431 



OBITUARIES 



Jamek SPENCER, the geologist and palaeobotanist, died on 9th July at 

 Akroydon, Yorkshire. He was born 27th April 1834 at Luddenden, 

 and for a time worked in a brickyard. He was "discovered" by 

 Colonel Akroyd about 1853, and by him given a post as porter in 

 his warehouse, from which position he speedily rose to that of cashier, 

 remaining in Colonel Akroyd's firm until he retired in 1886. He was 

 connected with the Haley Hill Literary and Scientific Society, the 

 Halifax Scientific Society, and the Ovenden Naturalists' Society in 

 many ways, and did a great deal to spread a knowledge of geology 

 among his fellows. Spencer became actively associated with the 

 late Professor Williamson about 1878, and was an important helper 

 in the " Fossil Plants of the Coal Measures." A full account of his 

 life and work appears, by Mr W. B. Crump, in the Halifax Naturalist 

 for October. 



Dk John Edward Tierney Aitchison, the well-known botanist and 

 explorer, died on September 30, at Kew, aged sixty-three years. He 

 was born in India in 1835, took his degrees in medicine and surgery 

 at Edinburgh and entered the Bengal medical service in 1858, re- 

 tiring in 1888. He paid especial attention to the botany of India, 

 publishing his first paper in 1863 on the plants of the Jhelum 

 district, with notes of considerable economic value. In 1869 he 

 issued a catalogue of the flora of the Punjab and Sindh, and in 1878 

 he accompanied lioberts' expedition to the Kuram, acting as botanist. 

 He made immense collections, which were worked out at Kew, 

 the results appearing in the Linnean Society's publication. He 

 obtained not less than 15,000 specimens from the Thai and Peiwarkotal 

 districts in one expedition, and 10,000 on another occasion when he 

 acted as naturalist to the Afghan Delimitation Commission. His labours 

 led him over almost the whole of North-west India, Afghanistan, 

 Baluchistan, Persia, and Kussian Turkestan, and he was a botanist 

 who had a keen idea of other things than mere dried plants. He 

 has left much material which we hope will be worked out. We 

 are indebted for these notes to a sympathetic article, by Mr Botting 

 Hemsley, in Nature. 



LuiGI Lombakdi.ni, Professor of the Anatomy of Domestic Vertebrates 

 at the Veterinary School of Pisa, died at that place on 27th June, 

 having been born at Poggibonsi on 11th April 1831. 



The deaths have also been announced of: — W. <;. Atheustone, who worked and 

 wrote on the geology of South Africa between 1856 and 1871 : on 1st September, at 

 Hobartj Tasmania, the well-known Australian cohqhologist, C. K. Bkiiikimk : on 5th 

 August, Prof. Eugenio Bettoni, director of the fishery station at Brescia, aged 53; 

 J. Crocq, .professor of pathology in the University of Brussels: (Jiuskitk (Jiuklli, 

 professor of botany and director of the Botanical Garden at Turin, on Itlth September ; 

 on 25th September, Dr A. La.sard, at Nizza, aged 74 : Don Fran< [SCO Coello de 

 Portugal, president of the Geographical Society of Madrid; Heinricb Theodor 

 Richter, lately director of the School of Mines at Freiburg; Ml< HELE STEFANO de 

 ROSSI, the seismologist ; on 31st May, at Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A., the botanist, 



EmvARP Tatnall, aged 80. 



