154 Ohituary. 



Exhibition, wlien they received the Grand Prix ; two years before 

 tlie Gold Medal had been awarded in the same way for their joint 

 exhibit at the Paris International Exhibition. 



On his retirement from practice, he took up the study of pure 

 Microscopy with redoubled energy, and for many years it was his 

 habit to spend two or three hours every night with his microscope, 

 and he ultimately produced the first edition of " Microscopy," a 

 comprehensive work dealing with the sultject from a practical and 

 theoretical point of view. This venture was equally successful, 

 and three editions have passed the press. 



As he became better known as a microscopist he was elected 

 President of the Quekett Microscopical Club and a Vice-President 

 of the Eoyal Microscopical Society, in which he took the greatest 

 possible interest. In conjunction with Mr. Williamson, the well- 

 known cinematographer, he became interested in photography as 

 applied to the development of pond-life. 



The accumulation of knowledge of Entomology gradually led 

 Spitta into the public lecture hall, and for some ten years he 

 devoted much time to travelling about the country giving lectures 

 on various scientific subjects, with his own lantern, slides, etc., 

 leaving nothing to chance which might detract from the value of 

 his discourses. On these lectures he would spend weeks of pre- 

 paration, thinking out the minutest details and practical means of 

 bringing home to the audience the salient points. 



He found time also to experiment with wireless telegraphy, and 

 the complete wireless equipment he fitted to his house was a 

 source of pleasure to himself and to his friends, enabling him to 

 take time signals and interpret messages sent by ships at sea from 

 one to another. 



These few reflections show the many-sided character of the man, 

 and he would throw as much energy into discussions around these 

 little side issues as into the details of his meteorological station, 

 which he maintained for nearly thirty years. 



At his funeral, which took place at Hove, members of the 

 learned Societies to which he belonged were represented, and many 

 of his personal friends attended the service In scientific circles 

 his good fellowship and his readiness to hold out a helping hand 

 to those interested in similar pursuits, will be nmch missed, for he 

 was a striking example of an able man of many sides who never 

 understood what it was to be unable to conquer a knotty scientific 

 problem. 



AN APPRECIATION OF DR. E. J. SPITTA. 



I FIRST made the acquaintance of Dr. E. J. Spitta in 1903 as 

 Secretary of the Quekett Microscopical Club, which was then 

 passing through one of those periods of stagnation which occur 

 in the life of all Societies. The enthusiasts who had been associated 



