52 PIlOCEEDIJfGS or THE 



birds lie had a peculiar affection, which they, whether caged in his 

 conservatory or free in his garden, reciprocated in ways that were 

 wonderful to witness. It was no mere accident that one of the 

 last papers that he published dealt with the habits of certain 

 native birds. 



It was this perennial interest in living creatures that made him 

 so effective in his relations with travellei's and explorers, and that 

 niiscellaneons multitude of people interested in natural history 

 who are only too willing to bring all their opportunities into the 

 common service if they can get in touch with some one to direct 

 and support them on their own level. It is natural to infer that 

 this too had a good deal to do w-ith that breathing of life into dry 

 bones which was one of the miracles worked in the Natural 

 History Museum soon after its new foundation in Cromwell Road. 



From the esoteric tendencies of modern taxonomic zoology, 

 Avith its fine-spun distinctions, its rather aberrant dialectics, and 

 its idolatry of the museum type, Giinther stood aside. To him a 

 species was not a defunct entity enshrined with an inscription in 

 a cabinet, but a group of living things with natural affinities ; and 

 in the investigation of these affinities — which he, with Agassiz, 

 considered to be the main business of the systematist — he held 

 consistently to the belief that long monotonous descriptions of 

 individual specimens are more likelv to mislead than short 

 differential diagnoses, where the salient specific features are 

 shown in strong relief. 



Though he never wrote of museum organization as an in- 

 dependent theme — for anything savouring of self-importance was 

 quite fJieu to his nature,' — he naturally had formed critical 

 judgments on the subject; and the authorities of the British 

 Museum are much to he congratulated that, in entrusting to him 

 the preparation of their lately-published 'General History of the 

 Department of Zoology,' they afforded him an opportunity of 

 incidentally recording some of those judgments in an official 

 document. 



Though he never talked of the public educational value of a 

 museum of natural history, no man had surer instincts or clearer 

 insight in this matter also. In the theory of long descriptive 

 labels illustrated by specimens, he put no trust, divining that the 

 educational opportunity of a people's museum is to reach the 

 vacant mind through the objects themselves. [A. Alcocx.] 



Adolphus HE^'E,T Kext was born at Bletchingley, Surrey, in 

 1828, and was educated for a schoolmaster privately. Becoming 

 the schoolmaster of his native village, he remained there for the 

 greater part of his life. Sir George Maeleay, of Pendell Court, 

 knew and appreciated Kent's knowledge of plants and his love of 

 gardening, which he pointed out to Mr. (now Sir) Harry Yeitch 

 one day. 



Matriculating at the IJniversitv of London in 1870, he obtained 



