161

Feb: 14. 1677.

Sr Ionas more vice president tooke the Chair.
The minutes of wt. passed the Last Day of meeting were read. and some parts
discoursed. after wch.

An Experiment to proue the force of the compressed air was shewn by
mr. Hooke by which it euidently appeard that the force necessary to
condense. the air was always proportionate to the condensation which was
veryfyed by seuerall tryalls of seuerall Degrees of condensation. that
is to condense the air twice Requird twice the strength & 3ce. three
times the strength &c. that is if the same quantity be condensd then the
force or weight of the power that makes the condensation shall alwayes
be reciprocall to the Dimension. but if the Dimension be the same
then the force shall be always proportionall to quantity of air conteind
in that space. this was experimented in a tube of glasse about
ten foot long, the one end of wch. was seald vp hermetically and
turned or bended back againe in the forme of a syphon reuersed
in wch. reuersed part there being left about 10 inches of air quicksiluer
was powred into the other part till the weight thereof had con
densed the same into fiue inches space the height of wch cylinder
of was found to be about 30 inches. then the pouring in of
was continued till the same air was condensed into two inches
and an half and the ^ /height of the/ cylindricall mercury was found to be 90 inches
and the same proportions were obserued to be in other compressions

Sr. Ionas more Presented the foot of a Sea Fowle for the Repository
being a                and supposed the foot of a _
He also gaue a Large hornets nest brought from the west indies wch. was
seuerall large combes fastned vpon the twig of a bough and very
thick couerd wth. a sort of Leaues or rather cloth of the make
of the Hornets wch. being Looked vpon wth. Glasses was found to
be made vp of abundance of small threeds and looked much -
like the texture of paper wth these the whole structure of combes
was closely enwrapped on euery side as if Designed to shelter
and inclose the . . . nest of the hornets /young/ from the Iniurys of the air
and weather being a kind of naturall Hiue.

Ref: CELL/RS/HF_163  © Centre for Editing Lives and Letters