NA TURE 



[June 29, 1905 



Again, on p. 304 of the same volume, an entirely 

 wrong meaning is given to a sentence by the failure 

 of the translators to make it clear that " wenn es 

 nothwendig ware " must refer, not to " fertilisation," 

 but to the " limitation of polar divisions." On p. 136 

 (vol. ii.) the sense of the original is obscured by the 

 inadequate rendering of " dann " as the enclitic 

 "then." Chaerocampa (for Choerocampa) is found 

 in the original ; the translators, however, are re- 

 sponsible for " Coenogenesis." 



But in spite of these and other blemishes of a like 

 nature, the translators arc to be congratulated on 

 having performed their ditificult task with skill and 

 success, the result being a work which, in its English 



Fig. 2. — A, an aberration of Ari:f/a ctija, produced by low temperature. 

 B, the member of its progeny most divergent from the normal. B, 

 though reared at the ordinary temperature, is aberrant in the same 

 direction as its parent. After E. Fischer. From Weismann's " Evolu- 

 tion Thejry. ' Translated by Prof, and Mrs. Thomson. 



no less than in its German dress, will be read with 

 extreme interest and with the greatest sympathv and 

 respect for its indefatigable author. F. .A. D. 



OR. WILLIAM THOMAS BLANFORD, F.R.S. 



'T'HE tidings of Dr. Blanford's death will be re- 

 ceived with sorrow among men of science all 

 over the world. His many-sided accomplishments 

 had given him a notable place among geologists, 

 geographers, paleontologists, and zoologists, and his 

 gentle, kindly, unassuming nature had gained him an 

 abiding place in the affectionate regard of all who 

 came to be associated with him. Born on October 

 7, 1832, in London, he early developed a taste for 

 scientific pursuits, and was accordinglv .sent to the 

 Royal School of Mines, Jermyn Street, where he dis- 

 tinguished himself as a student, under De la Beche, 

 Pla.yfair, Edward Forbes, Ramsay, Smyth, and 

 Percy. From London he passed to the famoijs mining 

 academy at Freiberg. Having thus obtained an ex- 

 cellent training, he was, in 1855, appointed to the 

 Geological Survey of India under its founder, Thomas 

 Oldham. For some twenty-seven years he continued 

 to_ devote his energies to Indian geology, making 

 wide acquaintance with the rocks and sceiierv of the 

 great Dependency, and enriching the publications of 

 the Survey with maps and descriptive memoirs. Had 

 he chosen to remain longer in the service, he would 

 NO. 1861, VOL. 72] 



soon have been placed at its head ; but in 18S2 he 

 resolved to retire on the pension which he had well 

 earned, and to establish himself in London. Among 

 the great services which he rendered to science during 

 his stay in India, perhaps the most important was 

 the preparation, in concert with his colleague, H. B. 

 Mcdlicott, of a "Manual of the Geology of India." 

 This invaluable treatise gave for the first time a 

 succinct general view of the geological structure and 

 historv of the whole country. It has taken its place 

 as one of the classic text-books of the science. 



While attached to the Indian Survey, Dr. Blanford's 

 proved ability led to his being employed in several 

 missions or expeditions. Thus when, in 1867, pre- 

 parations were made in India for the dispatch of 

 an armed force against Theodore of Abyssinia, he was 

 selected as geologist to accompany the .Army. The 

 wisdom of this selection was well proved by the ex- 

 cellent \-olume in which he gave the results of his 

 observations during the march to Magdala and the 

 return to the coast. -Again, in 1872, he accompanied 

 the Persian Boundary Commission, and his notes of 

 this journev were embodied in another valuable book. 



During his travels in India and beyond it, Dr. 

 Blaniord did not confine himself to the study of the 

 rocks, but always kept a keen eye on the wild 

 animals of each region. His published journals showed 

 him to be as capable a zoologist as he was a geologist. 

 Indeed, during the later years of his life his main 

 scientific work lay amidst the fauna of British India, 

 in regard to \\hich his published memoirs were re- 

 cognised as the chief authority on the subject. His 

 wide experience as a traveller over the surface of the 

 earth likewise enlisted his sympathies with geo- 

 graphical exploration, and made him a valued member 

 of the council of the Royal Geographical Society. 



In his writings there is often a suggestiveness or 

 prescience that shows how keen was his insight, how- 

 far-reaching his grasp of scientific problems, more 

 especially of those in which questions of zoology and 

 geology were intermingled. Some of his papers in 

 which he unfolded his views on these subjects are 

 well deserving of attentive study. His address to the 

 geological section of the British .Association at the 

 Montreal meeting in 1884, and his presidential dis- 

 courses to the Geological .Society in i88q and iSqo. 

 may be cited as examples of his characteristic manner 

 of treatment. 



Dr. Blanford's high qualities as a man of science 

 were fully recognised by his contemporaries. He was 

 early elected into several of our leading scientific 

 societies, and was chosen as a member of their 

 councils. He received the Wollaston medal of the 

 Geological Society and a Royal medal of the Royal 

 Society. A few years ago, in recognition of his 

 services to Indian science, he was made a Companion 

 of the Order of the Indian Empire. Up to the end 

 he continued to interest himself in the affairs of the 

 societies with which he was connected. For vears 

 he had been treasurer of the Geological Societv, ind 

 he attended the council meetings to within a few 

 weeks before his death. His colleagues at the 

 council board then saw with regret that his health 

 was obviously failing, but they did not anticipate 

 that they were never again to see his familiar face 

 among them. A few weeks ago he was asked bv 

 the council of the Royal Society to write for them 

 an obituary notice of his old friend and colleague, 

 Medlicott, who had recently died. He complied with 

 this request, and it proved to be his last piece of 

 work. The printed proofs of his manuscript were 

 sent to him, but before they could reach him he ha. 

 become too ill to look at them. .After a short illness 

 he passed away on the morning of Fridav, June 2;j, 



