OBITUARY. 79 



scattered observations which enrich his magnum opus, the 

 * British Lepidoptera.' 



Mr. Tutt also wrote more popular volumes — on ' British 

 Butterflies' (Gill), and 'British Moths' (Routiedge). His three 

 volumes, 'Rambles in Alpine Valleys,' ' Woodside, Burnside, 

 Hillside, and Marsh,' and ' Random Recollections ' reveal him 

 not onl}' as a close observer revelling in all scenes of wild Nature, 

 but also as possessing no small poetic inspiration. 



But the ' British Lepidoptera ' was no doubt the work in 

 which he considered his labours were to culminate, and to which 

 he devoted himself with but too much ardour. Of this, five 

 volumes on Moths have appeared, and the fourth on the Butter- 

 flies was nearing completion, and they are noteworthy not 

 only for their encyclopedic character in relation to each species 

 handled, but for the critical discussions on many points of 

 classification and nomenclature. This, however, is not the 

 place for further review, beyond noting the evidence afTorded of 

 Tutt's amazing industry, and the width and vigour of his mental 

 grasp. 



A detailed list of his works will probably be compiled in due 

 time. Reference has been made to the most prominent of them. 



But although every moment of his leisure was occupied with 

 his literary labours, he yet found time to promote the welfare 

 of the Entomological Societies with which he was connected by 

 securing for them many new members. And making all allow- 

 ance for the spirit and progress of the age, and for no man being 

 indispensable, we certainly owe it to him more than to anyone 

 else that British entomologists are more numerous and take a 

 more scientific view of their studies than was the case twenty 

 years ago. 



I first made Mr. Tutt's acquaintance in connection with his 

 papers in the ' Entomologist ' on British Noctuas, and recognized 

 in him the realization of a keen and scientific intelligence, very 

 rare amongst the entomologists I knew. It was later that I 

 discovered he possessed in an extreme degree that fundamental 

 quality of genius, the capacity for taking pains. It was simply 

 impossible for him to be idle ; he must work away at full 

 steam all the time. He was a born schoolmaster ; he must be 

 learning himself or teaching others. He could expound extem- 

 pore any subject he was studying, and seemed absolutely fond of 

 writing. One wondered, as he taught so much, how he had 

 time to learn anything, till one realized how rapidly he could 

 understand and assimilate new material, how instantly he as- 

 signed it its proper value and position amongst the rich stores of 

 his memory, and how rarely he was wrong, though for the 

 majority only the most superficial judgment of the matter would 

 have been possible in the time. On the rare occasions when he 

 did fall into error, he was willing to correct his position without 



