NOTICES OF ESSEX ORNITHOLOGISTS. 29 



Mr. Philip Benton, the historian of the Rochford Hundred, who 

 survived him a short while. After his second marriage he seems, un- 

 fortunately, to have given up his Natural History work. Had he not 

 done so, there can be no doubt he would have become one of the 

 best working naturalists of his day. He is described as being of an 

 exceedingly retiring nature. In or about 1840 it appears that he 

 contemplated undertaking a History of British Birds, or at least of 

 some classes of them — perhaps the Waders — on a pretentious scale, 

 as there are among his MSS. papers now preserved at the Southend 

 Institute, which seem intended to form the beginning of such a 

 work (21), though the only species completed are the Cream-coloured 

 Courser, the Stone Curlew, the Ringed Plover, the Kentish Plover, 

 the Little Ringed Plover, the Dotterel, the Golden Plover, the Grey 

 Plover, and the Lapwing — nine in all. These are very elaborately 

 described, the generic characters, synonymy, plumages, habits, &c., 

 &:c., being treated at great length, though, it must be confessed, 

 without much originality, the whole appearing to be little more than 

 a compilation. The paper of the MS. is water-marked 1840. It 

 is clear from remarks inserted that he was then friendly with 

 Heysham. 



Another series of papers, preserved in a separate portfolio, appears 

 to be connected with the foregoing. They seem to be the rough 

 notes from which revised Natural Histories of other wading birds 

 were to have been prepared for his contemplated work, and they are 

 pieced together, erased, and interlined in both red and black ink, to 

 an extraordinary extent. Evidently Mr. Parsons was a very laboured, 

 though careful, writer. The birds treated of are the Turnstone, 

 Oyster Catcher, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Curlew, Whimbrel, 

 Sanderling, Dunlin, Ruff, Knot, Green Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, 

 and Wood Sandpiper. Each species is enclosed in a piece of news- 

 paper, having outside the name of the species and a date — apparently 

 that on which the drawing up of the remarks was completed. These 

 dates range from February 16, 1843, to February 26, 1845. "With 

 the remarks on each species is a paper of Parsons' own observations, 

 chiefly relating to the dates of arrival and departure on the coast, and 

 evidently entered as each observation was made. On the back is a 

 table of the length, breadth, and weight of all the specimens of each 

 species he had shot, evidently also entered at the time. 



He died on September 23, 1882, aged 75 years. On the 20th of 

 the following March his household furniture, plate, books, and other 

 effects were sold by auction by Mr. T. W. Ofifin at The Lawn by 

 order of his executors. Fifty-two lots, comprising 203 birds, stuffed 



