1922.] Obituary. 715 



modifications directly due to peculiarities of nurture, wiiether 

 environmental, nutritional, or functional. As there is no 

 convincing evidence at present that these extrinsic somatic 

 modificutions can l)e transmitted as such, or in any represen- 

 tative degree, they cannot be included, in the first instance 

 at least, among the ivaw materials ol" racial evolution. These 

 are discerned when the moditications in cjiiestion are sub- 

 tracted from the total of observed differences. For this 

 subtraction brings into view the true variations or muta- 

 tions — inborn not acquired, blastogenic not somatogenic 

 endogenous not exogenous, expressions or outcomes not 

 indents or imprints." 



XLT. — Ohiluary. 



William Henkv Hudson. 



We regret to learn of the sudden death of Mr. W. H. 

 liudson, which took ])lace very suddcidy in his sleep, on 

 18 August last, at his London residence, in his eighty-first 

 year. 



Mr. Hudson's father was one of the early emigrants to 

 the pampas of La Plata and his son was born there, where 

 the influence of limitless plains and of its teeming bird-life 

 impressed itself on the whole of his subsequent writing. 

 When still a young man he entered into a correspondence 

 with Dr. P. L. Sclater, and transmitted to him several 

 collections of South American birds and mammals, 

 accounts of which were pul)lishcd in the ' Proceedings of 

 the Zoological Society^ between 1870 and 187.2, and formed 

 the basis of a joint work published in 1888-9, under the 

 title of 'Argentine Ornithology,' to which ]\Ir. ILidson 

 contributed the notes and descriptions of the birds' habits, 

 while Dr. Sclater supplied the technical descriptions. A 

 second edition of tliis work was published by Mr. Hudson 

 alone in 1920, in which all the technical matter was omitted. 



