half-way between D and b; a second in the place of the line b in the solar spectrum, and the third, which is fainter, in the blue. Beyond the yellow, in the opposite direction, the spectrum suddenly terminates. The author remarked upon the accordance of this spectrum with the colour of the planet, I upon the indistinctness of its outline under high magnifying powers. The author also indicated a means of obtaining two superposable spectra, and stated that he had observed that the spectra furnished by Geissler's tubes were essentially different according as the light was taken from the tubes, the bulbs, or the luminous sheaths of the wire. In his second paper Father Secchi stated that in order to observe the spectra of the smaller stars, he had adopted the plan of placing a large prism before the object-glass of his telescope, and obtained favourable results, some of which he communicated.—A note by M. F. Massieu, supplementary to a paper presented by him on the 18th October, was read. It related to characteristic functions in thermodynamics.—M. P. Gauthier communicated an essay on the movement of a projectile in the air; M. J. Carvallo, an investigation of the stability of beacon towers; M. E. Roger, a note on some general properties of curved surfaces; MM. Curie and Vigier communicated the results of some experiments upon animals, indicating that turpentine is not, as was supposed by M. Personne, an antidote for phosphorus. They also remarked that the hypothesis that the toxical action of phosphorus is due to its depriving the blood of oxygen was not compatible with the small doses of phosphorus which may prove fatal.—A note from M. Zantedeschi on the calorific rays of the moon was read, in which he indicated that the heating effect of the moon's rays was demonstrated in 1685 by G. Montanari, and in 1781 by P. Frisi. The author also cited his own experiments.—A note on the calculation of the going of chronometers to determine longitudes, by M. H. de Maguay, was read, giving the results of observations upon these chronometers, and upon this M. Yvon Villarceau made some remarks.—A note by M. Bontemps on the coloration of glass under the influence of the solar light, was presented. In this paper the author adduces numerous examples of the production of a greater or less change in the colour of glass by long exposure to the sun's rays.—A note on the physical properties of arable soils, by M. Hervé-Mangon, was read, in which the author called attention to certain physical properties of soils, such as their calorific power, their power of condensing and holding gases, and especially their behaviour with regard to water and aqueous vapour, which are of as much importance as their chemical properties in estimating the qualities of the soils. He described the means by which these properties of soils may be investigated.—An extract from a letter by Mr. C. T. Jackson, of Boston, was communicated, giving an account of the copper-mines of Lake Superior, and of a new deposit of tin in the State of Maine. He mentioned a mass of native copper obtained at a depth of 480 feet in the Phœnix mine last June, measuring 65 feet long 32 feet high, and 4 feet thick at the exposed end. He estimated that this mass would furnish about 1,000 tons of copper, and stated that it was contained in a true vein, cutting at right angles several beds of trap and other rocks. The gangue consisted of cale spar. quartz, and pretruite. The deposit of tin noticed by the author was said to be in the neighbourhood of the town of Winslow, where the mineral occurs in more than 40 little veins, varying in thickness from 14 inch to 1 foot, occupying a space between the metamorphic limestone and gneiss which constitute the country. The author obtained from the rough mineral 46 per cent of tin.—A letter from M. A. Rojas entitled "Echoes of a seismic tempest" was communicated. It contained an account of disturbances, chiefly manifested by the rise fall of water, which occurred in various parts of South America simultaneously with the great Peruvian earthquake of the 13th August, 1868.—A letter by MM. E. Harny and F. Lenormant, dated at Thebes, was communicated, in which they announced the discovery of traces of the Stone Age in Egypt. They found an immense quantity of worked flints of all kinds upon a small space of the plateau separating the valley of Biban-el-Molouk from the escarpments which look over the ruins of Deir-el-Bahari. They compared the place to what is known in France as a "workshop of the Neolithic period."—M. Balbiani communicated an investigation of the development and propagation of Strongylus gigas, in which he described the production and structure of the egg, and the development of the embryo of that parasite, the embryo of which he said, remains in the egg for five or six months in winter, and may remain there for a whole year. The author described his experiments, from which it appears that this parasite does not pass directly from the egg into the animal in which it acquires its perfect development.—M. P. Fischer described the copulation and spawning of the Aplysiæ and Dolabriferæ, as observed by him in the aquarium at Arcachon. In the Aplysiæ, the same individual serves alternately as a male and as a female; and the author mentioned his having several times seen five or six individuals united to form a chain, each of them, except the first and last, performing the function of both sexes at once. In the Dolabrifera, which is likewise hermaphrodite, the copulation of the two individuals is reciprocal. The author described the emission and mode of attachment of the ribbon of eggs produced by the Aplysiæ, which, according to him, is sometimes as much as 120 times the length of the body of the Mollusk.—A note on the aanatomy of the Alcyonaría, by MM. G. Pouchet and A. Myèvre, was presented, as also some other papers of which the titles only are given.
