will add platina, tin,
and silver. But little has yet been done to avail our-
selves of these productions. Mining, as a profession,
is unknown to us. Educated as agriculturists, mer-
chants, mechanics, or professional men, we pass al-
most unnoticed these sources of individual and na-
tional wealth. The time has surely arrived for turn-
ing our attention to them. If we are not to await their
slow development under the pressing necessity of
our wants, we must begin at once to induce persons
to enter on this new pursuit, by educating them for it.
Geology and mineralogy, thoroughly taught, will en-
able them to undertake the search after these hidden
resources with every prospect of success. Geology
will point out the places in which they are to be
found ; mineralogy will detect them amidst the use-
less materials by which they may be surrounded.

It is not to the practical miners of Europe, or of
other countries, that we ought to look for improve-
ment in the profession of mining. In so important a
matter we must depend upon ourselves. We are
capable of accomplishing it, and should not hesitate
to set about it. Our people have no superstitious in-

32

fluences to overcome, and while they are free to re-
ceive and ready to embrace instruction in other mat-
ters, there is no reason why they should not be en-
lightened in this.

It is believed that the most powerful agent to effect
this beneficial design will be the existence of an ex-
tensive cabinet, at the seat of Government, of speci-
mens of geology and mineralogy, drawn from every
portion of our territory, and so arranged as to pre-
sent, at one view, all the mineral resources of each
particular State, and where these important sciences
may be taught by courses of lectures, which, together,
will form a school of mining that cannot fail to be
extensively useful, and lead to the early and full de-
velopment of this great source of individual pros-
perity and national wealth.

Botany has undergone such great and important
changes since the close of the last century, as to alter
entirely the character of the science ; changes which
are due, in a great measure, to the improvements in
the construction of the microscope, to the discoveries
in vegetable chemistry, and to the exchange of arti-
ficial methods of arrangement for an extended system
of natural affinities. The adoption of the philosophi-
cal views of Gothe, together with the recognition of
an universal unity of design throughout the vegetable
world, have likewise largely contributed to give to
this science its present highly improved condition.

A certain degree of knowledge in botany is de-
sirable to every one. It leads to a comprehension
of the properties and uses of the trees of our forests,
and teaches to distinguish wholesome from delete-

33

rious plants, as well as to discover those that possess
medicinal properties, which abound in our country.
Although not enumerated among the principal de-
partments of science into which the Institution is
organized, the importance of it has not been over-
looked. It will be one of the most cherished objects
of the National Institution, to establish, at some fu-
ture daj, a botanic garden, where plants of every
country and every clime may be introduced, and
their properties studied.

In none other of the wonderful works of God are
to be seen stronger evidences of beneficent design
than in the propagation, growth, life, and death of
plants ; and the pursuits of the botanist are not only
useful, pleasing, and healthful, but are calculated to
elevate his thoughts "from nature up to nature's
God.'

It is difficult to understand any physical science or
useful art without the aid of Chemistry; and the In-
stitution has very properly devoted an entire section
to this science. By its means, the component parts
of all substances become known, whether mineral,
vegetable, or animal, of air or of water. It teaches
us to detect those which are deleterious, and to com-
pound such as are healthful. It guides the manu-
facturer in the preparation of the various materials
of his art, and the agriculturist in the application of
manures which give fruitfulness to barren and worn
out soils.

Chemistry, although it owes its origin to the la-
bors of the ancient alchymists, is, as a separate sci-
ence, of modern date. The great improvements and

34

discoveries which render it so important an auxiliary
to kindred sciences, and to the useful arts, were
made towards the close of the last century, since
which period its advancement has been wonderfully
rapid. It is intimately connected with geology and
mineralogy, and without its aid those sciences would
be incomplete. We owe to it some of the most useful
and beneficial applications of science to the arts, and
it may be considered as the foundation of technology.
With a view to promote the principal object of its
creation, the Institution has devoted one section to
the application of science to the useful arts. Tech-
nology, the name given to the science which teaches
this application, is not found in the encyclopedias
and works of a similar character published fifty years
ago, and until that period the application of the prin-
ciples and discoveries of science to the useful arts
was not pursued in such a manner as to render it a
constituent part of the operations of the manufac-
turer. The foundation of this science has, however,
since then been solidly laid, and in the rapid pro-
gress of discovery within that period we have the
promise of a noble superstructure. We are indebted
to France for the first impulse given to this pursuit,
and it appears, from the late able report of Professor
Bache, that Prussia and other Germanic States have
established institutions for teaching technology. The
only college in the United States in which courses of
lectures on this branch are given, is, I believe, that
of Cambridge, in Massachusetts. These have been
continued nearly twenty years under a bequest of
the late Count Rumford. In the Franklin Institute,

