Produced by Chris Curnow, Hunter Monroe, Joseph Cooper and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION [Illustration] UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 231 WASHINGTON, D.C. 1964 Publications of the United States National Museum The scholarly publications of the United States National Museum include two series, _Proceedings of the United States National Museum_ and _United States National Museum Bulletin_. In these series are published original articles and monographs dealing with the collections and work of the Museum and setting forth newly acquired facts in the fields of anthropology, biology, geology, history, and technology. Copies of each publication are distributed to libraries and scientific organizations and to specialists and others interested in the various subjects. The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in separate form, of shorter papers. These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume. In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the botanical collections of the Museum have been published in the _Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from the United States National Herbarium_. FRANK A. TAYLOR, _Director, United States National Museum_. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20402--Price $1.00 (Paper Cover) [Illustration: Frontispiece.--"Washington as a Surveyor." Engraving reproduced from Washington Irving's _Life of George Washington_ (New York: 1857, vol. 1).] EARLY AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS _and Their Makers_ SILVIO A. BEDINI _Curator of Mechanical and Civil Engineering_ MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, 1964 Contents Page Acknowledgments ix Preface xi THE TOOLS OF SCIENCE 3 Philosophical and Practical Instruments 3 The Need for Instruments 6 Colonial Training in Instrument Making 8