191

Apr. 18. 1678.

Sr. Ionas more the vice president tooke the chair.

The minutes of the 4th. of Aprill were read wch. gaue occasion to Discourse
concerning the seuerall ways of sounding the Depth of the Sea.

Sr. Ionas more. Related that he had, /made/ many tryalls wth the balls & weights
of Lead for the sounding the Depths of the Sea, and that he had found it
exceeding Difficult to Determine any thing by them by Reason that it
was almost imposible to Discouer them certainly at their first
appearing aboue water (though they would oftentimes Leap into
the air to a considerable height.) and that was because they -
would often rise 200 fathom from the place where they were
Lett down into the water. That of 12 wch. he tryd at the
streights mouth not one of them & was found at its first
appearance. he therefore conceiud they would be of very Little
vse in the ocean though they might be in very Deep Lakes
such as the Lake of Geneva. &c



Herevpon a further Discourse was occasiond concerning the motion
of Ascending light bodys and whether bodys ascending from
a greater Depth would not moue much swifter towards the
Latter end & Rise higher than those wch. came from . . . a Lesser
Depth. And it was alledged that A Ball of such a poise as those
made vse of for sounding the Depth of the Sea. would in its
ascending acquire very . . . a considerable velocity . . .
but that Degree being acquired it would not be more accele
rated though It ascended neuer soe much further -

Dr. Croon moued that a theory of this matter might be
brought into the Society.

Sr. Ionas more alledged that In shooting Granadoes He had
found that the greatest Randome was below 45 degrees .

Ref: CELL/RS/HF_193  © Centre for Editing Lives and Letters