35

also, valuable lectures have been delivered; still but
little, comparatively, has been effected towards dif-
fusing this knowledge among the working classes of
this country.

In civil engineering, now become a branch of uni-
versal importance, scarcely a step can be taken with-
out the guidance of mathematical and mechanical
science. A Brindley may occasionally appear with
intuitive genius, and accomplish wonders of art, but
such an example stands only as an exception to the
rule, if it really be one, for it might be shown that
even his extraordinary genius was not a perfect sub-
stitute for those scientific principles which are the
guide of the engineer. An individual who undertakes
the construction of either civil or military works with-
out a scientific knowledge of the laws of hydrosta-
tics, hydraulics, and pneumatics, the stress, pressure,
and other properties of the materials employed or
operated upon by him, will probably fail in them, as
is evinced by the experience of almost every day.

The invention of the steam engine, which has been
justly denominated " a present from science to the
arts," illustrates fully the importance of this know-
ledge. Had Watt been merely a handy and intelli-
gent workman, those beautiful combinations which
render this the most perfect of human devices, could
never have been devised by him. It was, doubtless,
to the combination of scientific knowledge with me-
chanical skill, that we are indebted for the fruits of
his labors. Many improvements have been since
made by others in the details of the steam engine,
but its leading principles remain unchanged.

36

To the union of scientific knowledge and practical
skill we are likewise indebted for that valuable in-
strument, the refracting telescope, which, for most
purposes, has superseded the reflector. In the con-
struction of tthis instrument, Dollond accomplished
what even Newton had given up as unattainable; the
result, not of mere ingenuity, but of that combination
of science with art by which ends are attained to
which we should never be led by any chance or ac-
cident.

As I had occasion before to observe, the pro-
gress made in astronomy, navigation, geography,
and the kindred sciences, are due immediately to the
perfection of the instruments prepared by the me-
chanician ; but these instruments owe their perfec-
tion, if not their very existence, not to mechanical
skill alone, but to mechanicians whose minds are
deeply imbued with the principles of the science
for the advancement of which those instruments were
to be employed — men who fully comprehended the
nature of the ends to be attained, and could them-
selves apply the instruments they had made, without
which knowledge they could not, in many instances,
have constructed them. It is to the philosophical
and mathematical makers of philosophical and math-
ematical instruments, that the several national ob-
servatories are indebted, in a great measure, for the
value of their observations.

The application of chemistry to^the arts/before al-
luded to, would probably afford examples of the value
of the alliance between science and the arts more nu-
merous than those furnished by mechanical philoso-

37

phy. The minute accuracy of modern chemical analy-
sis has made us intimately acquainted with the actual
composition of most of the bodies upon which we
have occasion to operate. Upon this accurate know-
ledge of the chemical constitution of bodies was
founded the discovery of the uniform combination
of the constituents of compounds in definite propor-
tions, and the construction of the tables of chemical
equivalents; a discovery which introduced a degree of
certainty in carrying on the thousand arts dependent
upon chemical action, which could not have been
attained by experience and observation alone, how-
ever skilfully conducted. The chemical manufac-
turer who is ignorant of this discovery, or does not
apply it in the prosecution of his art, is like a ma-
riner at sea without compass or quadrant.

