2886 Eadiata, $c. 



should meet the eye of Mr. Haliday, I hope he will favour us with his opinion. — E. 

 S. ; communicated by John Curtis, Esq. 



Starfishes at Eastbourne. — This evening (July 9, 1850), at low water, the sands 

 were strewn with multitudes of starfishes. They lay in clusters in the pools and 

 amongst the low rocks ; as the tide advanced, it was marked by a line of these 

 beautifully-coloured Radiata, apparently waiting for a renewal of animation from the 

 returning wave. They were of a large size, and I have no doubt the whole number 

 in the space of half a quarter of a mile amounted to thousands. — Charles Tylor ; 

 South St., Eastbourne. 



Death of the Rev. William Kirby. 



William Kirby is no move. For fifty years that name has occupied 

 the post of honour in the minds of British entomologists. Coupled 

 with that of Spence, it was transmitted to us by a generation of ento- 

 mologists now rapidly disappearing, and in the same company we 

 shall transmit it to our children. The works of Kirby are not those of 

 a class or of a nation : they are for all classes and all countries : their 

 value consists in the skilful arrangement, good taste, religious fervour, 

 and graceful persuasion to study that pervades them. The value of 

 such teachings is shown by their success : no master ever left so large 

 a number of devoted pupils ; and this devotion is a tribute to the 

 heart as much as to the head of the writer ; it is an impulsive homage 

 to that spirit of gentleness and truth which pervades all he has pub- 

 lished. 



Were it desirable to pass a critic's judgment on Mr. Kirby's writings ; 

 to contrast some of his opinions and conclusions with those subse- 

 quently attained by others from access to a more copious store of 

 facts and observations, we might perhaps be enabled to show that he 

 was occasionally in error : but this is no time for criticism ; and were 

 it so, were the contrast rigidly carried out, the amount of error would 

 be found small indeed, when compared with the good achieved, when 

 compared with the benefits which have accrued, not only directly 

 from Mr. Kirby's individual labours, but indirectly through the labours 



