Notes and Comments. 247 
tion of the bird life of our county. Upon T. H. Nelson fell 
the mantle, now many years ago, of a distinguished predecessor, 
who left the county before his work in this respect was finished, 
and it is to Thomas Nelson that we owe one of the most im- 
portant and reliable county histories of birds ever published. 
This work expresses the very spirit of co-operation which 
prevails among our Yorkshire naturalists, full of the detail 
which the student of birds requires concerning their local 
distribution, their periodic wanderings and casual movements, 
enriched by friendly helpers with many a charming photograph 
of their favourite haunts and nesting sites, the work of a 
master of his subject, surrounded by helpful friends in every 
Riding, and bringing to a clear issue the comprehensive results 
of long and loving studies by many hands. 
WILLIAM DENISON ROEBUCK. 
William Denison Roebuck is the pioneer and organiser of 
the systematic survey of the county, the man of method, 
insistent upon the guarantees of accuracy and completeness, 
the keeper of our records: a student of many-sided interests 
and of indefatigable perseverance. Joint author of the stand- 
ard handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire, his 
versatility extends to an intimate knowledge of our Bees and 
Butterflies, our Slugs and Snails, and of many other classes of 
our native fauna. Impressed, however, at an early date with 
the importance of co-operation and method in order to secure 
the fullest and most reliable results from local amateur effort, 
William Roebuck set to work some forty years ago to re- -model 
the federation of our local societies of Natural History on 
broader and more effective lines, and both the constitution 
and the working of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union as it 
exists to-day, embracing some 40 local societies, with a member- 
ship of several thousand -naturalists, are largely due to his 
suggestion and initiative. The reconstitution of the Union, 
of which he was Honorary Secretary for nearly thirty years, 
resulted in a great impetus to systematic scientific investi- 
gation all over the county, and in the publication of numerous 
important memoirs and books on various branches of York- 
shire Natural History. Much of Roebuck’s best work has been 
done in connection with the Leeds Naturalists’ Club, the 
members of which owe much to his foresight and tireless 
service, and honour him as one of their most distinguished 
members. 
THOMAS SHEPPARD. 
Mr. Thomas Sheppard is well-known throughout Yorkshire 
as an untiring and prolific worker in the fields of Geology and 
Archeology, whose expositions on the lecture platform, lucid 
1915 Aug. 1. 
