180 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



of seed yielded by the plant in the neighbourhood of Sydney 

 appeal's to me to be much smaller than in its native clime. 

 Mr. Whittell also exhibited specimens of Lagria rufescens, and 

 stated he was informed by a resident that there are thousands of 

 these Beetles to be seen in the Ryde district this year. They are 

 to be seen in swarms on the fruit ti'ees, and are very destructive to 

 the fruit, materially damaging its market value by eating shallow 

 canals all over the surface, but seeming to prefer those parts where 

 slight decomposition has set in. 



The President announced that the Council of the Society had 

 been presented by a member of the Societv with <£100, accom- 

 panied with a request that it should be offered as a prize for an 

 essay on " The Life History of the Bacillus of Typhoid Fever." 

 The Council has assented to the proposal, and advertisements to 

 that effect will be immediately inserted in the most prominent 

 scientific publications throughout the world. The essays will be 

 received by the Society not later than 31st December, 1884. 

 The intention and wishes of the donor of the prize will be best 

 given in his own words. " The questions chiefly to be solved in 

 the investigation of the Life History of the Bacillus of typhoid 

 fever, are — 1. What are the specific characters of the organism, 

 as distinguished from other Bacteria ? 2. What are the changes, 

 if any, which the organism undergoes in the human body 1 3. 

 What are its modes of development and reproduction in the 

 human body'? 4. What changes or metamorphoses, if any, does 

 the organism undergo after ejection from the human body, or in 

 any other condition of its existence 1 5. What fluids or other 

 substances seem best adapted for the growth and multiplication of 

 the organism 1 6. Can the organism live or be cultivated in pure or 

 distilled water 1 7. What are its limits of endurance of heat, 

 cold, dryness, or humidity 1 As far as these points are con- 

 cerned, the author should confine himself entirely to facts which 

 come under his own observation, and those should be given in 

 detail, with a full explanation of the method of investigation. 

 But in dealing with the results obtained by these investigations, 

 and the consideration of the means whereby a knowledge of the 



