280 THE entomologist's record. 



Flora, and further, we note that one of his sons is at present curator 

 of the herbarium of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh. Latterly 

 he had turned some of his attention to the Cryptogams, and he was 

 studying the Mosses and Fungi of the Ashford district. At his death 

 he was in his seventy-sixth year. — H.J.T. 



Albert James Fison. 



English Lepidopterists who have hunted in the Rhone Valley 

 during their expeditions in Switzerland will hear with keen regret of 

 the death of Mr. Fison of Charpigny, who has proved himself for 

 many years so good a guide and so kind a friend to all of those with 

 whom he came in contact. His death took place at Bex, after a few 

 days' illness, on October 6th, and he was buried in the Clarens 

 cemetery on the following Tuesday. Albert James Fison was the 

 younger son of the late Cornell Fison, of Thetford, Norfolk, and was 

 born March 13th, 1840, and was consequently well advanced in his 

 73rd year. He first came out to Switzerland at the age of fifteen on 

 account of his health, at a time when the railway went no further than 

 Besancon, and resided at the house of the late Dr. Taylor of Charpigny. 

 His life-long affection for Switzerland, and his interest in its plants and 

 butterflies, and to some extent also in its geology, began so 

 long ago as this. His collection of Swiss butterflies was 

 most interesting and complete, and for many years past he 

 carefully labelled every specimen with date and locality. Even those 

 taken previous to this time have a certain degree of local distinctive- 

 ness, for all were taken in Switzerland, almost every specimen by 

 himself, and those taken on the southern slopes of the Alps are 

 distinguished from the others by black pins. This collection, which 

 remains at Charpigny, is now the property of his nephew, Mr. G. H. 

 Fison, of Southcote, Castle Hill, Guildford, who kindly supplied the 

 details of his early life, and who states that he will gladly give an 

 order to see the insects to any bona-fide entomologist who applies 

 to him at the above address. The collection contains, among many 

 other very interesting examples, the type specimen of Brenthis pales, 

 ab. cinctata, Favre, the only known Western European specimen of 

 Parartie meijaera, ab. transcaspica, and a natural hybrid between Colias 

 falaeno and C. phicomone. 



This is not the place to enlarge on the religious side of Mr. Fison's 

 life, but in this respect also he will be greatly missed at Clarens. The 

 school of thought to which he belonged has often been accused of 

 narrowness, but in him, at any rate, there was no touch of such a 

 quality, and his friendship with the late Chanoine Favre and with the 

 writer of this notice, with neither of whom can he have had much in 

 common, was never marred by the slightest jar, such as with one who 

 had less of tact or of charity might so easily have arisen. Among the 

 Entomologists who resided in, or visited, the Rhone Valley he had 

 many friends, to whom his memory will bring back many happy days 

 and numberless acts of kindness. — G. W. 



Corrections. — p. 244, I. 20, add " s " to " discoloration " ; 1. 22, 

 delete "cause" and insert "insult" (G.W.N.). p. 246, 1. 9, delete 

 "costa" (twice) and insert "inner margin" (twice). 



