16 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



of vertebrata, and the other either from the Mollucca or Articulata, of 

 the proper foundation for comparative embryology. 



The prizes for either of the above is a gold medal of 3,000 francs. 



A medal of gold, of the value of 800 francs, is decreed each to the 

 work, printed or in manuscript, which appears to have contributed 

 most to the progress of Experimental Physiology. A gold medal of 

 the value of 2,500 francs is oifered, for 1856, for the best work on the 

 mode of fecundation of eggs, and the structure of the organs of gene- 

 ration, in the principal natural groups of the class of Polyps, or that 

 of Acalephs. 



The sum of 4,000 has recently been bequeathed to the French In- 

 stitute, to be given to the discoverer of a cure for the Asiatic cholera, 

 the annual interest of the sum to be awarded to those who may do 

 most to relieve the terrible malady. 



The Royal Scottish Society of Arts offers prizes, varying from 10 

 to 30, for " any thing new in the art of clock or watch making," 

 for inventions or new appliances in the useful arts generally, and for 

 "means by which the natural productions of the country may be 

 made more available." And the Scientific Society of Leipsic an- 

 nounces prizes for papers on commerce, astronomy, and political 

 economy, to be written in French, German or Latin. The Royal 

 Academy of Berlin offers two hundred ducats to whomsoever shall 

 furnish a satisfactory reply to certain inquiries touching the well 

 being of a State. It wishes to know, among others, whether Adam 

 Smith's leading doctrine work makes wealth can be identified 

 with the prosperity of a people. The Royal Institution of Great 

 Britain makes known that the Actonian prize of 105 will be ready 

 in 1858 for the author of the best essay on the " Wisdom and Benefi- 

 cence of the Almighty, as manifested by the Influence of Solar Ra- 

 diation." So much knowledge has been gained of this subject within 

 the past few years that materials are abundant, and we ought to 

 have an essay of more than ordinary interest. 



The " Societe Medico-Pratique de Paris " offers a prize, in the 

 form of a gold medal worth three hundred francs, for the best disser- 

 tation on the mode of action of the principal purgatives used in medi- 

 cine, with the special indications for their use. 



The curious effects attributed to the extract and various other prep- 

 arations of the Canabus Indicus, as used in Egypt, has induced the 

 above Society to offer a prize of one thousand francs for the best 

 analysis of the cannabis. 



The Society of Arts, London, offers a premium of fifty guineas to 

 any person who will furnish them with modes of operation, models, 

 and specifications of machinery by which tha New Zealand flax, 



