No. 5.] IN MEMORIAM — E. BILLINGS. 255 



also connected zoology with it (principally the mollusca and reptilia 

 of the country), and have learned that the youth of Canada little 

 know how full of curious and beautiful objects the whole of this fine 

 province is. The object of my magazine is to place within the reach 

 of my young countrymen as much of that knowledge which is neces- 

 sary to examine for themselves, as I can collect. They are not with- 

 out talent and taste for the study of nature, but they are yet without 

 the key to her stores. I have abandoned my profession, and intend 

 to devote the rest of my life to the study of Natural History. I have 

 commenced the publication of this magazine partly as a means of 

 subsistence, and partly for the purpose of arousing, if possible, the 

 youth of this country to pursuits for which they have everywhere 

 most unrivalled facilities. 7" am well aware that 1 shall have great 

 difficulties to encounter, but I can overcome them as I have done others. 

 I hope you will agree that the object is at least good, and as for its 

 execution — this must be left for me to work out as well as I can. 

 Allow me to state that no man here yet received the order of knight- 

 hood with so much satisfaction to the people of this part of the 

 country as yourself, a view in which no person can concur more 

 heartily than I do. 



I have the honour to be, 

 Sir, 

 Your very obedient servant, 



E. Billings. 



The latter part of the sentence italicised above is very cha- 

 racteristic of the man, who, whatever may have been his other 

 deficiencies, was certainly not lacking either in energy or indus- 

 try. It is almost superfluous to mention the fact that Mr. Bil- 

 lings was not only the originator but also the proprietor and 

 editor of the " Naturalist " during the first year of its exist- 

 ence, for his name appears on the title-page of every number. 

 In the first volume there are sixty-three articles, and of these no 

 less than fifty-five were either written or compiled by him. 

 They are all penned in a simple easy style, and being intended 

 principally for the perusal of persons unacquainted with Natural 

 History, are as free from technicalities as the nature of the sub- 

 ject would admit. Twenty-two of them contain plain descrip- 

 tions of the habits and structural peculiarities of Canadian 

 mammals ; fourteen are on as many species of native birds ; and 

 all are supplemented by quotations from Wilson, Audubon, and 

 other naturalists. Ten are devoted to the illustration of cha- 

 racteristic fossils of various strata in both provinces, and the 

 rest are on general topics, though mostly connected with geology. 

 The receipts arising from the sale of this volume were insuffi- 



