LINNEAIf SOCIETY OF LONDON. 45 



lij^d been sixteen weeks doing this distance, which was traversed 

 wholly on foot, and their longest day's walk was from Oban to 

 Tort William (about 40 miles). It was their intention to com- 

 plete the perambulation in a subsequent expedition, but this 

 was never carried out. 



In 18-10 Borrer married his first cousin Margaret, the eldest 

 daughter of J. Hamlyn Borrer of Brighton, and in 1843 fixed 

 his abode at Cowfold near Horsham, a commodious and 

 pleasantly-situated house, which remained his home for the rest 

 of his life, tliough he often passed part of the winter in a house 

 he possessed at Brighton, and from time to time visited many 

 different parts of the United Kingdom, beside making an occa- 

 sional excursion on the Continent, as in 1878 to the Kiviera and 

 in 1882 to the Netherlands — the latter with the especial object 

 of seeing the Horster Mere and the district of Valkenswaard, 

 localities so full of interest to an ornithologist. At home he 

 employed himself in various country pursuits, and continued, so 

 long as he was physically able, especially to indulge his early 

 and indefatigable predilection for shooting ; but he was also an 

 active magistrate and attendant on County business at Quarter 

 Sessions, never allowing his diversion to interfere with the per- 

 formance of his duties in these respects. He possessed also a 

 strong antiquarian taste, and was one of the four originators of 

 the Sussex Archaeological Society. 



Though never neglecting any opportunity of adding to his 

 collections (for the reception of which a very suitable room at 

 Cowfoid was allotted), whether by himself in person or through 

 his numerous friends, and to that end carrying on a somewhat 

 extensive correspondence with other, and especially local, natu- 

 ralists, he was chary of communicating the results of his obser- 

 vations to the world at large. His earliest published contribution 

 ■was a note in 1841 on the occurrence of an Ortolan near Brighton 

 (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vii. p. 524) ; but from 1845 onward 

 he continued to record briefly in the ' Zoologist ' such rarities 

 as came to his knowledge, among whicli may be particularly 

 mentioned the first example of Aedon galactodes recognized as 

 obtained in England (Zoologist, 1851, p. 4511), — a species 

 ■which was thereupon included by Tarrell (with whom he had 

 long been in frequent communication) in the Third Edition of his 

 ' British Birds,' published in 1856. 



It was not until after the failure of his health, in his seventieth 

 year, had seriously impaired Mr. Borrer's bodily activity, that he 

 systematically set to work to look up his many note-books, which 

 he had been in the habit of diligently keeping from his Cambridge 

 days, and to recall his memory by their help, in order to compile 

 an account of the Ornithology of his native county, which from 

 its geographical position and the labours of men like Markwick 

 and Knox, who had already worked at it, was known to be im- 

 portant. Unfortunately he was at this time under a great 

 ditficulty in writing ; but the hand of an affectionate daughter 



