158 Obituary. 



Thomas Comber, 

 Born Nov. 14, 1837. Died Jan. 24, 1902. 



Thomas Comber, the eldest son of the late Edward Comber, of 

 Myddleton Hall, Warrington, Lancashire, was born at Pernambuco, 

 Brazil, and was educated at Whitchurch, Salop. Early in life he 

 entered on a commercial career and spent several years in India. As 

 a merchant in Liverpool and Manchester he was well known and 

 much respected, and was a director of several public companies. A 

 pamphlet by him on the silver question created considerable sensation, 

 and was generally recognised as a valuable addition to the literature 

 of that subject. He resided at Leighton, Parkgate, near Chester, was 

 a staunch Conservative in politics, and was a J. P. for the counties 

 of Lancashire and Cheshire. He retired from business about two 

 years ago. 



Always fond of scientific pursuits, Mr. Comber early took to the 

 study of Microscopy, but afterwards abandoned it temporarily for 

 that of botany, a subject on which he wrote many interesting papers. 

 He subsequently resumed his microscopical investigations, devoting 

 himself more particularly to the study of the DiatomaceBe, on which 

 he was a recognised authority. 



Mr. Comber was a Fellow of the Linnaean and Royal Micro- 

 scopical Societies. This Society he joined in 1893, and for some years 

 served on the Council, where his advice was much appreciated. 

 He was specially consulted in reference to questions arising in con- 

 nection with Diatomaceae, not only by the Council of the Society, but 

 also by the authorities of the British Museum. — John Comber. 



The following is a list of papers by the late Thomas Comber, 

 F.R.M.S., F.L.S. :— 



On the Diatomaceae of the neighbourhood of Liverpool. Quarterly 

 Journ. Mic. Sci., vol. viii. (1860) p. 111. Read before Historic Society 

 of Lancashire and Cheshire (Dec. 1858). 



On a simple form of Heliostat. J.R.M.S., 1890, p. 429, figs. 47-9. 



Photomicrography. J.R.M.S., 1891, p. 407. Abstract from Journ. 

 Liverpool Mic. Soc, 1891, pp. 99-110. 



On the Unreliability of certain Characters generally accepted for 

 Specific Diagnosis in the Diatomaceae. J.R.M.S., 1894, p. 428. 



Development of the Young Valve of Trachyneis aspera Cleve. 

 J.R.M.S., 1895, p. 400, plate VIII. (photo). 



On the Occurrence of Endocysts in the Genus Thalassiosira. 

 J.R.M.S., 1896, p. 489, plate IX. (photo). 



The Limits of Species in the Diatomaceae. J.R.M.S., 1897, 

 pp. 455-466. 



