ALFRED NEWTON. 37 



by him as to the particular line of study they should 

 pursue. 



He was one of the best type of Eng-lish g-entlemen, 

 dignified in his manner and in his correspondence, but withal 

 possessed of a kind and generous nature, which showed 

 itself to young and old, whenever the opportunity occurred 

 to do any one a good turn ; as, for instance, when he 

 heard that T was writing the " History of the Collection 

 of Birds in the British Museum," he most generously 

 offered to lend me his copy of the Sale-Catalogue of 

 Bullock's collection, of which only two copies are known ; 

 and the loan of this priceless and imi^ortant volume 

 greatly enhanced the value of my labours. 



In his earlier years Newton travelled considerably, 

 visiting Iceland, Lapland, North America, and also the 

 West India Islands. The account written by him and his 

 brother Edward on the birds of St. Croix is one of the 

 most interesting contributions to our knowledge of the 

 ornitholog}^ of the Antilles. Although disabled by an 

 accident in early life, which made him permanently lame, 

 he managed to do a considerable amount of field-work, 

 and his notes on the habits of birds were always 

 interesting. 



His early work lay chiefly among the Birds of the 

 Palsearctic Region, and he wrote lists of the Birds of 

 Iceland and G-reenland, while his great book "Ootheca 

 Wolleyana " contains an annotated catalogue of the col- 

 lection of eggs bequeathed to him by his friend John Wolley, 

 one of the most celebrated oologists the world has ever 

 known. Professor Newton edited Vols. I. and II. of the 

 fourth edition of " Yarrell's British Birds." He also wrote 

 the articles on Birds for the ninth edition of the " En- 

 cyclopsedia Britannica," and re-edited these in a compre- 

 hensive "Dictionary of Birds," which will always be one 

 of the standard works on ornithology. 



As a critic he was always just, but could be severe when 

 the occasion arose. Those who crossed swords with him 

 soon realised the fact, and he usually had the last word. 



