332 Notices and Proceedings of Scientijie Societies'. 



report on the second manuscript edition of the Botanical Glossary of M, 

 de Theis. 



M. Arago commimicated a notice relative to a series of triangles, com^ 

 prising 8° of latitude, of 52° to 60°, in the governments of Wilna and 

 Grodno. He also announced, that the meridian of Uorpat was to be 

 prolonged. The north part will be executed under the direction of M. 

 Struvo. It will commence at the Island of Hogland, in the Gulf of St 

 Petersburg, will traverse the whole of Finland, and will rejoin the degree of 

 Laponia near Torneo. M. Struve has already made a detailed examination 

 of the soil, and sees no obstacle to the measure. 



July. MM. Geoffroy St Hilaire and Serres made a report on a notice 

 by Dr Dupourquet, concerning a double infant, of the genus Ischiadelphia, 

 born at Salias, (Lower Pyrenees,) at the end of March. This monster 

 appears to be two infants united together on a circular line, which extends 

 from the anus over the pubes, in such a way, that the skin of the two 

 bellies, by adhering, has hidden the sexual organs, and thus the two children 

 seem to have only one common abdomen, and only one umbilical cord. 



July 12. M. Arago presented to the Academy a Memoir on Mathe- 

 mati<;al Geography, by M. Pentland, contahung the longitudes and latitudes 

 of the most remarkable points of Upper Peru, now called Bolivia. 



M. Cuvier read a memoir on some fossil bones, apparently belonging to 

 a bird, the species of which has been extirpated only two eenturies since. 

 ( See p. 30, supra. ) 



M. de Blainville observes, that, for several years, be has been engaged 

 with a work on the Dodo, for which he has had three plates prepared, which 

 he exhibited to the Society. 



Dr Fontaneilles sent two insects passed by stool by one of his patients 

 after the exhibition of purgative pills. " Having observed these two insects 

 through the microscope," says this physician in his letter, " they appear to 

 me to have the characters of a species of caterpilhir at the commencement 

 of its metamorphosis into a chrysalis j they are nearly an inch long. Their 

 skin is rather hard and shining ; the snout is round, and resembles that of a 

 silkworm. I think I can distinguish six rows of inferior feet." MM. 

 Cuvier and De Blainville made a report on the memoir of M. Duges, con- 

 taining some new observations on the Planarice and neighbouring genera. 

 This work possesses much interest, and will be printed in the Recueil des 

 Savans Etrangers. 



July 26. Prizes decreed The subject of the great prize for natural 



science was an anatomical description of the nerves of fishes. The academy 

 only received one memoir, written in Latin, and accompanied with drawings 

 representing the distribution of the nerves in the Perca hicioperea, the Esox 

 luciust and the Petromyzon marinus. This memoir contained excellent 

 observations, and a history almost as complete as it was possible to attain, 

 of the nerves of the two first species ; but the history of the third species 

 was much less perfect. Nevertheless, the academy, with the view of con- 

 tributing to the perfection of this work, and to its publication, awarded the 

 author the whole sum of 4000 francs, dedicated to the proposed prize. 



The Monthyon prize of experimental physiology was awarded to the work 

 of M. Leon Dufour, entitled " Anatomical and Physiological Researches, 

 on the Hemiptera, accompanied with considerations relating to the natural 

 history and classification of these insects, with an atlas of plates." The 

 academy made honourable mention of the work of M. Fourcaud, entitled 

 " Laws of the Living Organism," or the application of physico-chemical 

 laws of physiology. 



Prizes proposed. — The great prize for natural science. The academy 

 offers 4000 francs to the author of the best memoir on the following sub- 



