476 
of August, 1812; which is the first year 
of the 648th olympiad, according to the 
calculation of ancient Greece. The 
prize is to consist of a medal, witha bust 
of Bonaparte, and the inscription: Na- 
poleon, benefactor and protector. On 
the reverse is the legend: To genius the 
grateful academy. The inseription round . 
it will contain thename of the successful 
candidate, the title of his work, and the 
number of the olympiad. This medal 
will be of iron. 
The Society of Emulation, of Colmar, 
has been for several years successfully 
engaged on projects of important agri- 
cultural improvements, to be introduced 
into the department of the Upper Rhine ; 
and its views in this respect are power- 
fully seconded by baron Desportes, the 
prefect of that department. Among these 
ameliorations may be instanced the plan 
Jor an extended cultivation of the mul- 
berry-tree, in order to form establish- 
ments for breeding silk-worms: a culture ~ 
which will be the more desirable, as from 
local circumstances, which are not likely 
to be removed, the vineyards in this de- 
partment are much on the decline. 
There have been already formed very 
considerable nurseries for this tree, which 
will soon afford materials for numerous 
plantations; and in addition to these, 
the society have lately acquired three 
hundred trees of the growth of five years, 
which will enable them to begin their 
observations and experiments with silk- 
worms immediately. In the first place, 
however, they found it necessary to pro- 
cure a good elementary treatise on the 
cultivation of the mulberry-tree. In 
consequence of an application which they 
made to such of their own members as 
possessed any experience on this sub- 
ject, M. Catvet, who was before known 
as the author of some excellent works 
on plantations of this kind, as well as on 
general subjects of agriculture, undertook 
to supply this desideratum ; and his com- 
"position bas given so much satisfaction ~ 
to the society, that they have resolved to 
print it in the French and German lan- 
guages, and to present the author with a 
gold medal of the value of three hundred , 
frances (121.:10s.) 
GERMANY. 
Mr. James ANGELU, 2 native of the 
frontiers of Austria, has succeeded in 
preparing flax-wool from various plants, 
never before used for that purpose, ‘and 
of which a considerable number ‘grow 
spontaneously without the slightest cul- 
Literary and Philosophical E ntellugences 
_ {June ‘3 
tivation, Though this wool is net a com= 
plete substitute for foreign cotton, it 
however produces ~a stronger thread, 
which is particularly fine and fit for any 
kind of woven stu. The experiments of 
M. Angelo having been tried and ap- 
proved of by*a committee of select, 
learned, and skilful, workmen, his 
Austrian majesty was pleased to enable 
him to prosecute his invention on @ 
larger scale; binding him, at the same 
time, to publish the manipulation of the 
properties of the plants, and of the whole 
previous process of this new materialf or 
spinning. ‘The emperor therefore com- 
manded that a large house at Tuln 
should be appropriated to this ingenious 
gentleman, for the establishment of a 
manulactory of stuffs from this wool, and 
that a capital of 20,000 florins should be 
advanced to him out of tbe public funds, 
with the promise that after the lapse of 
three years, if the manufactory attained 
such a degree of perfection as to produce 
in the ‘first year 500cwt. of goods, in 
the second 1,000cwt. and the third 
1,50Gcwt. the 20,000 florins should be- 
come his own property, and that he 
should receive for each of the two years, 
25,000 florins more, as the reward of his 
industry, in addition to the premises be- 
longing to the manufactory. He has 
however been obliged to make known the 
secret of his invention, and the whole 
course of his proceedings, and to give 
instruction to any of his majesty’s sub- 
jects wishing to form a like establish- 
ment. : 
M. Eset, of Bavaria, has recently 
published a geological work on the struc- 
ture of the Alps, whichis reported ta 
contain much novelty, and to coincide 
entirely with the experiments made’ by 
Humboldt. - According to their system, 
it is not true that granite is the nucleus 
of the surface of the earth; on the con- 
trary, we find as many strata of granite 
as of any of the other integral substances 
of mountains. These strata of stones in 
the mountains were formed by crystaili- 
zation in the sea of Chaos, and are found 
in a great measure on the same line 
from Savoy to Hungary. . The earth, 
according to these ideas, resembles a 
prism of crystal, the edges of which have 
been worn away by the flux and reflux 
of the waters, without the ruins of these 
points having entirely filled up the ca- 
vities. This view of the subject is ex- 
pected to lead to important results; but 
it will at the same time discourage: — 
Be ie a 7 Wag 
s 
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