328 , THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



OBITUAEY. 



Albert Harrison, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., F.Z.S., F.C.S., F.E.S., &c. 



As briefly announced in our last number, Mr. Harrison died on 

 August 28tb. He was born in 1860 at the New Pale Farm, near 

 Frodsham, Cheshire, and was educated at the Liverpool Institute. 

 In 1875 he went to the laboratory of Messrs. Henry Tate and Sons, 

 sugar refiners, in Liverpool, thence he was transferred to the London 

 branch, of which he became manager in 1878. By the Directors he 

 was held in great esteem, and he won the respect of all with whom 

 he came in contact. 



From his boyhood upwards he was keenly interested in Natural 

 History, and as Delamere Forest was just on the border of some 

 of the fields of Pale Farm, he had splendid opportunities for obtain- 

 ing practical knowledge of the fauna and flora of that locality. 



After coming to London he commenced a systematic study of 

 biology, and in 1888, in co-operation with his friend Mr. Hugh 

 Main, began the collection and study of insects generally, and of 

 Lepidoptera specially. Joining the South London Entomological 

 and Natural History Society in 1892, he soon became acquainted 

 with all its active members. One immediate result of this was that 

 the rearing of insects from the earlier stages became a feature of 

 his labours. He was also attracted by the work being done in con- 

 nection with Mendel's laws of heredity, and applied his experience 

 and facilities to experiments in this direction. The local varia- 

 tion of Pieris napi was a subject in which he had been interested 

 for some time, and unaware of previous investigations on the same 

 lines, he tried the efl'ects of crossing the var. hryonice. from Switzer- 

 land with British napi. The results were very interesting, but so far 

 no explanation of them on Mendelian lines has been found (see Trans. 

 Ent. Soc. Lond. 1908). Another species, on the variation of which 

 experiments were made, was Aplecta nebidosa. Mr. Harrison collected 

 the larvas of this species in Delamere Forest, where vars. robsoni and 

 thompsoni, together with the grey form, occur. It appeared from the 

 results of a number of crossings that it was a parallel case to that 

 of the Blue x\ndalusian Fowd ; but from the results obtained this 

 year the matter does not seem quite so simple, and further experi- 

 ments are still required to elucidate it (see Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 

 1911). 



Mr. Harrison was taken suddenly ill on the evening of August 

 27th, and passed away about 1.30 a.m. the next day from haemorrhage 

 on the brain. 



He will be greatly missed by a large circle of friends, to all of whom 

 he had endeared himself by kindly words and generous deeds. 



We have to announce, with very deep sorrow, that our colleague, 

 Mr. George Henry Verrall, died on September 16th. 



