48 The Irish Naturalist. May, 



The treatment of the subject chosen by Prof. Daniel has been carried 



out with great care and success. The eleven chapters dealing with the 



external characters and the internal structure are copiously illustrated, 



many of the drawings being original. Special attention may be directed 



to the chapters on the arterial and venous blood systems for the wealth 



and beauty of the illustrations. And what will assist the student 



considerably is that at the end of each chapter there is an exhaustive 



bibliography. To both students and teachers this book will be of the 



greatest use as a valuable guide on the structure of Elasmobranchs, and 



it can be warmly recommended. 



R. F. S. 



OBITUARY. 



WILLIAM H. PHILLIPS. 



W, H. Phillips was born in 1830, and died at Holy wood, Co. Down, on 

 13th March last, in his 93rd year. For over half a century he was an 

 enthusiastic student and collector of British ferns, and particularly of 

 the numerous sports which form so remarkable a feature of these plants. 

 When the writer first met him over forty years ago, he was already in the 

 forefront of the band of workers who in 1891 formed themselves into the 

 British Pteridological Society — which had been preceded, I believe, by 

 another society of similar name. His collection of ferns at Holywood 

 was large and very interesting, and was enriched with not a few remarkable 

 forms which he himself had found in many years' collecting, mainly in 

 Ulster. He was an original member of the Belfast Naturalists' Field 

 Club, founded in 1863, and read his first paper " The Classification and 

 Distribution of Ferns, with notices of some interesting varieties lately 

 found in this locality," before that society on March 23, 1865. He was 



Treasurer of the Club for twenty -five years, and its President during the 

 sessions 1905-6 and 1906-7, and his fine displays of living and dried fronds 

 of his favourite plants were a feature of the Annual Conversaziones. 



In 1887, in conjunction with the present writer, he published as an 

 Appendix to the Club Proceedings " The Ferns of Ulster," in which a full 

 account of the distribution of the species, varieties, and sports of the local 

 species is given. 



R. LL. P. 



IRISH SOCIETIES. 



Ulster Society for the Protection of Birds. 



February i6.- — 'Annual Meeting. Sir Robert Kennedy in the chair. 



The Annual Report stated that the membership of the Society was now 

 about 170. A junior branch of the Society was being formed. Reference 

 was made to the great destruction of sea-birds by oil discharged by vessels 

 entering or leaving the Clyde. The Honorary Scientific Secretaries 

 (N. H. Foster and J. A. S. Stendall) also submitted their report, and 

 the Treasurer, Miss Meta McCullagh, her financial statement. 