I cannot forbear to notice here three very recent
and valuable discoveries in the application of science
to the useful arts, each of which is of a very striking
character. I mean the daguerrotype, the electro-
type, and the electro-magnetic telegraph. By the
former, we are supplied with pictures of the works
of nature and of art, imprinted by the rays of light
with a minute accuracy that cannot be attained by
the best directed pencil in the hands of the artist.
By the second, medals, engravings, sculptures, and
many other works of art, may be multiplied to an in-
definite extent, and with perfect faithfulness, by a
process the most simple. To what extent this elec-
tric action upon metallic solutions may be carried, it
is impossible to foresee; but it has been recently ap-
plied to the gilding of metals, and is likely to super-

38

sede all other processes of gilding hitherto in use.
And by the last, a skilful combination of electricity
and magnetism conveys intelligence from post to
post, however distant, with perfect accuracy and with
the speed of light.

This rapid view of the advantages of technology,
although, from the limited nature of this address,
necessarily imperfect, will show the importance of
its being embraced in any system intended to diffuse
useful knowledge among our fellow-citizens.

This Institution has allotted one entire division to
Agriculture. This must be considered the most im-
portant, as it is the most necessary of the useful arts,
as well as the most essential to our existence in a
state of civilization. The hunter or the shepherd
can do no more than supply himself and his children
with food. Such a people have no surplus for those
who follow other pursuits; whereas in an agricultu-
ral community a portion of the people only are en-
gaged in raising grain and cattle to supply the re-
mainder with food, who, in their turn, are employed
in the useful or fine arts, or in the pursuits of litera-
ture and science ; and it may be safely asserted that
the degree of civilization in any country will be in
proportion to the perfection of its agriculture. Cicero
says, " there is no better pursuit in life, none more
full of enjoyment, or more worthy a freeman," and
surely there is none which contributes more largely
to the wealth and independence of a country. Like
all the useful arts, it is dependent upon science for
its perfection. Sir Humphrey Davy's work upon
agricultural chemistry shows its intimate connection

39

with that science, and we have already remarked the
application of geology to its uses. One of the great-
est improvements of farming in modern times, so
fruitful in improvements of every kind, is the free
use of mineral manures. Lime, in some form or other,
must enter into the composition of every soil, to ren-
der it fertile ; and where the chemist fails to detect
it in the land, he supplies it artificially. A know-
ledge of the analysis of soils is therefore necessary
to every good farmer. The use of mineral manures
is beginning to be well understood, and to be gene-
rally practised in our country; but there are two
things that appear either not to be fully comprehend-
ed, or not to be sufficiently brought into successful
operation; the one is to make a given quantity of
land yield, for a series of years, the maximum amount
of produce it is capable of by high culture and a ju-
dicious rotation of crops, and the other is the art of
irrigation. The great economy of making a small
portion of land yield as much as a large one, must
be too obvious to require explanation, and the man-
ner of effecting this important object is to be learned
by the application of scientific principles to husband-
ry. The wonderfully fertilizing effect of water has
been understood for ages, and the art of irrigation
has been practised from time immemorial. The
scriptures are filled with beautiful poetical allusions
to this art, which proves its antiquity, and it is still
practised in every part of Asia, throughout the south
of Europe, and in that portion of America settled by
the Spaniards. In those countries are seen extensive
works of irrigation, and where the depth of the bank

40

of the river and the low level will not allow canals
being taken out for the purpose, the Persian wheel,
an instrument of great power and antiquity, is used.
Often, indeed, water is drawn by this means from
deep wells, to irrigate the fields, while in our finely
watered country this great advantage is neglected.
I have traversed, in a period of drought, the rich
and fertile valleys of Virginia, and seen the corn and
grass perishing for want of moisture, while a bounti-
ful stream ran gurgling along the side of the hill,
wanting only to be tapped to restore the withering
plants and scorched grass to new life and vigor. In
the South, irrigation is practised in the cultivation of
* rice, but only in the low country, by means of the ebb
and flow of the tide, and for that plant alone. With
this exception, there, as elsewhere throughout our
country, the farmers do not avail themselves of the
great natural advantages they enjoy in having the
means of irrigation within their reach, but trust alto-
gether to the uncertain seasons. As a thorough know-
ledge of this art \vould more than double our agri-
cultural products with the same labor, this Institution
will confer a benefit on their fellow-citizens, by in-
structing them in the best methods of watering and
draining their fields. In the south of Europe canals
of irrigation have been constructed by the ablest
engineers of the age, and I cannot but think that our
own civil engineers would find their account in be-
coming acquainted with this art, while at the same
time they might render an invaluable service to their
country.

