136 Obituary— Mr. William Colclieder. 



Mr. Mourlon most courteously sends me a drawing, here reproduced, 

 of the specimen mentioned by him as '' Agelacrinus" in 1881. It is 

 not the "asterie" of Professor Malaise ; it is not a Protaster Decheni, 

 or any kin thereto ; but it is a fine specimen of an Edrioasteroid, 

 as large as, and more perfect than, the British Museum specimen 

 E 7581, with actinal and abactinal surfaces clearly shown ; and it 

 belongs incontestably to Dinocystis Barroisi. F. A. Bathek. 



British Museum (Natural History). 

 February 5, 1899. 



WILLIAM COLCHESTER, J. P., F.G.S. 



Born July 21, 1813. Died November 15, 1898. 



Amongst geologists and agriculturists the name of William 

 Colchester will always be associated with the Suffolk Crag and 

 the Cambridge Greensand, and the exploitation of these deposits 

 as sources of artificial manure for the farmers, and which have so 

 largely added to the fertility of the soils, not only at home but in 

 all parts of the civilized world. Coming of a Gloucestershire family, 

 William Colchester was the eldest son of the late Mr. Benjamin 

 Colcliester, and spent his early life at Dedham, near Colchester, 

 Essex. Like the late Sir Joseph Prestwich, he was educated at 

 University College, London, and it was originally intended that 

 he should follow the profession of an architect. In early life he 

 tiavelled much in Italy, studying classic and mediaeval architecture. 

 He afterwards visited Russia, chiefly in order to learn the Slavonic 

 language. On his return to England Mr. Colchester became 

 identified with the late Mr. John Chevalier Cobbold, formerly 

 M.P. for Ipswich, in connection with the importation of timber. 

 In course of time Mr. Colchester associated himself with the ports 

 of Ipswich and London in the carrying trade, and became a large 

 shipowner. This led to the development of an extensive ship- and 

 barge-building industry at the Cliff, Ipswich, which he carried on 

 in conjunction with his other business for many years. 



Some idea of the extent of this shipping business may be gathered 

 from the fact that the fleet of vessels belonging to the firm at that 

 time numbered more than thirty ; whilst the fleet of shrimper's built 

 and equipped by him fifty years ago which sail from Harwich are 

 still known as ' Colchester's Fleet.' They were originally used for 

 dredging up septaria from the London Clay off the port of Harwich. 



The concretions known as ' septaria ' form the raw material from 

 which Eoman or Portland cement was manufactured, an industry 

 extensively carried on by Mr. Colchester fifty years ago. These 

 dredging operations were also of great importance in deepening the 

 channel at the mouth of the River Orwell, which, owing to the set 

 of the tides, was liable to be obstructed by the formation of a bar 

 across its estuary. 



In 1843, after an excursion in the Crag district in the neighbour- 

 hood around Ipswich in company with his friends Colchester and 



