OBITUARY. 103 



abundant at sallows during the last fortnight of March. Hoporina 

 croceago, Sco2:)elosoma satellitia, Xylina socia, Orrhodia vaccinii among the 

 hyl'Ornators ; Taeniocampa pnlvervlenta and T. mimda in abundance ; 

 rarhnohia rnhricosa, T. mhuosa, T. mNtahilis and T. stahiliti common ; 

 raclmohia lencoijraphn, T. popideti and T. (jraeilis rare ; rterojihornti 

 vionodacti/lm and Eupithccin ahhreriata also came to sallows ; Brcphos 

 notha was common roinid the aspens, and jB. pmrthenias over the 

 birches, but the fine weather kept them oiit of reach of the net. and 

 they were not to be captured. Hybernated specimens of Poh/i/onia 

 c-albnm, Vanessa io and F. urticae were observed, with fresh sj)ecimens 

 of Pieris rnpae, Xylocampa areola, and several Lemnatophila saliceUa, 

 and one Epiijraphia steinkcUner/eUa flitting about a hawthorn hedge. 

 Lyomtia clerckella and HyJopoda pariana Were seen in a similar 

 situation. — J. W. Tutt. April 2nd, 1894. 



©BITUARY. 



I JOHN JENNER WEIR, F.Z.S., F.L.S., F.E.S. I 

 (Eol-n August yth, 1822. Died March 2or(l, 18'J+.) I 



One by one the human links in the chain which connects the old 

 science with the new droji out, and entomologists have recently had to 

 bear more than their fair percentage of loss. The loss is more severely 

 felt in some cases than in others, dejjending largely upon whether or 

 not the departed one has kept in touch with the younger generation in 

 the onward progressive march of science Avhich the last few decades 

 have witnessed. 



Such a man we have to mourn now. The death of Mr. J. Jenner 

 Weir has removed from our midst a man of keen and vigorous intellect, 

 whose life has been one long devotion to the study of the natui-al 

 objects everywhere around him, and to the advancement of science so 

 far as in him lay. He brought to the consideration of every problem 

 an open and unbiassed mind, and formed his opinions on the facts at his 

 disposal at once free from narrowness, and without a tinge of personal 

 bitterness. He was essentially a modest man, retiring and diffident, 

 and yet, when necessary, lie acted with decision, forming quickly sound 

 and accurate judgments, and although he published but little his mind 

 was a storehouse of information that was always at the disjDosal of his 

 numerous friends. 



His gTcatest pride was his knowledge that in a modest way he liad 

 helped the two great naturalists of the time, Darwin and Wallace. It 

 is well known that many of the entomological references in the works 

 of the former were due to Mr. Weir, and for the latter he undertook, 

 in 1868, a series of experiments on the relation between insects and 

 insectivorous birds, more especially on the relation which existed 

 between the latter and the colour and edibility of Lepidoptera and 

 their larvae. The conclusions based on these experiments were 

 formulated in a paper read before the Entomological Society of London 

 on March 1st, 1869, and puldished in the Transactions for tliat voar, 

 followed by a second paper read on July 4th, 1870, and also published 

 in the Transactions. 