Entomology, which teaches the nature and habits

41

of insects, is an important branch of natural history
to the planter and farmer. It will enable him to pro-
tect his fruit trees, his grain and cotton fields, from
their ravages ; and an acquaintance with ornitholo-
gy will aid him to distinguish what birds serve as
auxiliaries for this purpose.

It will be the duty of this Institution, likewise, to
use its best endeavors to introduce into our country
new varieties of wholesome, nutritious, and pleasant
articles of food. With our extended commerce, this
duty may be readily performed; and here let rne remark,
that agriculture has attained a high degree of perfection
only among great commercial nations. The two arts
depend mutually upon each other, and the cultivation
of the one leads to the extension and advancement 01
the other.

In astronomy, geology, mineralogy, and the various
other branches of natural history and sections into which
our Institution is divided, our labors must bear a near re-
semblance to those of similar societies elsewhere. But
the duties that devolve upon the department of Ameri-
can History and Antiquities are essentially different from
those required in any other quarter of the globe. While
in the early history of those nations, the historian, com-
pelled to grope his way through a labyrinth of barba-
rism, ignorance, and fiction, is bewildered in his search
after truth, the light of science, dawning upon the whole
course of American history, points out to the careful in-
vestigator a safe and illumined path from the great new
continent in the south back to the island of St. Salvador.

The discovery of our continent ; its first settlements ;
the growth of the colonists in intelligence, wealth, and

42

love of freedom; the triumph over oppression; the esta-
blishment of a republican Government, and the subse-
quent proof of its happy adaptation to the wants of
man, are all subjects peculiar to the history of our own
nation, and are now being illustrated and treated with
equal industry and ability, and by master hands. The
documentary history of that revolution which secured
to us and to our posterity the blessings of civil and
religious liberty, now being published through the en-
lightened liberality of Congress, has been collected by
Mr. Force, of this city, through whose zeal and un-
tiring industry every document of a publick nature has
been collected which tended to prepare and carry on
that revolution, and he is gathering together every inte-
resting material calculated to illustrate this great event;
while the luminous pages of Mr. Bancroft contain al-
ready an admirable account of the early settlement and
colonial history of our country, and give promise of a
work far surpassing any other that has appeared, in pro-
found research, in brilliancy and beauty of style, and
in every quality which can interest and gratify the his-
torian, and secure his confidence in its truth and faith-
fulness. Both of these gentlemen, I am happy to say,
are members of our Institution.

It will be our province to aid the societies already
formed in the United States in collecting and preserving
such materials as may develop and substantiate the truth
of the events of our history ; and especially will it be
our duty to inquire into that of the people we have dis-
posessed. We are only the settlers of this continent.
Who are, and whence came its aborigines ? The In-
dian race, now fading from the earth ; their mounds
and pyramids, and temples and ruined cities; their

43

various revolutions and states of society, have long been
subjects of investigation, and to assist in tracing this
mysterious people from their present degraded condi-
tion up, through days of glory, to their origin, is a duty
that belongs to the department of American history and
antiquities. Fortunately for our infant Institution this
department is well composed and well organized. An
association of individuals devoted to historical re-
searches, with enlightened liberality, joined the Insti-
tution upon its formation, and transferred to it their
books, and the valuable records of their transactions.
They have since continued their labors under the au-
spices of this association, and from the industry and
intelligence which have hitherto marked their investi-
gations, there is reason to calculate upon results emi-
nently useful to the public and honorable to the Insti-
tution. These investigations will be essentially aided
by the historical researches now making by a very able
and distinguished American writer, (if I am rightly in-
formed,) into the records of our sister republic of Mex-
ico. That portion of this continent was inhabited by
an agricultural and civilized race at the period of its
conquest by Cortez, and there exists some painted me-
morials that would seem to indicate their early immi-
gration and settlement. The followers of the Spanish
conqueror, and especially the Catholic clergy, who were
indefatigable in their efforts to spread the light of Chris-
tianity throughout that country, had great opportunities
of becoming acquainted with the traditionary lore of
this simple people, and have doubtless left valuable re-
cords behind them. That the southern portion of Mex-
ico, at least, was inhabited by a still superior race long
prior to the conquest, is sufficiently shown by the ruins

