ii Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [ January, 
Dr. Blanford’s first formal contribution to the Society was 
a paper in conjunction with his brother, forming No. 1 of a series 
on Indian Malacology read at the general meeting on the 7th 
Mare 60, and published in volume XXIX of the Journal, 
From that time till the Society celebrated its centenary in 1883, 
nearly every volume of the Journal included one or more papers 
from Blanford, describing observations made in every province of 
European scientific societies. Altogether, whilst stillin the Indian 
service, he published just 150 scientific papers, many of which 
were comprehensive memoirs, not merely details of observation, 
but contributions to the philosophical aspects of geology and 
zoology which have made some of his memoirs classical works in 
the history of science. 
After his retirement in 1882, most of the papers he wrote 
summed up the observations made during his service of 27 years in 
India; and, with his summaries, he indicated the philosophieal 
bearing of the accumulated mass of data on current scientific doc- 
trines, Amongst publications of this kind, it is only necessary to 
refer, firstly, to his address to the British Association at Montreal in 
submerged over 1,000 fathoms, whilst sea-bottoms now over 1,000 
fathoms deep must have been land in part of the Tertiary era, but 
there are a mass of facts, both geological and biological, in favour 
of land-connection having formerly existed in certain cases across 
what are now broad and deep oceans.” 
Possibly the most conspicuous amongst the productions of his 
scientific activity was his last—his memoir on “ The Distribution of 
Vertebrate Animals in India, Ceylon and Burma,” for which he 
was awarded one of the two Royal medals granted by the Royal 
Society in 1901. A considerable section of his time during retire- 
ment was occupied by the editorship of the official ‘“ Fauna of 
British India,” of which he edited 18 volumes,—one on Mam- 
mals and two on Birds being entirely his own work. 
_ Those who were favoured by the inestimable privilege of his 
friendship will readily agree that Blanford’s enormous record of 
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