Italy
Royal Lombardy Institute of Science and Literature, The following Prize Questions are proposed by this Institute:—
ORDINARY PRIZES OF THE INSTITUTE.
Class of literature and of Moral and Political Science.
For 1870.—To what extent is it the right or duty of Government to interfere in the education of the people, and how ought this interference to be exercised?
1. To determine whether it is a right or a duty.
2. To inquire how the exercise of such right, or the performance of such duty, can be reconciled with the acknowledged and inalienable principle of liberty, civil, political, and religious. (To be delivered in Feb. 1870.)
Class of Mathematical and Natural Science.
For 1871.—Required an Essay on the physical and chemical nature of the various mineral combustibles of different epochs, with the view of determining whether there are any means of establishing a new classification thereof, which may serve to diminish, if not to remove, the ambiguities relating to the importance of the several deposits of mineral fuel, having regard to their quality, and to the extent of their deposits. (To be delivered in Feb. 1871. Prizes for this and the preceding question, 1,200 lire.
TRIENNIAL MEDALS OF THE INSTITUTE.
The Royal Institute of Lombardy, according to the fifteenth article of its organic regulations, "adjudges every three years two gold medals, each worth 1,000 lire, for the promotion of agricultural and manufacturing industry; one of which is intended for those Italian citizens who have contributed to the progress of agriculture in Lombardy, by means of discoveries, or of methods not yet put in practice, the other to those who have conspicuously improved, or successfully introduced into Lombardy a given manufacturing industry."
Those who wish to compete for these medals are requested to present their claims, accompanied by the necessary documents, to the Secretary of the Institute, at the Palazzo di Brera in Milan, not later than the 1st of March, 1870.
ORDINARY PRIZES OF THE FONDAZIONE CAGNOLA.
For 1870.—Required a Memoir, treating of the attained or possible advantage to the agriculture of any of the provinces of the Kingdom of Italy, and especially of Lombardy, arising from the introduction, accomplished or possible, of the doctrines or practices recommended at the present day by the progress of Physics, Chemistry, or Meteorology. (For Feb. 1870. Prize, 3,000 lire, including a gold medal, worth 500 lire.)
For 1871.—A Monograph on the poisonous and explosive substances extracted from coal, and on the hygienic measures to be adopted in the preparation, commerce, and transport of these bodies. (To be delivered Feb. 1871. Prize, 1,500 lire, with a gold medal of the value of 500 lire.)
For 1872.—A Memoir giving, together with the necessary proofs by fact, a demonstration or a refutation of the curative or prophylactic efficacy of the alkaline and earthy sulphites or hyposulphites in intermittent fevers arising from malaria, comparatively with other means or remedies already known. (To be delivered in Feb. 1872. Prize, 1,500 lire, and a gold medal, worth 500 lire.)
The Memoirs to which prizes are awarded in the ordinary competitions of the Fondazione Cagnola remain the property of