44

of cities, of palaces and temples, in the most southern
provinces bordering on Guatemala. Whether they
were overpowered and destroyed by the red men, whose
march is indicated by their rude devices as from north
to south, and whether either had any connection with
the aborigines we have displaced, are subjects of great
interest to the American historian ; and we congratu-
late ourselves that they will be investigated by one who
has given such evidence of his industry and capacity
as the accomplished author of "Ferdinand and Isa-
bella."

The last section, that of Literature and the Fine Arts,
cannot be treated worthily without exceeding very much
the limits of this discourse. The importance of culti-
vating and using our utmost efforts to improve the lite-
rature of our country, must be apparent to all. It is
the vehicle of science, and upon its character the dig-
nity and reputation of a nation depend. It exercises a
controlling influence on the public liberties. The pa-
triotic citizen who would, either in the forum or through
the press, warn his fellow-citizens of impending danger,
or enlighten them on their interests — who would dissi-
pate ignorance, correct error, or reform abuse — must
borrow the tones and wield the energies of literature.
Our freedom reposes on the guarantee of our political
institutions ; and who can wrest them from our pos-
terity, with a competent literature to inculcate and vin-
dicate its doctrines and principles, and to proclaim its
rights ?

Literature and the fine arts go hand in hand. The
flourishing condition of the first is a sure prelude to the
advancement of the latter ; and their united influence
add, in a high degree, to the enjoyment of human ex-

45

istenee. Their progress has every where kept pace
with that of the moral and social condition of mankind,
and their history marks, with unerring truth, the rise
and fall of nations. In tracing that history, it is grati-
fying to perceive that while literature and the arts con-
tribute so largely to improve and refine mankind, they
have flourished most in those countries where free in-
stitutions prevailed, and where liberty loved to dwell.
In other countries, a taste for literature and the fine
arts is confined to a favored few — the aristocracy of
birth, of wealth, or of talent ; and there such a distri-
bution is natural and may be sufficient, because these
classes alone govern those countries. Here, the people
reign — all power is centred in them ; and if we would
have them not only maintain their ascendency, but use
their power discreetly, no expense or pains should be
spared to inspire them with a love of literature, and a
taste for the fine arts. To effect this, the effort must
be made here. It must originate at the seat of Govern-
ment, and spread from this place over the populous
plains and fertile valleys of the land. Could a greater
curse fall upon this country than that the sons of the
intelligent, and enlightened, and virtuous men who
achieved our independence and secured our freedom,
should become less intelligent, less enlightened, and less
virtuous than their sires ? That these valleys and plains,
instead of teeming with a race burning with the love
of freedom, and ever ready and able to vindicate their
rights, should be filled by a people supine and ignorant,
the fitting tools of demagogues and tyrants ?

In a free country, literature may and will flourish by
the well-directed efforts of individuals ; but the arts re-
quire the protecting hand of Government. They owe

46

their origin, their progress, and their present condition
to that source and to religions enthusiasm. Their first
object was to personify the god-like forms of heathen
idolatry, and to hand down to posterity the image of
the heroes to whom a nation owed its gratitude. They
subsequently became the means of recording the mira-
cles of the true faith, and of spreading the history of
the Christian church over the world. In our favored
land, they would commemorate the heroic deeds of our
forefathers, their achievements and sacrifices in the
cause of independence, their deep devotion to the free-
dom of their country. To a certain extent, this has
been effected by the liberality of Government ; statues
have been erected, paintings executed, and medals struck
by orders of Congress. Copies of such pictures, statues,
and medals, should be spread far and wide over the land,
that they may penetrate into every hamlet, and inspire
the people universally with gratitude and emulation.
From the advancement of the fine arts, we may pro-
mise ourselves great improvements in the architecture
of our private and public buildings; in the former, a
better adaptation of the arrangements to the comforts
and conveniences of life ; in the latter, more suitable
forms and arrangements for the purposes of business.
We are led away by the imposing appearance of mas-
sive colonnades and splendid porticos, and apply them
equally to temples and to buildings intended altogether
for the transaction of public business. This is a mis-
take which the more chastened taste will correct.

