250 Obituary. [Ibis, 



of the best books of its kind that has ever appeared. This 

 work was eoraaienced by Dr. Eagle Clarke, who had to 

 abandon it on his translation to Edinburgh in 1888. At 

 Eagle Clarke's recommendation, the Yorkshire Naturalists' 

 Union, in whose Transactions the work was appearing, 

 selected Mr. Nelson to continue it. Eagle Clarke ren- 

 dered his friend valuable assistance by handing over 

 to him the whole of his collected information upon the 

 subject, and also by acting as adviser during the progress 

 of the book. Mr. Nelson's other contributions to our 

 favourite science were more or less of a local nature, and 

 related to observations of the bird-life of the Redcar 

 district^ in which he spent the greater part of his life as 

 a man of independent means. He was an active member 

 of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, and was for some 

 years President of the section of Vertebrate Zoology of 

 that Society and an Assistant Editor of its journal, ' The 

 Naturalist.' In recognition of his contributions to the 

 ornithology of Yorkshire he recently received the honorary 

 degree of Master of Science at the hands of the Leeds 

 University. He was also a Justice of the Peace for the 

 North Hiding of Yorkshire. 



Edgar Alexander Mkarns. 



From the pages of the ' Auk ' we learn with regret that 

 Dr. Mearns, well known for his writings on African birds, 

 died at Washington, D.C., on 1 November, 1916. 



Born at Highland Fails, N.Y., in 1856, Dr. Mearns 

 graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons 

 (Columbia University) in 1881. Two years later he was 

 appointed First Lieutenant and Assistant-Surgeon in the 

 Medical Corps of the United States Army, and he remained 

 on active service for twenty-five years, retiring with the 

 rank of Lieut. -Colonel in 1909. 



During his period of service he was stationed for some 

 time in Arizona and took part in the work of the Mexican 

 Boundary Commission in 1892-94. He also saw service in 

 the Philippines. He published several papers on the birds 

 of both these regions. 



