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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'Observations on the dry-rot of ships, and an effectual method to prevent it pointed out' by James Mease

Reference number: AP/21/6

Date: 1837

Description

Mease, of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, presents a method for preventing dry rot which involves impregnating the timbers and planks of ships with muriate of soda [sodium chloride], or 'marine salt'.

Subject: Engineering / Chemistry

Received 11 May 1837. Read 15 June 1837. Communicated by Charles Konig.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 3 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'Observations on the dry-rot of ships, and an effectual method to prevent it pointed out'.

Reference number
AP/21/6
Earliest possible date
1837
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
18 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Unpublished paper, 'Observations on the dry-rot of ships, and an effectual method to prevent it pointed out' by James Mease, 1837, AP/21/6, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_21_6/unpublished-paper-observations-on-the-dry-rot-of-ships-and-an-effectual-method-to-prevent-it-pointed-out-by-james-mease, accessed on 13 April 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_21_6/unpublished-paper-observations-on-the-dry-rot-of-ships-and-an-effectual-method-to-prevent-it-pointed-out-by-james-mease

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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