A collection of models and paintings at Washington
could not fail to be highly useful. It would aid the
cultivation of the art of design, which cannot be too
strongly recommended. It multiplies the resources and

47

enjoyments of the professional man, and is an essential
accomplishment to the architect, the machinist, the arti-
zan, and the mechanic. It ought to be taught in our
common schools ; and every mechanic should be able
to sketch with accuracy his own plans, and to copy
those of others, so as to be able to profit by every im-
provement that comes under his observation.

The science of Music, although not so manifestly
useful, exercises great influence over the moral and
social condition of society. It is taught in the common
schools in Germany, and there music constitutes the
chief amusement of the people. Instead of hearing in
their streets the indistinct roaring of senseless rhymes,
out of time and tune, the Germans may be seen assem-
bled in groups, after the labors of the day, singing in
parts the delightful music of their inspired composers,
elevating their voices in grateful adoration to their
Maker, or chanting some of the spirited patriotic songs
for which the father land of the Teutonic race is so
celebrated. Whoever has witnessed this contrast —
whoever has been startled with the discordant sounds
of the one, and enraptured with the exquisite harmony
of the other, will understand the advantages that are
likely to accrue to the cause of temperance, of morality,
and of religion, by cultivating the science of music, and
making it a part of the education of the people.

I have thus endeavored to explain the objects and im-
portance of the Institution we have established at Wash-
ington, so far as the limits of an address will permit,
but have been necessarily compelled to omit many topics
of nearly equal interest with those which have been
treated. Enough, however, has been said, I trust, to
impress upon you the important advantages which the

48

people of this country would derive from the existence
of such an establishment at the seat of Government.

In every country in Europe, those who cultivate the
arts and sciences enjoy the advantage of finding in each
capital a central establishment, such as we propose.

In London, the Royal Museum, which was com-
menced by the enlightened liberality of an individual,
and subsequently enriched by similar bequests, and now
liberally patronized by Government, possesses all that
is necessary to protect and encourage literature, science,
and the arts.

The society for the promotion of science and the
useful arts in Dublin, having an extensive museum of
natural history, a botanic garden, and school of design,
fulfils effectually the objects of its institution, and justi-
fies the very liberal patronage of the British Govern-
ment. There students in every branch of science find
the means of improvement, and some of the most ac-
complished artists in England have been instructed in
this school.

In this country, we are best acquainted with the mu-
seum, botanical and zoological gardens, and liberal
course of instruction, at the Jardin desPlantes, in Paris,
where strangers resort, from every quarter of the world,
to consult the collections and listen to lectures, which
are open to all who choose to attend them. These
courses of lectures are delivered by the ablest and most
eloquent men in France, on every branch of science.
In the summer, botany is taught in a garden abounding
in all the vegetable productions of the world ; zoology
in the midst of specimens of every known animal, and
other branches of natural history, with the advantage
of extensive collections, which are augmenting daily

49

by an enlightened and active system of exchanges :
chemistry and technology arc illustrated by well
conducted experiments and admirably adapted ap-
paratus, and every branch of natural philosophy
taught with clearness and precision, and explained
by the most ample means of illustration. These lec-
tures are attended by students who have completed
their academic course, and by men of science who
seek to increase their knowledge.

There can be no doubt that a National Institution,
such as we contemplate, having at its command an
observatory, a museum containing collections of all
the productions of nature, a botanic and zoological
garden, and the necessary apparatus for illustrating
every branch of physical science, would attract to-
gether men of learning and students from every part
of our country, would open new avenues of intel-
ligence throughout the whole of its vast extent,
and would contribute largely to disseminate among
the people the truths of nature and the light of
science.

