New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-06-27
MILITARY IMPROVEMENTS AND
COUNT RETEOED.

discovery within the scope of the founders
design, that would minister to the health or
comfort of the brave men who have been calied
into tho field to fight the battles of Constitutional
Liberty1 We know that it must be very
gres. occasion to induce the Academy to part
with dollar of this money for any purpose that
could possibly have been within Count Rumfords
contemplation; but has not this great occasion
arisen oud is not the appropriation we have
suggested sufficiently important to attract Ia
vorablc notice : Let US explain in few words
Most of our readers have heard Of Benjamin
Thompson, the philosopher, and are familiar with
the main facts in his history. They know tor
instance that no was born in NewHampshirc, that
he was thrown by circumstances into Tory relations
at the breaking out OF the American Revolution ana
was obliged to abandon his native country and seek
refuge in England. Here he made himself useful
TO Lord George German, and was employed by Nun
in the State Department and in less than four years
attained tho post Of Under-Sccretary OF State. AL
the same time he devoted himself to military md
phiosophical studies and made numerous expert
ments on the strength Of gunpowder and the
velocity Of procctiles, giving the results OF bis
researches to the world through the Philosophical
transactions of the Royal Society. lie aiterwaro
received a commission in the British army, ana
Oh the close of the hostilihes with this country,
he obtained leave of absence from the King tor
the purpose of visiting the continent Of Europe.
| At Munich, he was favorably introduced 70 the
! Elector of Bavaria, and was prevailed upon 10
promise that he would enter hls service ne
| could obtain tho permission OF his sovereign.
This permission was granted, and was acco'hpa'
MED with the honor of knighthood. On his return
TO Munich, he was placed in confidential posi-
| ton near the person Of the reignlpg frihce
Charles Theodore, with the appointment of Aid
de Camp and Chamberlain.
In this situation he directed his earliest atten'
ton to the army Of the Prince, which was in
condition of miserable inefiicency, and maintained
at n very great expense. lie INTRODUCED iniPor-
taut reforms ia the clothing aud arms OF the
soldiers, and simpLfed their tactics to such
degree az to leave them spare time for the cul-
tlyaton Of the soil, and the raising OF vegetables
to help out their scanty ratons. Sell supporting
scbools were established in each regiment The
artillery service was a subject Of special interest
10 him, and the improvements he introduced In
their gun-carriages, equipments, and the manu-
facture of cannon, gave decided superiority 10
the Bayarian artillery over any on the Continent.
For these valuable services he received liberal
honors from grateful Princes and alter attain
zoe ~. MILITARY rank Of LieutenantGeneral, and
serving as Commander-in-Chief of the General
STAFF, and as Minister of War, he was made
Count Of the Holy Roman Empire, with title
derived from the name of town in his native
Province, now known as Concord.
The Counts mind was emiDently practical, and
his object seems to have been so to devote his
10 the masses Of mankind He devised and put
in execution efficient measures for suppressing
mendcancy in Bayarip, where streetbegging had
become On enormous evil. in carrying out these
measures, he appointed commission of the high.
est officers Of State, in whose hands were placed
the whole management of the poor, and the dis
trlbution Of aims. Under their auspices he estab
lished at Munich the Military Work-House, which,
the first year, cost the community twenty five
thousand dollars, and, at the end of six
years, after paying wages to all who deserved
them and supporting all in the city who had be-
fore subsisted on begging had yielded profit of
forty thousand dollars. In pursuing this phlan.
tbropic purpose, Rumford studied the art of
cookery which had been carried to such pef1ec.
ton in the Bavarian Army that, at an expense
of little more than three cents day each, the
soldiers were kept the finest, stoutest, and
I" strongest people in the world" SO Rumford
went Oh, busyiOg himself with compromising broths
and soups, devisng kitchens, with the most eco
nomisal arrangement of hues and furnaces for
saving fuel and retaining the nutritious qualities
Of the cooked substances, applying bis inventive
faculties to boilers and stew. pans, iron ovens,
and cooking ranges till he was recognized all
over Europe not only man Of science, but
as q great public benefactor.
In studying the economics for his military
work house ut Munich, Rumford found the saw
ing Of light nearly as important as the saving Of
food or fuel. lie instituted Investigations there
fore with the view Of determining tho relative
qualities of light given by oil and tallow in lamps
and candles and tue comparative cost of the |
substances emitting equal quantities of light. To |
measure the light, he constructed an apparatus
which he styled u photcmeter; and after numer-
tho Argand Lamp furnished the cheapest and
best light and on this basis be constructed a
new lamp of overpOwerng brilliancy, the prin.
ciple Of which has been applied to gas.lights
with entire sIIccess In Theses research.s and