6 Experimenting

Abstract

The Latin terms for 'experience' and 'experiment' had been used interchangeably in medieval and early modern writings and by the beginning of the eighteenth century, 'the construal of experience as "experiment" … had acquired a wide and influential currency'. 1 As Étienne Chauvin argued at the turn of the eighteenth century, 'reason without experience is like a ship tossing about without a helmsman'. 2 Taken together, observation and experiment were fundamental to the scientific developments of this era, and both required direct and personal experience of phenomena and the ability to record that process. As mentioned in the previous chapter, observation and experiment often went hand in hand, and the examples discussed here reveal elements of both. Alongside a recognition of experience as a route to understanding came the acknowledgement of artisanal knowledge as important to scientific enquiry and, with it, a greater value placed on 'useful knowledge' as part of the larger search for truth. 3 Much of what follows draws on the records of societies dedicated to developing such useful knowledge. However, as these case studies show, the home was also a primary space for experiment.The main focus of this chapter is on the experimental work of breeding silkworms, and the central examples include a postmistress in Kent, an apothecary in Pennsylvania and a range of other working and leisured women -all of whom conducted their experiments from home. Mary Terrall has explored the use made by naturalist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683-1757) of domestic space for experiment and observation, noting his dependence on the capacities and personnel of his two large residences. 4 Here, elite domestic space is considered alongside homes of a much 5 Experimenting