316 



Prize ques- 

 tions. 



Graduation 

 houses for 

 making salt. 



Effects of ma- 

 nuxus. 



Ancient topo- 

 graphy of 

 HoUand. 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS, 



of dcstroyinnj them, was awarded to Mr. Fred. W, Freyer, 

 councellorof the court and of the regency of Saxe Hilburg- 

 hausen. ' 



The following questions, hftving received no eatisfkctory 

 answer, are repeatied, 



1. May graduation houses, for making ^alt from seawater 

 be estabhshed with advantage on the coast of Holland j n d 

 how may they be best conducted, considering the circum- 

 stance of the country? 



2. From the process latfely made in the physiology of plants 

 hov Far do we know in what way vegetation is promoted by 

 different manures in various soils; and what indications 

 uiay we deduce from the knowledge we have acquired, with 

 respect to the fertilization of uncultivated and barren land? 



3. How far can the study of ancient authors, the examina- 

 tion of antiquities, and observations made on the spot, serve 

 to determine with certainty what the face of this country 

 was formerly, particularly under the dominion of the Ro- 

 mans, including the course of the rivers, and extent of 

 the hikes, and what changes they have successively under- 



Chanwe* ot> '^' What do historical accounts of acknowledged authen- 



ihe coasts of thenticity teach us of the changes, that have taken place 



" ' * on the coasts of Holland, the islands, and the arms of the 



sea that separate them ? and what useful information may 



be derived from it. 

 Ancient and 5. Do the tides on our coasts rise higher than in former 

 present height atges, and fall proportionably less low? — If so, how far 



can we determine the quantity of this difference in ages 



more or less remote, and what are the causes of the changes ? 



Do tiiey arise from gradual alterations in the outlets of the 



waters, or do they depend on external and more remote 



causes ? 

 Renovation of 6. As the experiments and observations of philosophers 



♦heoxigeii of jjave shoAvn of late, that the quantity of oxigen eas emitted 

 the atmos- . _ . , i 



phere. by plants is by no means sufficient to supply to the atmos- 



phere what is consumed by the respiration of animals, com- 

 bustion, absorption, &c., by what other means is the due 

 proportion between the component parts of the atmosphere 



pontiouallv preserved ? 



7tHow 



