French National Injlitute, 273 



fort the fertility of the earth, according to the neweft and 

 moft authentic experiments ; and in particular, How does 

 the nature of the foil, fituation, and culture, contribute to 

 render this influence a£live and efficacious ? The prize is a 

 medal of the value of 24 ducats 5 and the papers, written 

 either in the Latin or French language, niufl be tranfmitted, 

 with a fealed note containing the author's name and place of 

 abode, to C. F. Hindcnburg, public profeflbr of natural phi- 

 lofophy and fecrctary to the fociety. 



The following prize queflions have been propofed by the 

 French National Inftitute* 



CLASS OF THE M ATHEM .A tiCAI. AND PHYSICAL 

 SCIENCES. 



I. The Clafs propofed, for the fecond time, in the year 5, 

 as the fubjeft of a prize, an anatomical comparifon of the 

 liver in different kinds of animals ; but as no paper has been 

 tranfmitted on that queftion, the Clafs has thought proper 

 to withdraw it, and to propofe the following : 



*' To determine, by chemical and anatomical obfervations 

 and experiments, what are the phenomena of the torpor 

 which certain animals, fuch as the marmot, dormoufe, 8cc. 

 experience, during winter, in regard to the circulation of the 

 blood, refpiration, and irritability : to make refearches re- 

 fpefting the caufe of this fleep, and why it is peculiar to 

 thefe animals." 



The competitors are requefted to examine in particular- 

 what difierences are obferved between thefe animals in their 

 lethargic and their ordinary ftate, in regard to the quicknefs 

 of their pulfe ; the degree of the warmth of the blood ; the 

 frequency of their refpiration; the quantity of oxygen con- 

 fumed in a given time; and their excitability by galvanifm. 

 They will examine alio the anatomical differences which dif- 

 tinguifh thefe animals from thofe not fubjeft to torpor during 

 the winter; and they will endeavour to difcover whether thefe 

 differences are fufficient to explain the phenomena of that 

 torpor. 



The prize will be a gold medal of the value of a kilo- 

 gramme. As the experiments refpeding this queftion can- 



VoL.VI. Nn Hot 



