1824.) 
several places. Its exterior face is di- 
vided into four compartments, whereon 
are engraved one or more notices, in 
three kinds of writing, with symbolical 
and alphabetical characters... In. the 
upper division appears the winged globe, 
perhaps an emblem of the ‘sun, found 
on most of the Egyptian monuments. 
The second division contains two «o- 
lumns of hieroglyphic signs, disposed in 
the form of Y, and between the inter- 
vals of the columns are priests, present- 
ing gifts to two divinities, perhaps Isis 
and Osiris. On the two other divisions 
are two inscriptions, one of which seems 
written in characters which, according 
to Apuleieus, could not: be explained. 
They are neither Greek, Hebrew, Ara- 
bic, Phenician; nor Palmyrean, but they 
resemble the two last rather than the 
preceding. M.Cordero conceives these 
characters to be of the vulgar alphabeti- 
cal writing of the Egyptians. The third 
inscription is in Greek letters, thirty- 
four lines, in very small characters, Of 
course this is one of the longest inscrip- 
tions hitherto discovered in Egypt. 
This new monument bears a_ strong 
analogy to that of Rosetta. 
UNIVERSITY of BERLIN. 
From a program, recently published, 
we learn that the courses for the win- 
ter half-year (1823-1824) in the Uni- 
versity of Berlin, amount to 189, di- 
vided into ten classes. These, in their 
order, comprise theology, theoretical and 
practical, jurisprudence, medicine, the 
philosophical sciences, including the 
principal features of pedagogy, or the 
science of education, mathematics, phy- 
sics, the economical and administrative 
sciences, history and politics, and philo- 
logy. There are lectures also on Eng- 
lish, French, and Spanish literature. 
One professor teaches singing gratui- 
tously, and there are excellent masters 
for the gymnastic arts, and those of 
recreation. All the public establish- 
ments, such as libraries, museums, dé- 
pots of charts and plans, cabinets of 
anatomy, galleries of antiquities, objects 
of art, &c., are open to all the stu- 
dents. 
COPENHAGEN SOCIETY of SCIENCES, 
The class of history of the Copenhagen 
Society of Sciences have proposed a 
prize, to be adjudged June Ist 1824, to 
the writer that shall most amply illus- 
trate the history of the Greek empire of 
Trebisond, from 1204 to 1461. It is 
but imperfectly known, and a successful 
Proceedings of Public Societies. 
147 
labour in it will be perused with a con- 
siderable degree of interest. After the 
taking of Constantinople by the Latins, 
a number of the Greeks retreated into 
Asia Minor, and established.an.empire at 
Trebisond, which lasted 250 years. Do- 
cuments must be resorted to in the an- 
nals ofthe Byzantine, historians, in 
voyages and travels, and even in the 
Turkish histories.; The crusading ex- 
peditions, which long kept that part of 
the world in agitation and alarm, will 
be. deserving of the candidates’ indus- 
trious research. 
ROYAL SOCIETY. Of ARRAS. 
In the last Report of The Royal So- 
ciety of Arras, for the Encouragement of 
Sciences, Letters, and Arts, a) memoir 
was read on the culture of dry, or 
mountain rice, in France. This had 
been introduced into the Lyonnois, by 
Poivre, but was lost, during the Revo- 
lution, and once more introduced, by a 
young man who returned from a voyage 
to Cochin China. He was lucky enough 
to obtain it, by stealth, from the vigi- 
lant guardians planted by the Cochin 
China government to retain the exclu- 
sive possession of it. By similar stealth, 
Poivre brought away the clove-tree from 
the Moluccas, to plant it in the French 
African islands and the colony of Cay- 
enne. Thirty-two grains of the dry 
rice sent by M. Foderé, of Strasbourg, 
were sown at Arras, by the Prefect, in 
his garden, in October 1821. All the 
plants derived from them, bore the win- 
ter without accident, and were in flower 
in June 1822. On the 26th of July, 
the produce was 529 ears, containing 
the average number cf 30 grains. And 
againy. 31 grains sown in April 1822, 
sprung up Well, but were not in flower 
till August, and the produce was only 
105 ears, not so full as those of the 
autumn sowing. ‘The spring crop of M. 
Foderé was more abundant; 3% grains 
yielded 430 ears.. ‘The plant is only in 
its fourth generation, in France, and it 
will require experiments on a large scale 
to ascertain the final results. The de- 
partment of the Pas de Calais seems 
well adapted to it, and it thrives there, 
as well: as on the lower hills of the 
Eastern Pyrenees, or in Cochin China. 
It is a most nutritious plant, intended, 
by nature, for the sustenance of civil- 
ized man. 
ASIATIC SOCIETIES. 
At the last sitting of the Asiatic So- 
ciety for Paris, November 3, the Presi- 
U2 dent, 
