The solution of sulphurous acid, if preserved at all, ought to be kept in small bottles, completely filled and perfectly closed; but as it is very easy to saturate a considerable quantity of water with sulphurous acid gas in a short time, there is but little inducement to use a solution which may possibly have become weakened by keeping. Care should be taken not to add too much dilute acid to the hypo at a time, else excessive effervescence will occur, and the solution will froth over the top of the bottle. * * * * * THE NATIONAL MONUMENT AT ROME. About three years ago the Italian Government invited the architects and artists of the world to furnish competitive designs for a national monument to be erected to the memory of King Victor Emanuel II. at Rome. More than $1,800,000 were appropriated for the monument exclusive of the foundation. It is very seldom that an artist has occasion to carry out as grand and interesting a work as this was to be: the representation of the creator of the Italian union in the new capitol of the new state surrounded by the ruins and mementos of a proud and mighty past. Prizes of $10,000, $6,000, and $4,000 were donated for the first, second, and third prize designs respectively. Designs were entered, not only from Italy, but also from Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, England, and America, and even from Caucasus and Japan. [Illustration: THE UNION OF ITALY. SACCONI'S PRIZE DESIGN FOR THE NATIONAL MONUMENT, ROME, ITALY.] The height and size of the monument were not determined on, nor was the exact location, and the competitors had full liberty in relation to the artistic character of the monument, and it was left for them to decide whether it should be a triumphal arch, a column, a temple, a mausoleum, or any other elaborate design. This great liberty given to the competitors was of great value and service to the monument commission, as it enabled them to decide readily what the character of the monument should be but it was a dangerous point for the artists, at which most of them foundered. The competition was resultless. Two prizes were given, but new designs had to be called for, which were governed more or less by a certain programme issued by the committee. In place of the Piazza de Termini, a square extending from the church of St. Maria degli Angeli to the new Via Nazionale, to which preference was given by the competitors, the heights of Aracoeli were chosen. The monument was to be erected at this historic place in front of the side wall of the church, with the center toward the Corso, high above the surrounding buildings. The programme called for an equestrian statue of the King located in front of an architectural background which was to cover the old church walls, and was to be reached by a grand staircase.