Soc'ietij of the Sciences at Flushing, oi 



F. What Hre the imtural caiises that th.e bottom oF the 

 harhoiirs in jMidclleburgh and the Welzinge channel has 

 been so perceptibly raised, durin;!; a scries of years, by an 

 accumulation oF the mud ? What are the simplest, mor^t 

 effectual, and least expensive means ot remedying this evil ? 

 and is it pt;ssible to give a sufficient depth to these harbours 

 and channel, and to maintain them in that state ? 



il. A history of the influx of the current of the ?ca ac- 

 cording to fixed laws, and in a determinate line? What are 

 these laws? Is the course of these currents prejucJicial to 

 our dykes and to the strand, and in vi/hat degree ? What 

 are the practicable meatis of giving to this prejudicial cur- 

 .rent another direction, and of conducting it to other place5, 

 so as to obviate its destructive eHcct ? 



The prize is a cold medal ; and the answers must be sent 

 in l>efore the 1st of January 1S06. 



The two followiuir; questions also, announced last year, 

 are again proposed for the same reason as the preceding : 

 the first for a year, the second for an indefinite time. 



I. As the utility of pouring out oil and other fat sub- 

 E.tances during storms at sea, is established by sufficient 

 proofs; but as the objection, that this mean may be preju- 

 dicial to ships which follow, has not been entirely obviated, 

 the society requires to know : What is the physical prin- 

 ciple of calming the waves by pouring out fat substances? 

 and, Can tlie above objection be entirely done away by an 

 explanation of this point? 



II. What was the geographical state of Zeeland in re • 

 gard, in particular, to rivers and streams, from the earliest 

 periods to the conimcncement of the government of Counts ? 

 What changes took place in it between the litter period and 

 the end oi the fourteenth century ? Has it continued the 

 same, or have evident alterations taken place r and what are 

 these alterations ? 



The society has proposed also three new questions, the 

 prize for w hich is a gold medal ; the first to be answered 

 before the 1st of August 1S03, the other two before the 

 1st of January 1606. 



I. As we have no general history of the sciences and fine 

 arts in this countiy, which would be both agreeable and 

 useful ; and as such a history is not to be expected until 

 histories of each branch be composed, the society has re- 

 solved to turn its attention to this ol)ject, and to announce 

 one part annually as the subject of a prize question, with a 

 view that materials may be collected for a general history, 

 and that our countrymen may in the- meati tiiu^ enjoy the 



benelit 



