i897-] Wiiizam Archer. 257 



obliged him to relinquish an occupation so congenial to his 

 wishes. He retired in 1895, being superannuated, his health 

 broken down, and from that time he was, we regret to say, an 

 invalid. His early life was unselfishly devoted to scientific 

 research by which he secured a widespread reputation little 

 understood beyond the abstract world of science. When ful- 

 filling, later in life, the duties of his public appointment as 

 Librarian to the National Library of Ireland, he was brought 

 more prominently before a wider circle, who soon recognised 

 his kindly character and unceasing energy. He was, as head 

 of a great library, eminently successful in discharging his 

 duties and securing the esteem of his subordinates and of the 

 public at large ; those especially who profited by his assistance 

 in forwarding their literary researches will gratefully acknow- 

 ledge their indebtedness to his patient and untiring desires to 

 meet their wishes and advance their interests. 



W11.1.1AM Frazer. 



THE COLLKMBOLA OF MITCHKLSTOWN CAVE. 



Supplementary Note. 

 BY GKORGE^ H. CARPKNTKR, B.SC 



In my paper on the Mitchelstown cave springtails in last 

 month's Irish Naturalist (p. 228), I called attention to the 

 apparently close relationship between the species which I 

 described as new, under the name of Cyphoderus Martelii, and 

 the species Seira cavernarum, discovered by Prof. Moniez, in 

 the cave of Dargilan, France. Prof. Moniez has since been so 

 good as to compare some of the Mitchelstown insects with his 

 type ; and he informs me that he considers them referable to 

 the same species. The specific name Martelii, Carpenter, must 

 therefore be regarded as a synonym of cavernaj'um, Moniez. 

 Whether the species is to be reckoned as a Cyphoderus or a 

 Seira, must remain a matter of opinion, as it seems, in several 

 respects, intermediate between those two genera. The feet 

 resemble those of a Cyphoderus, the spring rather that of a 

 Seira ; perhaps the absence of eyes should be allowed to turn 

 the scale in favour of the former genus. 