A fortunate concurrence of circumstances offers a
favorable occasion to carry all these important ob-
jects into immediate effect. A liberal and enlight-
ened Englishman, foreseeing the benefits which would
result to science throughout the world by its suc-
cessful cultivation in the vast and extensive field of-
fered by these States and Territories, with enlarged
views and praiseworthy philanthropy, has bequeathed
a fund to be employed for the sacred purposes of in-
creasing and diffusing knowledge among men. This
bequest will enable the Government to afford all

50

necessary protection to the promotion of science and
the useful arts, without the exercise of any doubtful
power, by the application of the annual interest of
this fund to the establishment of an observatory, the
erection of suitable buildings to contain the collec-
tions, and for lecture rooms, the purchase of books
and instruments, and the salaries of professors and
curators. Specimens of natural history are rapidly
accumulating. The exploring expedition has already
sent home a large collection, which remains packed
away in boxes in a room belonging to the Philadel-
phia museum, generously loaned by the company for
that purpose ; and we may anticipate from the ability
and well known zeal of the naturalists who accom-
panied it by order of Government, that the squadron
itself, shortly expected, will return richly freighted
with objects of natural history. I cannot believe that
after all the labor, pains, and expense incurred in pro-
curing them, these specimens are not to be brought
to Washington, to be arranged and exhibited here.
A geological survey of the Territory of Iowa was
made a few months since, by order of the Govern-
ment, and numerous valuable specimens collected
by Mr. Owen. Mr. Nicolet has brought with him in-
teresting collections made in the country he visited,
and Doctor King, of Missouri, lately sent to the lead
region on business connected with the ordnance
office, while there collected specimens of minerals
which are likewise destined for Washington. The
ordnance officers who have lately returned from
Europe, have brought with them numerous speci-
mens of the iron ores used in the foundries there, and

51

measures have been taken to procure, as objects of
comparison, those of the United States.

Several individuals have transmitted donations to
the Institution, while others have deposited their col-
lections with us, from a desire to have them preserved,
and, at the same time, to benefit science. We have
reason to believe that this will be extensively done
as soon as the Institution is firmly established. There
are many of our countrymen who, like Sir Hans Sloan,
the founder of the British museum, look forward with
regret to the sale and dispersion of their collections,
made at great cost and pains, and desiring to have
them preserved entire, would deposit them with an
institution which will be as stable as the Government
that protects it. For these purposes, and especially
if it be intrusted, as we hope it will be, with the spe-
cimens of natural history collected by the exploring
squadron, it will be necessary that measures should
be early adopted to have erected on a suitable site, on
the public ground, a plain fire-proof building, to con-
tain them, where the increasing and valuable collec-
tions may be displayed, and be examined by the
scientific inquirer, and where he may resort for evi-
dence to support his theories or to correct his views.
We hope that this further contribution to science will
not be withheld. The expeditions themselves have
received the favorable notice of every civilized na-
tion, and were fitted out in obedience to the will of
the people, who would not desire to see the fruits of
so much toil and danger perish for want of this trifling
additional expense. We cherish the hope that they
will form the foundation of a National Museum, and

52

contribute to spread the light of science over our
land.

My colleagues have already exhibited so much zeal
and industry, that they require no exhortation from
me to persevere in their efforts to promote the objects
of our Institution, and in their contributions to the
union and progress of the arts and sciences. Con-
stituted as this Society is, few of its members can
bestow their whole time to the purposes of the Insti-
tution; but all may devote some portion of it to this
object. The mind requires relaxation from the la-
bors of a trade, or profession, or the cares of state ;
but, like the soil we cultivate, it need not be left for
that period to grow up in noxious weeds. Relaxation
from intense application to our important duties may
be found in the pursuits of literature and science.
It is an error to suppose that letters cannot be culti-
vated without neglecting the fulfilment of the obliga-
tions we owe to our families or to our country. On
the contrary, the man who devotes his leisure to the
acquisition of knowledge will invigorate his mind and
better fit himself to fulfil his more important duties,
than if he had passed those moments in frivolous
amusements ; and the pursuit itself, by leading us lo
an intimate acquaintance with the works of nature,
cannot fail to elevate our minds to the contemplation
of that Being who " in wisdom has made them all,"
and to inspire us with devout gratitude to Him who
has endued us with intelligence to comprehend his
marvellous works.

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